Postural strategies among office workers during a prolonged sitting bout

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Ergonomics
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Sedentary behavior, particularly prolonged sitting at work, is linked to cardiometabolic diseases and musculoskeletal discomfort.
• Office workers spend extensive hours sitting, necessitating strategies to mitigate negative health effects.
• Few studies have characterized in-chair movement patterns during actual work tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize movement patterns during prolonged sitting in office workers.
• To determine the association between sitting movement patterns and musculoskeletal pain.
• To compare movement and discomfort between workers who intermittently stand and those who sit continuously.

Main Methods:

• A field study involving 28 office workers over a 2-hour computer work bout.
• Used a pressure-sensitive mat to quantify seat pan pressure and trunk sway parameters.
• Stratified participants into 'breakers' (stood at least once) and 'prolongers' (remained seated).

Main Results:

• A decreasing trend in trunk sway parameters and in-chair movements was observed over time (p < 0.05).
• Significant differences in trunk sway and perceived musculoskeletal discomfort existed between breakers and prolongers (p < 0.05).
• Breakers exhibited more consistent sitting movements and reported lower discomfort levels.

Conclusions:

• Interrupting prolonged sitting with short standing breaks can maintain sitting movement patterns.
• Periodic standing may reduce the development of musculoskeletal discomfort in office workers.
• Trunk sway monitoring and promoting standing breaks are potential tools for mitigating sitting-related discomfort.