How do you think you can save yourself from bad posture and back pain most office employees suffer? And, do you know that back pain can become chronic and recurring? Know how to save yourself by understanding the causes of back pain and the measures you can take to ensure you will not fall prey to unscheduled absenteeism that can have negative effect on the economy.

Statistics show that absenteeism cost employers as much as $688.00 per employee per year. While data from the American Institute of Stress estimated 1,000,000 workers are absent on an average day due to stress. 2% of which are cases of absenteeism due to work related back pain. This cost the United States 31.3 Billion Dollars due to decreased productivity and lost workdays per year.

Causes of Back Pain

Modern office workplace entails workers to sit on their desks for long hours. The advent of computers, video conferencing and tons of paperwork done on the computer sent office workers to their chairs all day long. Their chairs should be designed for comfort. To add to the feeling of comfort and to avoid absenteeism due to back pain, your chair needs to have an office chair back support.

An office chair back support helps to prevent and relieve back pain. It supports the natural contours of the back and promotes posture and correct spinal alignment.

Office chair back support is needed because sitting for long hours increase stress on the soft tissue, joints and discs which cause the lumbar spine to take all the pressure and thus becomes weak. Without an office chair back support user tend to hunch over and slouch in their chairs, which result in poor posture and back pains. At worst, musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) may develop. This is the major cause of unscheduled absences in the United States.

Office chair back support is needed and office chair manufacturers have designed chairs with office chair back support in compliance with the ergonomic requirements of the government.

The need for office chair back support is greater for employees with dedicated functions. Employers have invested heavily on this modern development to ensure productive employees that are seated on comfortable office chairs with office chair back support.

Natural Sitting Positions To Help Avoid Back Pain

Sit upright - torso and neck should be approximately vertical and in line, the thighs should be horizontal and lower legs should be vertical. Keep your back flat on the office chair back support; it will keep the natural “S” shape of your spine.

Declined sitting - thighs are inclined and buttocks higher than the knee. Angle between thigh and torso is greater than 90 degrees. Torso is vertical or slightly reclined and legs are vertical.

Reclined sitting - torso and neck are straight and reclined between 105 and 120 degrees from the thighs.

Keeping your posture entails continued conscious effort to avoid slouching; your office chair back support will help you in this effort. Additionally, you need to ensure that you move away from your chair even with office chair back support once every hour.
Do stretch your fingers, arms and torso from time to time.

These conscious efforts will help you avoid back pains. Thus, will ensure you will not have to absent from work due to work related back pains.

Copyright 2005 Nora P. Dyson, office-chair-reviews.com