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Showing posts from February, 2011

Analysis of sitting posture

Introduction: Occupations & occupational demands have changed in the recent era. Modernization & Industrialization has changed the face of occupational activities & need of work related physical performances. We have slowly crawled in to mostly a sedentary era. On the other side passive leisure time pursuits are taking over active leisure time pursuits. The situation is such that the average office going adult hardly moves his or her axial & apendicular joints in it’s full range of motion. Mean temporal classification of ADL (activity of daily living) closely equates 7-8 hours of sleeping; 8-10 hours of working and rest of hours are spent in house hold activities like washing, watching TV, purchasing grocery, rarely gardening or a sports etc. Office hour activities span more than one third of the day. Except in blue collar jobs (manual labor class) office hours consists of at least 2-4 hours sitting to full office hour invested in sitting like in banking, IT sector job

Can occupational sitting cause LBA?

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Introduction: Sociocultural, economic, and manufacturing factors are 3 different major factors that influence sitting. "Correct" seated posture is associated with spine health was known to people possibly from Hippocratic era. But the debate has not dampened yet whether the sitting is directly a cause of LBA or it predisposes or precipitates LBA. From 1980s much of research has been put into ergonomically correct sitting & providing a work environment for correct sitting posture. However there is a question; is there any medically correct sitting posture? The correct sitting posture refers to maintenance of a correct lumbar spine lordosis actively (muscle contraction) or passively (chair or sitting back support) (described below elaborately in neutral spine position). Passive maintenance is sought because it is noticed that within minutes of sitting lordosis is reversed or lost. According to Ernst even the correct sitting is not out of danger because of the repetitive nat