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Ergonomics – and tips for healthier sitting

Roughly 20,000 years ago, when we were nomads, hunters or gatherers, sitting on chairs was an entirely unknown concept for us.

And not at all intended by Mother Nature, as our musculoskeletal system seems “designed” and constructed for walking, squatting and lying down.

Chairs remained extremely uncommon up until the Middle Ages. It was only after the French Revolution that ordinary citizens were allowed to sit on chairs, a right previously reserved for the ruling classes (kings and the church).

Much has changed in the past 150–200 years, however – and the future holds exciting changes for our working environments.

While in the past, scriptoriums, court offices and counting houses had only rudimentary seating furniture, mechanisation and electrification in offices made new seating arrangements a necessity. The term “ergonomics” was first used in 1857, when Wojciech Jastrzebowski mentioned the term in a weekly journal.

And in the 1930s, the designer Henry Dreyfuss began to take an scientific interest in the topic of product usability:

the moment when ergonomics in its modern form was born.

Smart solutions for healthy sitting

Today, most office chairs are designed ergonomically, can be individually adjusted to suit the various measurements of the human body, and some of them have mechanisms to allow movement even while seated.

What makes BIOSWING’s dynamic seating solution so special?

Ergonomics, movement and the natural rhythms of the human body in perfect harmony – find out more about how the adaptive 3D movement technology intelligently uses physics to allow you to sit better:

Technology

An upright posture with an open sitting angle combined with a swinging mechanism integrated into the chair is considered one of the best ways to sit for prolonged periods without fatigue.

This was the finding of a study carried out by the BGIA, the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (download, external link).

Additionally, the work day should be broken up by frequent changes in posture and recurring standing phases, in accordance with the principle that “the best posture is always the next one”.

All BIOSWING models have a synchronised mechanism that ensures that the chair smoothly follows each physical movement as the body moves to the next sitting position. With individual adjustment to suit the particular body weight, the result is a harmonic, fluent transition and, in conjunction with the BIOSWING technology in the seat mechanism, a uniquely comfortable seating experience.

Other ergonomic optimisations on and next to the desk are just as useful, such as an individually adjustable monitor arm, document holder, vertical mouse and roller mouse.

Work equipment should be arranged centrally in relation to the body, to avoid unbalanced stresses and strains. And using better “tools” makes day-to-day work in the office healthier and more efficient.

Long-term work at the computer causes strain in the neck area. Our muscles have to hold a weight of roughly 5 kg in place (the weight of the human head) in a particular position continuously and isometrically. This impairs circulation and metabolism and generally leads to chronic pain and tension.

For this reason, we recommend that computer workers always use an individually adjustable neck support – and regularly take a minute’s rest, perhaps even closing their eyes, to give their neck some relief.

Additional information and tips

Biokinetixx:

Here, you can find a range of interesting exercises that are targeted movements to perform on your chair and that simultaneous stimulate and activate your nervous system.

Write to us if you’d like to learn more about this directly.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO in Stuttgart produced a short video in 2014 that presents an outline of our future working environments. Astoundingly, some of the things forecast in that video have already come to pass…

  You can access the video here

[External Youtube Link, you are leaving Haider Bioswing’s web site]

Interesting documentary from Tilman Achtnich, which was broadcast by SWR in 2010 . It includes various informative explanations regarding how humans have developed since the Stone Age. Summary: humans are not (yet) genetically programmed to live in modern civilisation. This would have taken much more time.

   You can access the video here

[External Youtube Link, you are leaving Haider Bioswing’s web site]

The Employers’ Liability Insurance Association VBG has issued a guideline for procuring office chairs, including a checklist.

“Spoilt for choice – how can I buy the right chair?

Help and criteria for selecting office chairs”

As a chair design for “particularly dynamic office work chairs”, it describes and recommends the BIOSWING seating mechanism. In a further German Social Accident Insurance publication, you can find a valuable guide for designing computer and office workstations.

Downloads
[External Links, you are leaving Haider Bioswing’s web site]

Die Qual der Wahl – wie beschaffe ich den passenden Stuhl?

Bildschirm- und Büroarbeitsplätze: Leitfaden für die Gestaltung

 

The Aktion gesunder Rücken [Healthy Back Campaign, AGR] certifies particularly back-friendly and dynamic office chairs.

“The oscillating 3D seat mechanism stabilises the back, promotes mental performance and increases well-being and health”

This is how the AGR describes the effect of the BIOSWING sitting technology. All BIOSWING solutions are rated as very good and recommended:

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      Ergonomics in the workplace: this includes above all healthy sitting. With ergonomic office furniture you can do something good for yourself and your health. Be it for the prevention of back pain, or just to make you feel good and comfortable at work. Ergonomic sitting or even moving and dynamic sitting helps you to keep your back healthy. To ensure that you are sitting properly, you should above all pay attention to the correct setting of the office chair, adjust your height-adjustable desk and your screen to the optimum height and use an ergonomic workstation suitable for you.

      Or you suffer from back problems such as tension, herniated discs, or other back problems and therefore are looking for an orthopedic office chair. A health chair can be the deciding factor in addition to your rehabilitation or physiotherapy, so that you can sit comfortably and sit pain-free again at your desk. And even long after your recovery you will benefit from an ergonomic office chair for maintaining health. A good rotary chair offers numerous adjustment options and important ergonomic features such as synchronous mechanism, seat tilt adjustment, seat depth adjustment, an adjustable lumbar support, adjustable armrests and a neck support to relieve the cervical spine.