How often have you already taken sick leave due to back problems? According to the scientific research, there are around 70 million days of absence that can be traced back to back pain. The economic damage caused by back problems is currently around 48.9 billion dollars annually. In view of the fact that the pressure on the intervertebral discs when sitting is 1.5 times as high as when standing, it is no wonder that your back becomes noticeable after prolonged sitting activities. Tension in the shoulders and neck are also serious ailments, which can often be announced after a long day at the office at a non-height-adjustable desk.
Choosing the Omnidesk Is Perfect
Therefore, it is better to be safe than sorry. With a sit-stand Omnidesk you can effectively prevent back pain and unpleasant tension. Because by switching between sitting and standing positions, your intervertebral discs are increasingly supplied with nutrients and better supplied with blood. In addition, your muscle activity is stimulated by standing, which tends to zero while sitting. In this way, you prevent your muscles from slackening and your intervertebral discs from wearing out. Both are important to give your spine adequate protection.
But be careful. Be aware that simply switching between standing and sitting positions is by no means sufficient to prevent sitting diseases. You can take the strain off your spine by alternating sitting and standing, but you should always make sure to sit and stand dynamically with an ergonomic office chair and to integrate enough movement into your everyday work.
Optimal Adaptation to Your Height
Do you often bend forward when working at your desk or do you tend to have a hollow back while sitting? Then your desk is most likely not ideally adapted to your body size, so that you quickly adopt bad postures that cause back pain in the long term. With a height-adjustable desk, you could avoid this ailment by optimizing your desk exactly to your height. Because an adjusted desk height is an important condition in order to be able to adopt a healthy posture. However, you should not remain in this healthy body position for a long time without changing to another posture.
More Movement in Everyday Work
As you now know, long periods of sitting represent a one-sided burden that quickly leads to health problems. An ergonomic office chair that supports dynamic sitting is the right step towards a healthier working day, but is not enough on its own to relieve your back. Occupational physicians recommend adhering to the following rule of thumb:
- 40 minutes of dynamic sitting,
- 15 minutes of standing, and
- 5 minutes of walking.
You could take breaks at work without a height-adjustable desk, but with a sit-stand desk you don’t have to interrupt your work processes. In addition, it promotes and supports your urge to move, which is important to avoid diseases.
Without regular exercise your ligaments slacken and your vertebral bodies lose strength, which give your spine support, your muscles gradually break down and shorten, your intervertebral discs become porous. Movement keeps them supple. Glue your fasciae together, which support and stabilize your back and enable flexible movements. Your joint capsules in the vertebral joints shrink, which manifests itself in back pain. These consequences are particularly related to your back, which suffers the fastest from sitting for hours and is the first to be noticeable through tension.