Excellence in Ergonomics & Injury Prevention

The Future of Sit Stand Rick Spencer - Briotix

AGENDA• The Problem• The Megatrends• The Research• The Solutions• Q&A

The Challenge of Containing the Risks and Costs

of the Seated Worker

https://youtu.be/uiKg6JfS658

Chair Tethered Society

ABC’s of Excessive Sitting

A – ArthritisB – Back pain, Blood pressureC – Cancer, Cholesterol problemD – Diabetes, DementiaE – EmphysemaF – Fat gainG – Gestational diabetesH – Heart Attack, Heart DiseaseI – Immobility, Isolation, InfertilityJ – Joint painK – Kidney problems, KyphosisL – Loneliness, Leg swellingM – Moodiness, Muscle pain

N – Nutricide, Nerve entrapmentO – Obesity, OsteoporosisP – Poor productivityQ – Quality of life decreaseR – Relationship problemsS – Stigmatization, Swollen ankles,

Sexual dysfunction, Sleep apneaT – Tendonitis, Trapped feelingU – Underachiever, UnhappinessV – Varicose veinsW – Wasted opportunitiesY – Yearning for something betterZ – Zestless living

Reference: Levine, J. A. (2014). Get Up, Why Your Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About It. New York, NY. Palgrave Macmillan

Like REM… Should we STAND?

Employers and Employees• Employees want standing solutions• Employers are uncertain

Furniture Manufacturers• Increasing options• Ubiquitous marketing• Stubborn price point

Reference: http://workriteergo.com/fundamentals-ex-electric/

The Research What do we actually know?

How This All Started• 1953 London Bus Study – higher mortality in drivers than conductors.

• Health researchers have been making the correlations between increased risk of adverse health outcomes & sedentary living for 20+ years. Historically, however, this has focused on the implications for exercise, nutrition, etc.

• The research on Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) began to ‘heat’ up in the early 2000’s.

• Concurrently, epidemiological studies that looked at population wide effects of sedentary life began to be published at an increasing rate.

• Correlations have been increasingly drawn in the media over the last 5-10 years.

It’s all about the METs

Metabolic equivalent (MET) – measures the intensity of activity in terms of energy expenditure.

MET Measures Per Activity:

• Laying Down / Reclining / Sleeping = .9 METs• Quiet Sitting / TV Watching = 1 MET• Quiet Standing = 1.2 METs• Talking / Eating While Sitting = 1.5 METs• Working at a Desk While Sitting = 1.5 METs• Working at a Desk While Standing = <2.0 METs• Walking 3.0 MPH = 3.0 METs

Activity 1.5 METs or less is typically classed as SEDENTARY

It’s all about the METs

SUMMING IT UP• Sitting at a workstation all day is a sedentary activity.• Standing can barely be considered light activity.• Sedentary activities are bad for you.• Use caution with product benefit claims.

Can more standing help?

• Standing burns approximately 20% more calories than sitting. This works out to be approximately 10 more calories an hour!

• Standing boosts the production of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (which turns bad cholesterol into good) and reduces glucose resistance.

• Standing has been shown to be helpful in addressing abdominal fat storage.

• Standing is an alternative to sitting which can be used to vary posture throughout the day.

BUT…

Prolonged Standing is BAD

People working in a fixed standing posture are at a significantly greater risk of cardiovascular disease, blood clots, varicose veins, leg cramps, leg swelling, pregnancy complications and birth defects than those working in a fixed sitting posture.

Stationary standing is correlated with extremely high incidence of low back pain, even in participants who had no prior history of low back discomfort.

The ROI of Standing…

• Positive ROI for Sit/Stand workstations in facilities with high churn (moves) – Briotix ROI calculator

• 21-42% increase in walking – reference below

• Lack of longitudinal studies (Bibbs et al.,2014) and determining if effects are short term and can be translated into long term health benefits (Garrett et al.,2016)

What do we know about sit-stand desks?

• The research is uncertain (long term benefits?).

• The rate of adoption post implementation declines rapidly after 1 month.

• Self reported comfort measures and symptoms sometimes improve but there is a lack of high quality analysis and statistically significant findings.

• The studies that have shown positive results have specifically identified that the equipment must be provided along with specific training on use, a supportive management climate, and a participatory organizational culture –which have been shown to improve movement rates without height adjustable equipment.

What about low cost solutions?

In summary…

• People are not designed to sit all day

• People are not designed to stand all day

• Sit stand workstations haven’t yet proven long term changes to movement behavior

• Standing simply substitutes another risky posture into the mix

• To achieve better health we need to MOVE MORE

So what’s the answer?There are really two goals or outcomes we can aim at…

1. How do we PREVENT further DECLINE in health & TREAT chronic conditions (e.g. return to population baseline)?

1. How do we IMPROVE the health and wellness of a sedentary population?

PREVENTION• Simply stand up once every 15 minutes.

• The simple activity of standing up 30 to 35 times a day (which is akin to a squat) is enough to maintain your health and prevent a decline from sedentary life. (NASA, Vernikos)

Software?

Win your day.Put ergonomics to work for you.

#ErgoZombies

https://youtu.be/kN2t6GapT8g

IoT and AI?

Engineering Movement into Space Design?

https://youtu.be/fpKL_6JkDyk