Sitting for a long time regularly is linked to many health issues including obesity, diabetes, heart diseases and other issues. However, we often forget that sitting for a long time is a common cause of posture issues. A large proportion of children in USA, spend many hours of the day sitting. This means following the correct sitting posture is even more important for our children and ourselves.
This section will cover the health risks of bad sitting posture, the correct ergonomic sitting position and how we can have impact on children’s and our health.
RISKS OF BAD POSTURE:
-Back and neck pain, which are often the most popular, because of the slumped position or excess pressure being suffered by the spine.
– Joint pain (hip pain, knee pain and ankle pain etc), muscle stiffness and permanent slumping.
– Repetitive strain injury in muscles, nerves and tendons due to repetitive movements and overuse injury like wrist and hand injuries caused by typing.
– Slouched position for many hours can compress your abdominal organs, which includes your digestive system. This can have an impact on your metabolism and affects your ability to process food correctly. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1773697/)
-Negative affect on lung capacity and ability to breathe properly. Slouching causes the muscles and tendons in the front of your body to become shortened, causing difficulty to take full, deep breaths. (https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2018/3058970/)
-Spend many hours every day sitting in front of a computer could be at risk of developing deep vein thrombosis – the potentially fatal blood clots. (http://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/20/2/182)
CORRECT ERGONOMIC SITTING POSTURE
Make sure your chair has ample back support, allowing you to keep your backbone straight comfortably.
Sit with your hips about shoulder-width apart in your desk chair, and your knees lined up with your hips and feet (at about a 90-degree angle). Don’t cross your legs while sitting in a chair. Your feet should rest on a flat surface or supported.
Your elbows should be by the side of your body so your arm forms an L-shape at the elbow joint.
Forearms supported on armrests of the chair. Use your keyboard with wrists out straight to type. Only set your wrists on a rest during breaks, not while typing. Place your mouse somewhere close to the keyboard to limit how far you must reach.
Please refer to the diagram #1 and 2 for proper ergonomic setting.
Diagram #1
Diagram #2
