The biomechanical benefits of active sitting.

This cross-sectional study examined the biomechanical effects of two active chairs (AC1: had the feature to pedal and slide forward on the seat pan; AC2: a multiaxial motion seat pan) compared to a traditional office chair and standing workstation. Twenty-four healthy participants worked at each of the workstations for 60-min. The following equipment was used: Motion Capture, Electromyography, Ratings of Perceived Discomfort Questionnaire, and Exit Survey. The active protocol had positive effects on the body, including increased neuromuscular activity in the gastrocnemius, increased overall movement, and a more open trunk-thigh angle. Greater discomfort in the buttocks due to the lack of seat pan contour was reported for the AC1 which identified a need for a design modification. While standing, participants' shoulders were less flexed than when sitting in any of the three seats, however, greater discomfort was reported in the lower legs after 1 h of computer work. Practitioner summary: A comparison of four different workstations was conducted to further understand the use of active workstations. Active sitting was found to have positive effects on the body, such as allowing sitters to increase movement while sitting without the high activation of muscular activity. Standing can also provide a positive break from sitting.

Does active sitting provide more physiological changes than traditional sitting and standing workstations?

This cross-sectional study examined the physiological effects of two active chairs (AC1: had the feature to pedal and slide forward; AC2: was a multiaxial chair) compared to a traditional office chair and standing workstation. Twenty-four healthy participants computed at each of the workstations for 60 min. The active protocol was to alternate between a pedalling/side-to-side motion and sliding forward/front-to-back motion to the sound of a metronome operating at 40 bpm. The participants' physiological effects were recorded using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); electrodermal activity (EDA) and a heart rate (HR) monitor for each collection period. Statistical analysis was conducted using a repeated measures analysis of variance for within-task and between-workstation comparisons. A Tukey's post hoc analysis was calculated for significant findings. Both active chairs significantly increased oxygenated blood in the gastrocnemius and participants' heart rate and EDA (stress) levels were affected slightly by task and time. However, participants felt more "productive" sitting in the control chair than in either of the active chairs.