Follows successful debut in Europe; reengineers traditional static office and home seating
August 18, 2014 — The Back App Ergonomic Chair is now available in the U.S. Designed by a Norwegian scientist and clinically proven to relieve lower back pain caused by sitting, this product reengineers traditional, static seating for the home and office.
“Americans know being active is good and sitting is bad,” Todd Comer, DC, said. “But, the reality is they still find themselves sitting for hours in chairs not designed for the rigorous, multi-tasking pace of daily life and unfortunately, no workout regime, gadget, phone app or mental reminder will correct the damage being done by hours of static sitting. The Back App chair reengineers the chair for a more active sitting experience.”
The demands of the modern workplace result in more time spent sitting. The traditionally designed chair — no matter how ergonomic — forces the individual into a passive sitting position, requiring the individual to remember to sit up and retain an anatomically correct position. With the posture straight, lap at a 90-degree angle and the chin pulled in, an individual quickly tires due to the static use of muscles and the back posture collapses into a c-shape position. This posture then puts unhealthy pressure on the discs of the spine, incapacitating muscles throughout the body and tilting the neck backwards.
“The Back App redesigns the chair from passive to more active sitting. Everything as been reengineered — from the saddle seat to the chair’s height — to create a more natural, anatomically correct sitting posture,” said Kieran O’ Sullivan, PhD and lecturer at the University of Limerick, whose research interests include chronic spinal pain, occupational rehabilitation, and lower limb musculoskeletal injuries. “As a result, muscles are activated and strengthened, joints naturally move, and you use 30-50 percent less muscle activity to stay in the correct position, making it easier to sit in an upright relaxed posture which is potentially important in the management of low back pain.”
In addition to providing a more ergonomic chair for sitting, individuals also can use the chair to conduct a repetition of daily exercises to strengthen the muscles around the side. These simple exercises can be done while on conference calls, sitting, and as often as desired.
“The ball under the saddle seat encourages movement, which keeps the muscles surrounding the spine active,” Sean Mandel, DC, said. “While these muscles certainly benefit from traditional workout regimes, they benefit from movement stimulating strength.”
The Back App has been well received by independent back experts and users because of its abilities to strengthen the back muscles. On March 15, 2007, Back App was awarded the Award for Design Excellence by the Norwegian Design Council, in the furniture design category.
The Back App is available starting at $695 and can be purchased at www.backapp.com.
Source: Engaged Communication for Back App