Active sitting is the practice of enabling or encouraging individuals to engage in physical activity while seated. It is also commonly known as dynamic sitting. The underlying notion highlights the advantages of incorporating flexibility and movement while sitting, as it can positively impact the human body and allow the completion of certain tasks that require sitting.[1] "Active sitting, consisting of modified chairs or stability balls, allows the body to stay dynamic while seated."[1] One of the earliest forms of active sitting is the common rocking chair which allows forward and backward swaying motion.
The concept of active sitting is gaining recognition, particularly among people whose work involves prolonged sitting. In the field of pediatric and adult rehabilitation, active sitting is of growing interest to individuals who use wheelchairs and adaptive seating, such as children and adults with cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury.
Active sitting versus static sitting
Active or dynamic sitting is the opposite of static sitting. Static sitting occurs when seating is rigid, and results in sustained mechanical tissue loading. The bodily strain occurring with traditional rigid seating is widely thought to contribute to negative health effects. The human body is not well adapted for long hours spent sitting in a restrictive or constrained posture. In static sitting, the abdominal muscles may instinctively relax and even atrophy over prolonged periods of lessened physical activity. Furthermore, the prolonged postural loading of the spine while sitting, without natural movement and mobilization of the spinal joints, can reduce joint lubrication and increase stiffness, which can be detrimental to back health.[2] Circulation, particularly of the legs, can be adversely affected as well. In fact, back pain and circulation discomfort are part of a growing avalanche of complaints which can be attributed in part to extensive static sitting. Additionally, sustained postures at a computer can place the upper back and neck muscles into positions of strain that, when combined with stress factors, contribute to muscle tension and resulting pain.[3][4][5] The field of ergonomics recognizes that only in recent history is a large proportion of the human population sitting for long periods with little movement. The rising number of office jobs, as well as driving, contributes to the increased amount of static sitting that occurs.
Furthermore, many wheelchair users are positioned in wheelchairs or other adaptive seating devices that result in a static body posture. Because of the reduced postural stability of these individuals, prolonged sitting may cause them to adopt a flexed spinal posture and posteriorly tilted pelvis. Because these individuals may be unable to physically reposition without considerable assistance, their bodies can be subject to considerable positional strain and immobility, with detrimental physical repercussions. Adverse health effects include the formation of pressure ulcers,[6] low back pain,[7] and lumbar immobility and joint stiffness.[2]
Children and adults in wheelchairs or seating devices that are rigid and/or semi-reclined can require significant physical effort to change their body posture on their own. Additionally, positioning accessories may be restrictive in an effort to counteract low tone, to restrain involuntary spastic movement, or to optimize body symmetry. Such positioning effectively prevents development of active postural movement control. Since the spinal motion of these individuals is constrained between their secured pelvis and the backrest of the wheelchair or chair, their potential to acquire an improved ability for active postural repositioning is negligible. Their movement can be limited to that of the upper extremities only. Thus, for wheelchair users, this static body posture may not only lead to physical strain, discomfort, and health issues, but can also interfere with performance of functional movement tasks.
The majority of chairs, stools, wheelchairs, and adaptive seating commercially available today still tends to be static, that is, they limit or restrict active postural movement. However, new options for seating are emerging. These innovative products are at the forefront of a new wave of office furniture and adaptive seating device options. These products typically allow some freedom of movement that encourages the human occupant to assume a more dynamic posture. These products may allow the seat and/or backrest to tilt in such a way that it follows and conforms to the movements and physical shape of the seated occupant. In this way, the seating enables dynamic sitting, which enhances functional movement and prevents the physical discomfort and potential bodily damage due to prolonged static sitting.
Ergonomics
The field of ergonomics, in particular that of office furniture, now offers various active sitting products that enable different kinds of movement: forward and backward, lateral (side to side), 360 degree wobble, etc. It is important to note that the ergonomic research also indicates that - although movement is necessary - it is not enough. All movements are not the same; there are movements to be avoided. For example, movement that alternates between different awkward sitting postures that repeatedly load the same joints will provide little benefit.[8] The benefits of active sitting are understood to occur with movements through a graded range of centered and symmetrical postures. The active and controlled postural positions in sitting are believed to activate and strengthen muscles in the back and core area,[9] to relieve the static loads acting on joints, ligaments, and tendons, and to promote circulation for elimination of waste products. Thus, a dynamic, ergonomic sitting position is believed to lead to improved posture, core stability, and circulation.
Although extensive research in the field of ergonomics and active sitting is yet to become widely available, the logical benefits are easily extrapolated. The pelvis is tilted more forward in active sitting, and this pelvic position situates the spine for proper alignment and postural health.[10] Since the individual is able to move in a controlled manner during active sitting, the body will strengthen postural muscles to maintain balance. This conditioning of the core muscles of the spine and trunk may significantly aid in preventing back pain. In turn, it is understood that movement lubricates and nourishes the spinal joints and intervertebral discs, keeping skeletal joints flexible and healthy.[11] Many age-related changes in spinal joints are likely due to a lack of proper nourishment and motion. With postural stabilization in sitting and reaching, the leg and calf muscles are activated.[12] When the muscles of the lower extremities work lightly, as during active sitting, the resulting regular pumping action stimulates the return of lymphatic fluid, and minimizes lower leg edema and swollen ankles.[13] Since movement allows blood to flow freely from the lower extremities, this improved circulation can reduce the risk of the development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while seated. Meanwhile, overall bodily movement may "shake out" muscle tension and stress that can build up in the neck, shoulders, or jaw during prolonged sitting postures. It is even thought that movement while sitting might improve focus and alertness because of the sensory and vestibular input.
Rehabilitation
The concept of active and dynamic sitting has further relevance beyond those in the able-bodied population whose daily activity involves extended periods of sitting. For the population of wheelchair users, both children and adults, the topic of active, dynamic sitting is increasingly a subject of focused discussion, research, and product development.
For wheelchair users, prolonged sitting can have similar adverse effects and health issues as for the able-bodied. Wheelchair users are perhaps at even greater risk since their bodies are already limited due to their health condition. Thus, for wheelchair users, a less than optimal, prolonged static seated posture could be likely to lead to physical discomfort or to deterioration of health status.[6][7]
The concept of dynamic or active sitting can apply to both the adult and pediatric populations in the field of rehabilitation. For the pediatric population, childhood is a time of significant physical and cognitive development, and appropriate intervention can impact long-term outcome. So particularly for young wheelchair users, it is crucial to also provide adaptive seating that accommodates their unique needs and enables active seated postural control and function. However, this need for appropriate adaptive seating is equally true for adult clients with diagnoses such as spinal injuries, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or brain injury.
Wheelchair users can have unique physical characteristics that pose specific challenges to both sitting posture and to upper extremity function. Hypertonia is high muscle tone that can vary in degree, and that can be influenced by excitement, stress, loud noise, external environmental factors, medication, or joint or body positioning. Spasticity and involuntary extensor thrusts can cause individuals to extend their joints, affecting and altering their seated position. An ill-fitting seating system can increase tone, since any noxious stimuli, such as irritation or pressure, can trigger hypertonicity. Additionally, repeated extensor thrusts against rigid chair parts can result in breakages in the wheelchair or adaptive seating.
A seat and/or backrest that moves dynamically can accommodate involuntary extensor thrusts, absorb the extensor tone and, through the movement of the seating system, dampen the overall impact of hypertonia on the body. Evidence suggests that using a dynamic backrest reduces the sacral sitting that results from the trunk sliding down with repeated extensor thrusting. Research shows that in dynamic seating, the control of upper extremity movement is actually improved as well.[14]
The posterior-reclined position of traditional seating actually poses a postural challenge and results in poorer reaching efficiency.[15] These findings further emphasize the importance of seating for positioning that will promote an active, dynamic seated posture. An investigation at the University of Twente indicated that anterior tilted pelvis postures potentially benefit the functional performance in daily wheelchair-use.[16]
Since muscle tone varies from client to client, professional judgment is required in prescribing dynamic seating for children and adults with disabilities. In some cases, spasticity may be used by the individual for postural stabilizing. In such a case, extensor tone is incorporated into functional movement, and steps taken to reduce tone can result in reduced function. Utilizing wheelchairs or adaptive seating where the dynamic movement option can be locked out, gives the user or caregiver the option of choosing when to utilize the dynamic movement that is built into the seating system. While for some individuals, stability of the seating surfaces may be necessary for certain functions (such as while using a communication device or for self-feeding) it is becoming increasingly recognized in the field that movement while seated during other hours of the day is of value and benefit for health and function. An active seating system is dynamic, to enable the child to be properly positioned during and after moving while seated, promoting their overall function — and also dynamic enough to help prevent painful and damaging shear and the prolonged adverse pressure of immobility.
Hypotonia is low muscle tone, resulting in an inability to sustain controlled movement of the body against gravity, and can often manifest as poor trunk control. However, the appropriate use of positioning devices and physical therapy can help via motor learning to establish improved strength, postural stability and movement control. Early intervention can potentially have an impact in overcoming issues of hypotonia, for children who are identified and diagnosed early. Adaptive seating that enables active sitting may improve postural control, through practicing active trunk muscle use in relation to gravity. Says Cathy Mulholland, OTR/L, "Children who are non-ambulatory and who have not had the opportunity to develop anti-gravity postural musculature to maintain their body in a variety of postures, consistently have poor to fair muscle strength. It is not reasonable to expect the child to strengthen if they do not have the ability to move."[17]
Related Research Articles
The leg is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or buttock region. The major bones of the leg are the femur, tibia, and adjacent fibula.
Sitting is a basic action and resting position in which the body weight is supported primarily by the bony ischial tuberosities with the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as a chair seat, instead of by the lower limbs as in standing, squatting or kneeling. When sitting, the torso is more or less upright, although sometimes it can lean against other objects for a more relaxed posture.
Hypotonia is a state of low muscle tone, often involving reduced muscle strength. Hypotonia is not a specific medical disorder, but a potential manifestation of many different diseases and disorders that affect motor nerve control by the brain or muscle strength. Hypotonia is a lack of resistance to passive movement, whereas muscle weakness results in impaired active movement. Central hypotonia originates from the central nervous system, while peripheral hypotonia is related to problems within the spinal cord, peripheral nerves and/or skeletal muscles. Severe hypotonia in infancy is commonly known as floppy baby syndrome. Recognizing hypotonia, even in early infancy, is usually relatively straightforward, but diagnosing the underlying cause can be difficult and often unsuccessful. The long-term effects of hypotonia on a child's development and later life depend primarily on the severity of the muscle weakness and the nature of the cause. Some disorders have a specific treatment but the principal treatment for most hypotonia of idiopathic or neurologic cause is physical therapy and/or occupational therapy for remediation.
In physiology, medicine, and anatomy, muscle tone is the continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles, or the muscle's resistance to passive stretch during resting state. It helps to maintain posture and declines during REM sleep. Muscle tone is regulated by the activity of the motor neurons and can be affected by various factors, including age, disease, and nerve damage.
A kneeling chair is a type of chair for sitting in a position with the thighs dropped to an angle of about 60° to 70° from vertical, with some of the body's weight supported by the shins.
Hypertonia is a term sometimes used synonymously with spasticity and rigidity in the literature surrounding damage to the central nervous system, namely upper motor neuron lesions. Impaired ability of damaged motor neurons to regulate descending pathways gives rise to disordered spinal reflexes, increased excitability of muscle spindles, and decreased synaptic inhibition. These consequences result in abnormally increased muscle tone of symptomatic muscles. Some authors suggest that the current definition for spasticity, the velocity-dependent over-activity of the stretch reflex, is not sufficient as it fails to take into account patients exhibiting increased muscle tone in the absence of stretch reflex over-activity. They instead suggest that "reversible hypertonia" is more appropriate and represents a treatable condition that is responsive to various therapy modalities like drug or physical therapy.
A standing frame is assistive technology that can be used by a person who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. A standing frame provides alternative positioning to sitting in a wheelchair by supporting the person in the standing position.
The vestibulospinal tract is a neural tract in the central nervous system. Specifically, it is a component of the extrapyramidal system and is classified as a component of the medial pathway. Like other descending motor pathways, the vestibulospinal fibers of the tract relay information from nuclei to motor neurons. The vestibular nuclei receive information through the vestibulocochlear nerve about changes in the orientation of the head. The nuclei relay motor commands through the vestibulospinal tract. The function of these motor commands is to alter muscle tone, extend, and change the position of the limbs and head with the goal of supporting posture and maintaining balance of the body and head.
Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the sagittal plane, which bisects the body into right and left sides. The sway of quiet standing is often likened to the motion of an inverted pendulum.
The complications of prolonged standing are conditions that may arise after standing, walking, or running for prolonged periods. Many of the complications come from prolonged standing that is repeated several times a week. Many jobs require prolonged standing, such as "retail staff, baristas, bartenders, assembly line workers, security staff, engineers, catering staff, library assistants, hair stylists and laboratory technicians". The basic physiological change that occurs in the body during prolonged standing or sudden stand from supine position is that there will be increased pooling of blood in the legs. This decreases the venous return, and so there will be decreased cardiac output, which ultimately causes systolic blood pressure to fall (hypotension). This hypotension may lead the subject to faint or to have other symptoms of hypotension. Standing requires about 10% more energy than sitting.
Musculoskeletal injury refers to damage of muscular or skeletal systems, which is usually due to a strenuous activity and includes damage to skeletal muscles, bones, tendons, joints, ligaments, and other affected soft tissues. In one study, roughly 25% of approximately 6300 adults received a musculoskeletal injury of some sort within 12 months—of which 83% were activity-related. Musculoskeletal injury spans into a large variety of medical specialties including orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, emergency medicine and rheumatology.
A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using 2 or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditions. Wheelchairs provide mobility, postural support, and freedom to those who cannot walk or have difficulty walking, enabling them to move around, participate in everyday activities, and live life on their own terms. []
Computer-aided ergonomics is an engineering discipline using computers to solve complex ergonomic problems involving interaction between the human body and its environment. The human body holds a great complexity thus it can be beneficial to use computers to solve problems involving the human body and the environment that surrounds it.
Orthotics is a medical specialty that focuses on the design and application of orthoses, sometimes known as braces or calipers. An orthosis is "an externally applied device used to influence the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems." Orthotists are professionals who specialize in designing these braces.
Spinal locomotion results from intricate dynamic interactions between a central program in lower thoracolumbar spine and proprioceptive feedback from body in the absence of central control by brain as in complete spinal cord injury (SCI). Following SCI, the spinal circuitry below the lesion site does not become silent; rather, it continues to maintain active and functional neuronal properties, although in a modified manner.
Ergonomic hazards are physical conditions that may pose a risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system due to poor ergonomics. These hazards include awkward or static postures, high forces, repetitive motion, or short intervals between activities. The risk of injury is often magnified when multiple factors are present.
The management of scoliosis is complex and is determined primarily by the type of scoliosis encountered: syndromic, congenital, neuromuscular, or idiopathic. Treatment options for idiopathic scoliosis are determined in part by the severity of the curvature and skeletal maturity, which together help predict the likelihood of progression. Non-surgical treatment should be pro-active with intervention performed early as "Best results were obtained in 10-25 degrees scoliosis which is a good indication to start therapy before more structural changes within the spine establish." Treatment options have historically been categorized under the following types:
Observation
Bracing
Specialized physical therapy
Surgery
Forward head posture (FHP) is an excessively kyphotic (hunched) thoracic spine. It is clinically recognized as a form of repetitive strain injury. The posture can occur in dentists, surgeons, and hairdressers, or people who spend time on electronic devices. It is one of the most common postural issues. There is a correlation between forward head posture and neck pain in adults, but not adolescents.
Rounded shoulder posture (RSP), also known as “mom posture”, is a common postural problem in which the resting position of the shoulders leans forward from the body’s ideal alignment. Patients usually feel slouched and hunched, with the situation deteriorating if left untreated. A 1992 study concluded that 73% of workers aged 20 to 50 years have a right rounded shoulder, and 66% of them have a left rounded shoulder. It is commonly believed that digitalisation combined with the improper use of digital devices have resulted in the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles, which contribute to bad posture. Symptoms of RSP will lead to upper back stiffness, neck stiffness and shoulder stiffness. It can be diagnosed by several tests, including physical tests and imaging tests. To prevent RSP from worsening, maintaining a proper posture, doing regular exercise, and undergoing therapeutic treatments could be effective. If the situation worsens, patients should seek help from medical practitioners for treatments. If RSP is left untreated, chronic pain, reduction in lung capacity and worsened psychosocial health are likely to be resulted.
1 2 Beach, T; Parkinson, R; Stothart, J; Callaghan, J (2005). "Effects of prolonged sitting on the passive flexion stiffness of the in vivo lumbar spine". The Spine Journal. 5 (2): 145–54. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2004.07.036. PMID15749614.
↑ Hoy, D.G.; Protani, M.; De, R.; Buchbinder, R. (2010). "The epidemiology of neck pain". Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology. 24 (6): 783–92. doi:10.1016/j.berh.2011.01.019. PMID21665126.
↑ Hoyle, Jeffrey A.; Marras, William S.; Sheedy, James E.; Hart, Dennis E. (2011). "Effects of postural and visual stressors on myofascial trigger point development and motor unit rotation during computer work". Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. 21 (1): 41–8. doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2010.04.006. PMID20580571.
↑ Edmondston, Stephen J.; Sharp, Michael; Symes, Andrew; Alhabib, Nawaf; Allison, Garry T. (2011). "Changes in mechanical load and extensor muscle activity in the cervico-thoracic spine induced by sitting posture modification". Ergonomics. 54 (2): 179–86. doi:10.1080/00140139.2010.544765. PMID21294015. S2CID900895.
↑ Van Deursen, D; Goossens, RH; Evers, JJ; Van Der Helm, FC; Van Deursen, LL (2000). "Length of the spine while sitting on a new concept for an office chair". Applied Ergonomics. 31 (1): 95–8. doi:10.1016/S0003-6870(99)00030-7. PMID10709755.
↑ Dean, C (1999). "Sitting balance I: trunk–arm coordination and the contribution of the lower limbs during self-paced reaching in sitting". Gait & Posture. 10 (2): 135–46. doi:10.1016/S0966-6362(99)00026-0. PMID10502647.
↑ Cimolin, Veronica; Piccinini, Luigi; Avellis, Martino; Cazzaniga, Andrea; Turconi, Anna Carla; Crivellini, Marcello; Galli, Manuela (2009). "3D-Quantitative evaluation of a rigid seating system and dynamic seating system using 3D movement analysis in individuals with dystonic tetraparesis". Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. 4 (6): 422–8. doi:10.3109/17483100903254553. PMID19817656. S2CID31113547.
↑ Cherng, Rong-Ju; Lin, Hui-Chen; Ju, Yun-Huei; Ho, Chin-Shan (2009). "Effect of seat surface inclination on postural stability and forward reaching efficiency in children with spastic cerebral palsy". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 30 (6): 1420–7. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.07.002. PMID19647395.
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