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Office Health: What is the Correlation Between Musculoskeletal Dysfunction & Sitting?

25 April 2024

Within the scope of the copious amounts of articles and research papers on the repercussions on health attributed to sitting at desks all day long. This particular article will dwell on what really happens when an individual sits on a chair for long periods of time which mainly implicates the average office worker who spends a minimum of six hours sitting on a chair if not more.

When a person is subjected to activities such as sitting for hours each day (sitting is an activity despite the fact that most of us do not see ‘sitting as an activity’), it is actually quite detrimental to the individual’s long term health. At this point, most readers are perhaps wondering “what actually happens to the body when it is sat all day?” and the short answer to that question is – the body just gets tired.

The tiredness factor stems first from the muscles located in the region of the lower back and the strain on the lower back is amplified when lumbar support which is critical towards maintaining the lordosis curve of the lower back is not present. When individuals slouch or slump down while they are sitting the repercussion or even greater attributed to the outward-curve and structure of our lower backs as the strain on the intervertebral discs of the spine gradually increases pressure builds as well.

The impact on the spine given this particular scenario could be reduced significantly by a good quality ergonomic office chair that would be able to provide adequate support to the lumbar and prevent slouching which causes the spine to go out of alignment.

Slouching or slumping for that matter causes the head to lean to a forward position which automatically forces muscles located at the back of the neck to maintain the entire head in a normal position according to what the individual is focused on (e.g. a computer screen) and this leads to tension being formed at the back of the neck significantly.

Over extended periods of time this scenario increases the level of muscle wear and tear strains soft tissues which includes ligaments and even tendons. Much of the pressure or strain on the back and neck could be reduce when posture is maintained with the support of an ergonomic office chair like those offered by Premier Office Furniture online.

 A multitude of academic and medical papers have confirmed the fact that slouching causes a wide variety of medical issues which apart from backaches also causes headaches, fatigue and limits one’s ability to focus or concentrate on something.

With ergonomic chairs, it will be much easier to maintain a healthy posture (this is when the spine is aligned properly) which in turn leads to much greater overall comfort which improves concentration.

Ergonomic chairs also enhance the level of endurance related to long hours of sitting and help reduce the possibility of Musculoskeletal Dysfunction which only rears its ugly head years or decades down the road.

In summary, musculoskeletal dysfunction due to long hours of sitting can be avoided by simply using a proper ergonomic office chair.

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