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Active Seat |
Neck Pain Relief  Active Seat |
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Active Seat - Therapy While You Sit™ an inflatable seat cushion for back pain relief.Sitting for extended periods of time and in poor posture is associated with lower back pain and discomfort. With more and more hours being spent in the sitting position, not only at work, but in leisure time, there is an increasing need to provide motion to avoid the ill effects on the spine, ligaments and muscles. The Active Seat encourages the user to take an active role in sitting. For use as a seat cushion, back support and foot rest; the Active Seat maintains a level of instability that you can control by how much it is inflated. Lightweight and easy to use, the Active Seat is great to use at home, work or on the road. I particularly like the seat cushion and back support used together. Only a slight amount of inflation is needed for the seat cushion use (about one quater) and more for the back support (about one half ). Together, they encourage good posture, which is important for the neck also, and keeps a low level of activity in the muscles. This encourages better muscle tone and helps increase blood flow. It is also essential for proper disc nutrition which is lacking in degenerative disc disease. The Active Seat is not for recent injuries in the acute or inflammatory stage, but can help rehabilitate muscles that have become weakened. The Active Seat can also be used as a foot rest where you can push the toes down and then the heels down which increases blood flow to the lower extremities and may be helpful to reduce swelling. Using the Active Seat, especially in combination, can really change your sitting experience for the better.
The Active Seat is durable and rated at 300 pounds. It comes complete with an inflatable seat cushion and a comfortable cover which the cushion fits into and closes with Velcro. People are gradually being forced to spend longer periods of their life sitting down. As the trend moves towards traveling longer distances to work, people will spend an increased amount of time sitting in cars, trains or planes. At work, with the advent of the electronic office, people are working longer hours and performing many tasks sitting in their seats without getting up and doing other activities. Office work has become so dependent on computers that soon no one will be working without a computer on their desk. This also means that more and more people will be spending a longer time in front of computer screens and adopting fairly static postures over extended periods.
The sitting position automatically causes the back to assume a poor posture (kyphosed or straightening of the normal curve) and places strain on the bones, joints, discs, muscles, ligaments and tendons. The spine consists of bones called vertebrae, but the flexibility and movement within the spine is due to the discs between each vertebra. If the back is subjected to long term abuse in terms of bad sitting postures adopted, the looses the natural shape and flexibility. The vertebrae become compressed and this can cause the disc to bulge and press against the spinal cord or nerves and that gives the feeling of pain in the back. Static work over long periods is damaging to the metabolism of the muscles. They do not get a sufficient supply of energy and cannot get rid of waste products. Muscles need oxygen and to get rid of their metabolic waste products. Dynamic work is healthier, because the muscles have the opportunity to alternate between action and relaxation. Sitting and adopting unhealthy static postures without short frequent breaks, become at risk for back problems in the future. The question is not how good or ergonomic the seat is, but whether the users adopt bad static postures over extended periods or frequently changing dynamic postures. Of course a seat designed with sound ergonomics principles can reduce the ill effects of static postures, but it cannot eliminate them totally. The Active Seat helps promote activity as the response to slight changes in posture allows muscles to alternate between tension and relaxation and allows spinal discs to compress and decompress. This encourages blood flow and hence prevents any build up of pressure on buttocks, legs and back. From the Journal of Biomechanics. 1997 Volume 30, Number 5, pp 465-475. The Biomechanics Of Low Back Injury: Implications On Current Practice In Industry And The Clinic: "In such cases, injury is the result of accumulated trauma produced by either the repeated application of relatively low load or the application of a sustained load for a long duration (as in sitting for example)." "Epidemiological data also links herniation with sedentary occupations and the sitting posture. In fact, Wilder et nl. (1988) documented annular tears in young calf spines from prolonged simulated sitting postures and cyclic compressive loading (e.g. truck driving environment)." The Active Seat measures 16" x 12" and weighs less than one pound.
According to the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2006 Mar-Apr;29(3):213-8. Sitting posture of subjects with postural backache. The authors noted Postural Syndrome is a painful disorder caused by prolonged static loading of normal soft tissues continued until the point when mechanical stress triggers discomfort. They noted that students with back pain tended to sit for longer periods without interruption, and when they were sitting tended to adopt a more flexed (kyphosed) posture. The Active Seat is placed in a comfortable and durable cover which secures with Velcro. When opened, it reveals a bladder that is inflatable to your preference. The bladder can be removed and inflated or deflated to your comfort level and placed back in the cover.
According to SPINE. 2004 Volume 29, Number 23, pp 2643–2653. Static Load Repetition Is a Risk Factor in the Development of Lumbar Cumulative Musculoskeletal Disorder. "The epidemiologic literature points out that occupational activities requiring routine static loading of a joint constitute a risk factor for the development of cumulative trauma disorders. While the loads sustained by the joints in each session of static activity are well within the physiologic range of the tissues, the cumulative effects of each session over the workday, over weeks and years, is thought to exceed the physiologic limits and elicit a disorder characterized by chronic pain, weakness, muscle spasms, and classified as disability." A study published in the European Spine Journal (2007) 16:283–298. Association between sitting and occupational LBP indicated the prevalence rate of reported low back pain in those occupations that require the worker to sit for the majority of a working day is significantly higher than the prevalence rate of the general population. They also noted an association between the presence of sciatica pain and sitting for more than half of working time. Inflation of the Active Seat is by mouth, similar to a beach ball. The valve can be opened, then secured when the desire of inflation is achieved. This provides a quick and easy way to adjust the level of air without pumps.
In the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2008 Mar;18(1):35-45. Kyphosed seated postures: extending concepts of postural health beyond the office. The authors state: "This potential for damage from kyphosed seating design and sustained sitting postures emphasizes (a) the need for recreational furniture design that supports the lumbar lordosis and (b) the role that health professionals have in advising frequent movement and the passive maintenance of lumbar lordosis while sitting both inside and outside the office." and "Therefore, both the lordosed and kyphosed postures of the lumbar spine cause impaction of the zygapophysial joints when disc height is narrowed, as may occur in static sustained sitting or in circumstances of IVD [disc] degeneration. These findings highlight the potential importance of movement or posture change in maintaining spinal postural health." "Finally, it is essential to educate the public regarding the importance of movement during sitting, in particular on long haul flights and road trips. A long period of sustained kyphosed sitting followed by retrieval of heavy luggage using a flexed and rotated spinal maneuver is potentially hazardous to spinal structures." From Clinical Biomechanics (Bristol, Avon). 2009 Feb;24(2):169-75. Back posture and low back muscle activity in female computer workers: a field study. "Sustained stretch of passive lumbar structures in combination with essentially silent muscles may exacerbate low back pain in sedentary workers." In the journal Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation. Volume 36, Number 1 / 2010, an article titled "Effect of different seat support characteristics on the neck and trunk muscles and forward head posture of visual display terminal workers", indicates an unstable seat cushion relaxes neck and trunk muscles and improves posture better than a spongy or soft cushion seat support. The article further states that this type of seat cushion may prevent work-related neck and upper limb disorders associated with forward head posture. When used as a seat, inflation is low. Only a slight amount of air is needed for the seat to become active. When on long trips or throughout the day, you can adjust the inflation higher if you need more activity. When used as a back support or foot cushion/exerciser, more inflation can be used.
The Active Seat can be used virtually anywhere you sit; in offices, classrooms, cars, trucks, airplanes, at home, wheelchairs, scooters, theaters, concerts and stadiums. Active Seat - Therapy While You Sit™.
 Due to the nature of any inflatable item, leaks may occur. If you have a problem with the inner inflatable part beyond the 90 day warranty period, Active Seat Refills are available. If you need assistance or have questions regarding the Active Seat, please feel free to contact Neck Solutions. |
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Babies who are strapped in high chairs, after about ten minutes, become restless, throwing their toys on the floor and reaching out to their parents. Parents may assume that the baby has become bored with the toy and offer another. The reality is that the baby has had enough of sitting down; the baby just wants to move about (change posture).
