13420 Newport Avenue, Suite K
Tustin, CA 92780
Phone: (714) 669-3105
Fax: (714) 669-3108
back to list When you slouch, there are specific muscle groups that contract. These are very predictable and can easily be found by pressing on them. These are the muscles of your lower lumbar spine, the muscles between your shoulder blades, the muscles on the top of your shoulders and the front of your neck. Proper sitting begins with the chair or car seat. When considering buying a work chair, these are the features you should look for: If you don’t have the ideal chair for you, you will have to alter the chair or car seat to fit your body type. Many cars now come with adjustable front seats for the driver. Pity the passengers who don’t have this option. First, sit comfortably. Then palpate, rub, the muscles of your pectoral region for tenderness. If these are tender, place a pillow or lumbar support in your lower spine. Make sure that the support is in the small of yourback, not behind your pelvis. When you have the correct support for you, the tenderness will decrease dramatically.
If you are the driver in a car, rub the muscles on the inside and outside of the leg just above the knee. Moving the seat forward or back can usually relieve tenderness here. If you are working at a desk, place your arms at their working height. With your arms in this position, have someone rub the muscles on the top of your shoulders. If they are tender, lower your arms or raise the height of the chair until the tenderness decreases. If you have to raise the chair height to position your arms so that you can use a computer, you may have to add a support for your feet so that your legs do not cut into the front of the chair, inhibiting circulation. In the car, move your hands on the steering wheel until you find the position where the muscles are relaxed. Very seldom you will find it at the suggested “10 and 2” positions. You should be looking slightly down at your desk. If you are reading, don’t place the book flat on the tabletop. Prop it up. You can use a cookbook holder to support the book. If you are typing on a computer from paper material, purchase a hanger to come off of the CRT to hold the material. The idea is to be looking up, not down. To find the correct angle, have someone rub the muscles on the front of your neck and look at what you are doing. If they are sore, try elevating the material until the muscles are soft. Finally, plan frequent breaks. These should include some simple stretching exercises like shoulder rotations, head half circles both left and right, low back arching and leg and foot stretching. Every hour you should get up and walk for five minutes. At the beginning of the walk, exaggerate your shoulder and arm swing. If you have any problems checking these positions, please ask us about them. It is extremely important for you to be able to sit comfortably in you car, at home and at work. Slouching just increases the muscle tension and unnecessarily increases your discomfort and pain.
Sitting Positions For Good Health
Sit down and be comfortable. The real issue becomes are your spine and muscles comfortable? Sitting allows you to take the load off of your feet and legs. The stress is more on your pelvis and your back.
When you are standing, the weight should be equal on both feet and, unless there is a postural imbalance in your lower back and pelvis, should be distributed evenly across the discs in your spine. When you slouch, even if it feels good to you, it places uneven forces on the discs and small joints in your spine. Those legs that are getting a break from your weight are now being stressed by sluggish circulation. Recently, the airlines have come under fire for leg thrombosis in long-haul flights due to having passengers sit for too long in one position. However, you don’t have to be on a long haul flight for circulation problems to occur due to prolonged sitting.
• There should be an adjustable back support.
• This support should be in the lumbar, low back area, or you can add one. More on this later.
• The seat should be adjustable up and down to compensate for your leg length.
• The seat should be adjustable forward and backward. This is the least important of the three.
• The seat should be 25% wider than your pelvis. Molded seats are appropriate only for those people that
have a pelvis the size of the mold.
• The front edge of the seat should not cut into your legs. This reduces the circulation in and out of your
legs.
• The chair should have armrests. These are used to rest your arms and aid in getting in and out of the chair.
• The chair must be stable. If it can tilt backwards and has rollers, make sure it doesn’t tilt back far enough
that you fall over backwards.Proper sitting begins with the chair or car seat.
