ErgoMatters℠ is moving to SafeAtWorkCA.com, State Fund’s safety resource center. Click the link below to find all of our ErgoMatters content. ErgoMatters on SafeAtWorkCA.com |
In 2006, a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America demonstrated the benefits of sitting with a 135° thigh-to-torso angle. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers showed that less strain on lumbar discs occurs in 135° sitting than in traditional 90° sitting.
Positive effects of reclined posture sitting had been shown as early as the 1970s. Gunnar Andersson used needles inserted directly into the backs of live volunteers to measure muscle activity and disc pressure in a variety of seated postures. These studies showed a reduction of low back muscle activity and disc pressure with increasing thigh-to-torso angles.
In applying the findings of the newest study, it is important to keep a few things in mind:
Similar benefits have been demonstrated for thigh-to-torso angles as low as 110°. Increasing the thigh-to-torso angle can be achieved by:
When trying out new seating options or workstation arrangements, particularly those that increase thigh-to-torso angle, be sure that:
Revised: 04/2017