Stand up for comfort:

Stand up for comfort:
A case for sit-stand workstations
Lowanna Mobley| Senior Humanscale Rep | Wisconsin
Learning Objectives
• Dispel commonly held misconceptions about healthy working postures
• Elevate your awareness of the health implications associated with
prolonged sitting and standing
• Provide you with the knowledge to evaluate and implement heightadjustable tables
Opening Remarks
• There is overwhelming evidence that there are a variety of health
implications associated with both prolonged sitting and prolonged standing
• Integrating 2 hours of standing work (15 minutes per hour) into an 8-hour
work day appears to be linked to improvements in weight control,
cardiovascular health and worker performance
• Given that frequent workstation adjustments are required to realize these
health benefits, the ease and speed with which adjustments can be made
are critical design considerations
Evolution of the Workplace
•
•
•
70% of the US workforce sits in an office
The typical American spends 95% of the workday sitting
Prolonged sitting is linked to a variety of musculoskeletal concerns:
– Low back pain
– Weight gain
– Increased risk of cardiovascular disease
– Increased risk of circulatory problems
Linak US Inc. Made to Move. Louisville, KY.
Evolution of the Workplace
•
•
More than 50% of newly hired
computer users reported repetitive
strain symptoms during their first year
on their new job
Low back pain is second only to upper
respiratory infections as a cause for
absence from work
Gerr et al. “A prospective study of computer users: I. Study
Design and Incidence of Musculoskeletal Symptoms and
Disorders,” AJIM April 2002, 41(4); 221-35
Andersson GBJ: Epidemiologic features of chronic lowback pain. Lancet 1999;354:581-585.
Health Implications of Prolonged
Sitting
Implications for:
• Greater risk of experiencing
discomfort and pain
• Muscle fatigue
• Reduced blood flow
• Increased intradiscal pressure
• Lowered metabolism
Impact on Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis
(NEAT)
• The energy expended for everything we do, such as
folding laundry and making photocopies
• Prolonged sitting limits our ability to burn
the minimum number of calories required to
maintain weight
Health Implications of Prolonged
Sitting
•
•
Elevates spinal disc pressure and can contribute to
premature spinal disc degeneration
Increases muscle loading in the neck and shoulders
Health Implications of Prolonged
Sitting
Lowers demands of the circulatory system,
resulting in slower heart activity and blood
flow, which accelerates fatigue
Health Implications of Prolonged
Sitting
Sitting for an extended period of time results in:
• 90% inhibition of LPL enzymes after 60 minutes of sitting that are
responsible for burning fat
• Weight retention, lowered metabolism, and lower levels of “good”
cholesterol (HDL)
• Leads to a reduction in N.E.A.T. (non-exercise activity thermogenesis),
the single most important factor of obtaining and maintaining a healthy
body weight.
Levine, James, and Selene Yeager. 2010. Move a little, lose a lot. Waterville, Me: Thorndike Press.
Health Implications of
Prolonged Standing
•
Prolonged standing is more tiring and
requires 20% more energy to sustain
than sitting
http://www.spineuniverse.com
Health Implications of
Prolonged Standing
•
•
Linked to foot pain, varicose veins,
and static muscle fatigue
Causes joints in the spine, hips,
knees, and feet to become
temporarily immobilized, which can
cause damage to tendons and
ligaments
Linak US Inc. Made to Move. Louisville, KY.
Movement is Key
•
•
There is increasing evidence that varying posture throughout the
day has significant health benefits
Movement throughout the day and added N.E.A.T. activity allows
the body to activate enzymes and speed metabolism in ways that
intense exercise cannot
Health Benefits of Movement
A 2009 Mayo Clinic study found:
• It was possible to burn an additional 340 calories per day by
spending two hours standing instead of sitting
• The same study found that physically active work protects against
heart disease.
• Those who sat for prolonged periods suffered three times the rate of
heart disease and more than twice the rate of death after a heart
attack than those who were active during work
Levine, James, and Selene Yeager. 2010. Move a little, lose a lot. Waterville, Me: Thorndike Press.
Standing & Worker Performance
•
In a university research
study, participants who did
not alter their postures took
an average of 47% more
work breaks, with the
average duration of their
work breaks being 56%
longer.
Dainoff, M. “The Effect of Ergonomic Worktools on Productivity In Today’s Automated Workstation Design”; Center for
Ergonomic Research, Miami University: Oxford, Ohio
.
Treadmill Workstations:
Are they a viable solution?
Treadmill workstations
• A 2011 Mayo Clinic study of 11 medical
transcriptionists found that typing speed
and accuracy slowed by 16% while
walking, compared with sitting
• A 2009 study from the University of
Tennessee found that treadmill walking
resulted in an up to 11% deterioration in
fine motor skills like mouse clicking, and
dragging and dropping, as well in as
cognitive functions like math-problem
solving.
Thompson, Warren G., and James A. Levine. 2011. "Productivity of transcriptionists using a treadmill desk". Work. 40 (4): 473-477
John, D., D. Bassett, D. Thompson, J. Fairbrother, and D. Baldwin. "Effect of Using a Treadmill Workstation on Performance of
Simulated Office Work Tasks." Journal of Physical Activity & Health 6.5 (2009): 617-24.
Exercise Balls:
Are they a viable solution?
Exercise Balls
• A 2009 British study concluded that
the posture of employees who sat
on a stability ball was just as poor as
those who sat in a chair.
• A study published in Applied
Ergonomics found that, compared
with chairs with armrests, the balls
produced 33% more "trunk motion"
in its subjects, but they also
produced more compression of the
vertebrae.
Robinson J., et al. “A Comparative Study of the Stability Ball vs. the Desk Chair in Healthy Young Adults: Sagittal Curvature,
Sitting Duration and Usability.” Web.
Kingma, I and van Dieen, J (2009) Applied Ergo 40: 199-205
Sit-Stand Workstations
• Allow for greatest amount of postural variation
• Shown to significantly reduce discomfort and health risks
Sit-Stand Workstation
Technologies
Crank-adjust
• Average time to adjust: 2-3 minutes
• Energy requirements: None
• Ease of adjustment: Slow to adjust and require considerable manual
effort, resulting in infrequent adjustment and poor compliance
Sit-Stand Workstation
Technologies
Electric
• Average time to adjust: 15-30 seconds
• Energy requirements: High
• Ease of adjustment: An improvement in speed over crank adjustable
tables but still slow and, as mechanical, requires an interferencesensing mechanism for emergency stops
Sit-Stand Workstation
Technologies
Counterbalanced
• Average time to adjust: 2-3 seconds
• Energy requirements: None
• Ease of adjustment: Adjustments happen quickly and with less effort,
resulting in more frequent adjustments and greater health benefits
HAT Applications
• Dedicated workstations
• Shared Workstations
• Collaborative Workstations
Design for Flexibility
• 20% of workers report they share a desk with others
• 40% of employees change workstations 1-3 times per year
• Adjustable height workstations can quickly accommodate a wide
range of user heights
Grossman, Michael. "Study Says Computer Workers at Risk for Stress Injuries." EHS Today (2000)
HAT Research Findings
A 2011 Study by the CDC found that implementing dedicated height-adjustable
workstations and encouraging employees to stand for just an hour more per
day resulted in:
• 54% reduction in upper back and neck pain
• 86% increase in overall comfort
• 71% increase in focus
Pronk NP, Katz AS, Lowry M, Payfer JR. Reducing Occupational Sitting Time and Improving Worker Health: The Take-a-Stand
Project, 2011. Prev Chronic Dis 2012;9:110323
The Importance of Training
Providing hands-on training to employees helps:
• Improves acceptance rates of height-adjustable tables
• Imparts understanding of the benefits of alternating postures during the
workday
• Guides employees through the process of making adjustments to their
equipment that will fit their body and their work style
Workplace Ergonomics
•
•
•
Successful ergonomics programs combine employee training with
improved workstation design
Changes in technology will always outpace facility design. Flexible
work environments that offer a range of adjustability will adapt best to
technology changes
Ease of use and intuitiveness are critical relative to the success of
height adjustable table implementation.
Summary
Sit-Stand Workstations:
•
•
•
Increase worker comfort and work
performance
Provide enhanced workstation
adjustability
Accommodate for wide
range of user heights
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