If you have to sit all the time, at least sit healthily

Kids across the United States are flooded with upbeat media campaigns such as "Let's Move" from the White House or "Let's Just Play" from Nickelodeon. The mission is to combat childhood obesity and other health issues that stem directly from a lackadaisical indoors lifestyle.

Many American adults, however, earn a living by sitting in an office all day long. Even adults who would prefer to stay active are faced everyday with hours upon hours of unavoidable sitting.

Ohio University ergonomics and fitness experts told The Athens NEWS that while excessive sitting can lead to severe back, weight and cardiovascular problems, Athens' sitting workforce can combat these ill effects with a good dose of healthy sitting.

It starts with the perfect task chair, and that, more times than not, is up to the employer to supply.

"Chairs are a funny animal," said Jeff Campbell, assistant director and occupational safety officer at OU. Campbell said the university implements a Loaners Chair program, giving employees chairs to "test drive" to see what chair fits their specific body type.

"Many years ago the idea was you have a work station; you put the employees into that work station and the employees have to adjust to the work environment," said Campbell. "Now, we're trying to get the work environment to adjust to the employee."

That's the idea behind ergonomics, the study of the relationship between workers and their working environment. For the last 15 years, OU has contracted a professional ergonomics consultant, Marty Dagostino, an OU physiology graduate who is president of Ergonomics Solutions.

The local ergonomics professional has consulted and advised at workplaces across the country, and even for governmental agencies such as the Social Security Administration and IRS.

He said eight out of 10 Americans will "at some point have issues with their back," and believes most of it boils down to how people sit.

"The focus is on the spinal column," said Dagostino. "It's possible that prolonged sitting, sitting in a bad chair, sitting in poor posture could accelerate the degeneration of the disk structures in the back."

Campbell and Dagostino said to keep in mind the 90-degree angle rule when facing a computer monitor. The worker's elbows, the knees, the feet and the waist should all be lined up facing the desk at 90-degree angles. The head and worker's gaze should be positioned slightly above the monitor looking downward at a 15-degree angle.

Even if the rules for healthy sitting are followed, employees need a chair that enables them to follow these rules with ease. A $600 chair that supports the human anatomy, said Dagostino, is worth the investment, taking into account the average cost of treating musculoskeletal disorders (which can include rotator cuff problems, carpal tunnel disorders and back injuries) is calculated at $16,000.

"If you're looking to be successful in a world that's increasingly competitive, the simple thing to do is make sure your workers are working in ways that are healthy, efficient, and are going to hopefully prevent problems," he said.

Dagostino says the best task chair on the market right now is called The Leap manufactured by Steelcase in Grand Rapids, Mich. The chair has adjustable arms, adjustable lumbar (lower-back) support, adjustable seat depth and many other adjustable features. He introduced the chair to the OU HDL Center within the last six months, when an employee's physician recommended that she stand more during the day due to back problems.

"We have gotten them height-adjustable work stations, a push-button control," said Dagostino. "People need to be able to change positions throughout the day."

Although getting a custom-fitted chair is a basic solution to the sitting problem, some OU employees use substitutes for chairs. At Ping Center, Fitness Director Sarah Shore spends a lot of time in her office writing reports and proposals while sitting on a ball.

"I get a stability ball and bring it in here," said Shore. "It's healthy sitting because I'm affecting my posture and engaging my core. It's not necessary a physical activity, but I'm engaged, versus just sitting there and letting my legs hang."

But if you think you can just buy a custom ergonomics chair or a stability ball during the work hours, and you're free of the health risks of excessive sitting, think again. It's not just how we sit.

Dagostino sites a Canadian research team that put out findings that excessive sitting, or in Dagostino's words, "seated metabolic syndrome," can knock off up to five years of someone's life.

"Excessive sitting for a person with back problems means 20 minutes continuously sitting without getting up," said Dagostino. "If you have no problems, you should spend no more than 50 minutes continuously sitting without getting up."

Dagostino said employees should take advantage of their breaks, and make excuses to get up and walk around, even to make copies or chat with a fellow employee. Once this rule is broken, obesity has an opening.

He also said to be careful, especially in manufacturing, when switching from a standing job to a sitting job such as manning a forklift. Within a few weeks, workers start gaining a significant amount of weight because of the sudden drop in a person's metabolic rate.

Campbell suggested ergonomics does not just stop at the workplace.

"How many of us drive to work every day? How many of us go home and sit down and work on a computer? A lot of the same tasks or body parts that are involved with ergonomic potential injury here, you're still using when you go home. It doesn't just shut down."

The solution is being active throughout the day. Shore spoke about doing exercises in intervals in the workplace.

"Respond to 10 emails, do 10 reps of extensions over head. Respond to 10 emails, do some bicep curls. Do some crunches. Take small breaks throughout the day."

Shore also warned that sitting too much when you're younger affects your back and cardiovascular condition as you age. She advises that college students, if they can't make it to the Ping Recreation Center, take advantage of the benefit of living on campus, and walk to and from class and elsewhere in town.

Outside work, Dagostino suggested one ideal exercise.

"I think one of the things they really should consider focusing on is improving the flexibility of their lower extremity and in particular improving hamstring flexibility," he said. "When we sit, the hamstrings tend to shorten, and if they stay shortened, they can play a pretty pronounced role on torquing the lower back and causing lower-back discomfort."

Dagostino said the ideal activity for a perpetual sitter is Yoga. He said sitting puts significant stress on the body, and encourages people to move, take breaks and sit healthy.