Stop Sitting Up Straight

Posted: December 8th, 2006 | Author: Jennifer Farley

Stop Sitting Up Straight!

For many of us, today’s workplace involves sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time. Even when I’m “finished” work I often find myself sitting in front of a pc or laptop. Conventional wisdom has told us that sitting up straight and not slouching is important. Having read this article over on Science Daily it seems avoiding slouching is still very important but it seems that sitting up straight should be avoided too!

The patients assumed three different sitting positions: a slouching position, in which the body is hunched forward (e.g., hunched over a desk or slouched over in front of a video game console); an upright 90-degree sitting position; and a “relaxed” position where the patient reclines backward 135 degrees while the feet remain on the floor. Measurements were taken of spinal angles and spinal disk height and movement across the different positions.

The patients assumed three different sitting positions: a slouching position, in which the body is hunched forward (e.g., hunched over a desk or slouched over in front of a video game console); an upright 90-degree sitting position; and a “relaxed” position where the patient reclines backward 135 degrees while the feet remain on the floor. Measurements were taken of spinal angles and spinal disk height and movement across the different positions.

Spinal disk movement occurs when weight-bearing strain is placed on the spine, causing the internal disk material to misalign. Disk movement was most pronounced with a 90-degree upright sitting posture. It was least pronounced with the 135-degree posture, indicating that less strain is placed on the spinal disks and associated muscles and tendons in a more relaxed sitting position.

The “slouch” position revealed a reduction in spinal disk height, signifying a high rate of wear and tear on the lowest two spinal levels. Across all measurements, the researchers concluded that the 135-degree position fared the best.

So I think a new 135 degree chair may need to be added to my Christmas list.