Summary
More movement in sedentary workspaces
A study on the impact of Trimension
3D kinematics on dorsal muscles, the range of motion and physiological stimulation
Summary
More movement in sedentary workspaces
A study on the impact of Trimension
3D kinematics on dorsal muscles, the range of motion and physiological stimulation
1
Forward
Some 80-90% of all gainfully employed people in Germany primarily work in sedentary jobs.
As travelling to workplaces is usually done sitting down (in buses, trains or cars) and people like to sit down in their spare time as well, they don't move enough. The minimum recommended level of physical activity (World Health Organization, 2010) is no longer being achieved and impairing health. The negative consequences of physical inactivity are wide ranging and have an impact on the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system.
In addition to active structures, passive ones can also degenerate due to constant static pressure and lead to restrictions that can affect the range of motion from a purely functional point of view. These can also be responsible for pain and musculoskeletal problems occurring.
Backache is one of the most commonly cited outcomes. The degeneration of torso muscles is quoted as a possible cause of back pain due to sitting for long periods of time (Mörl and Bradl
2013).
The current German healthcare insurance company DAK's 2018 Health Report emphasises this problem: the most frequent cause of days lost to sickness in the workplace are still musculoskeletal complaints. We could expect these developments to be slowing down because our bodies are seemingly having to work less hard due to automation, digitalisation and ergonomic progress. In fact, the opposite is true. No improvement has been made despite all the effort made and the company health management programmes offered. Back exercise courses, movement trackers, fitness programmes and similar measures are clearly falling short and not reaching the very people who need them the most.
Long periods of physical inactivity need to be interrupted to give the body enough stimuli and keep it in healthy working order. The workplace is an ideal starting point for adding more movement to day-to-day life because gainfully employed people spend half the day there,
allowing a large number of physically inactive people to be reached (Conn et al. 2009).
It's all about making sitting per se more active and supporting people in their natural range of motion while they're sitting. Nowadays, we know that adequate movement's responsible for nearly all areas of health and well-being: good mental health, the ability to combat stress,
