The Health Consequences of Poor Office Ergonomics
A key point in human evolution that propelled us forward was our evolution from quadrupedalism to bipedalism, or from four legs to two. This took us millions of years to achieve. Ironically, it took us millions of years to learn how to stand and walk, and yet, it has taken us only one generation to forget!
Our evolution suggests that human beings are not designed to sit for prolonged periods of time. And now science is catching up, with many claims of "sitting being the new smoking" being discussed among medical and scientific groups. I tend to agree.
The reason sitting is being spoken of in the same sentence as smoking is because of how much sitting the average office worker does in any given day. It is the prolonged nature of our sitting habits that are causing problems.
The average office worker will sit for about 7 hours at work, plus their commute, plus however much they sit when they are at home. All up, an office worker might sit for approximately 12 hours per day!
This means that two things must be considered:
Ideally, both of the options mentioned above should be addressed. However, if a standing option just isn't possible, then the ergonomics of the sitting workstation should at least be optimised.
Here are a list of some of the physical issues that prolonged sitting has on our body:
This list is by no means exhaustive. Prolonged sitting can realistically cause physical problems anywhere. Sitting in the same spot for hours on end each day results in the accumulation of physical stress in the same place. This is how overuse injuries develop, such as RSI in the wrist or elbow.
An interesting potential complication of prolonged sitting is weight gain. Often this weight gain is around the midsection. By extension, this means that prolonged sitting has the potential to increase your chances of developing diabetes! Now, that isn't to say that everyone who sits will develop diabetes, because they won't. However, if you are susceptible to gaining weight easily, particularly around the midsection, then you should be trying to switch between sitting and standing when possible.
Our evolution suggests that human beings are not designed to sit for prolonged periods of time. And now science is catching up, with many claims of "sitting being the new smoking" being discussed among medical and scientific groups. I tend to agree.
The reason sitting is being spoken of in the same sentence as smoking is because of how much sitting the average office worker does in any given day. It is the prolonged nature of our sitting habits that are causing problems.
The average office worker will sit for about 7 hours at work, plus their commute, plus however much they sit when they are at home. All up, an office worker might sit for approximately 12 hours per day!
This means that two things must be considered:
- If the worker is sitting down for such a long period of time, is their sitting workstation at least ergonomically friendly?
- Can the prolonged nature of sitting be broken up with bouts of standing or walking?
Ideally, both of the options mentioned above should be addressed. However, if a standing option just isn't possible, then the ergonomics of the sitting workstation should at least be optimised.
Here are a list of some of the physical issues that prolonged sitting has on our body:
- Deconditioning of postural muscles, leading to reduced strength in our day-to-day lives;
- Reduced core strength and stability;
- Chronic tightening of the hip flexors, potentially leading to back pain;
- Slouched shoulder postures;
- Weight gain.
This list is by no means exhaustive. Prolonged sitting can realistically cause physical problems anywhere. Sitting in the same spot for hours on end each day results in the accumulation of physical stress in the same place. This is how overuse injuries develop, such as RSI in the wrist or elbow.
An interesting potential complication of prolonged sitting is weight gain. Often this weight gain is around the midsection. By extension, this means that prolonged sitting has the potential to increase your chances of developing diabetes! Now, that isn't to say that everyone who sits will develop diabetes, because they won't. However, if you are susceptible to gaining weight easily, particularly around the midsection, then you should be trying to switch between sitting and standing when possible.
