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DEL.ICIO.USGood Sitting Posture is Bad for Your Back?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A new study by physicians at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland, was recently published in the journal Radiological Society of North America. The study’s authors suggests the best sitting posture to decrease disk movement (indicating less strain) was at 135 degrees of hip flexion versus the currently recommended erect posture of 90 degrees hip flexion.
See this link to Science Daily to read the full abstract: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061127112844.htm
I have seen this study noted on numerous web sites and news outlets as information that should radically change the way we sit instantly. I would like to caution against this type of reaction to one study that measured only two components of the complex spinal system. What happens to the alignment of the neck when you sit with 135 degrees of hip flexion and have to look at a computer screen to work? In addition, what is happening to the dynamic support system of the spine, your muscles?
While I think this is interesting and useful information that creates the need for further scientific investigation, I do not think it should change the way you sit at your desk or drive your car today. The best piece of information to take into practice in your own life immediately is the quote from Bashir (study author), “We were not created to sit down for long hours, but somehow modern life requires the vast majority of the global population to work in a seated position.”
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