Are exercise balls good to sit on at work?

[qwerty]

Just wondering, everyone should know those exercise balls about 60cm in diametre at the gym. Are these balls good to just sit on while at work, or at the computer. I heard they were, but I wouldnt want to buy one and find out its damaging my back or something. I know they are good to exercise on but not sure about just sitting on for hours at a time. Thanks..

[Glider]

I can't say for certain, but I wouldn't have thought so. For a start, they are not stable, and so Health & Safety are likely to have something to say about it. Even those chairs ergonomically designed to encourage healthy posture have to be stable to be allowed in workplaces. Stability is quite strictly defined by health and safety too. For example, in hospitals in the UK, 4 legged wheely chairs are no longer acceptable. They will tip over on any one of four axes if they are wheeled and hit the edge of a carpet (for example). If a chair has wheels, it has to have 5 legs to be considered stable (very hard to tip over, even if wheeled against an obstruction). This even applies to drip stands!

 

Further, I doubt that sitting on one for hours at a time could be shown to be particularly good for posture (or even comfortable). It's a sphere. There is no inherent lumbar support, no consideration of support for your ischial tuberosities (which might lead to problems with the ligiments that connect them to your sacrum) and finally, there's the question of the effect of it's inherent instability on you. Your constant unconscious motor adjustments to compensate for changes in your centre of gravity as you move your upper body would prove extremely tiring after a few hours.

 

However, if you wanted to sit on one at home, in front of your own computer, I can't see it being a problem for short periods. If you did lose balance and smack the back of your head on the floor, nobody else would be liable . I suspect you'd get tired of it after a while though, especially if you spend many hours at a time in front of the computer.

[qwerty]

well, what i've been reading says that it makes u keep a good posture, while normal chairs let u relax and sit with a bad posture.

 

also, normal chairs are letting you relax, while the ball has no support so you are forced naturally to keep your back straight and keep yourself steady on the ball, which works the small muscles inside your body.. (abs area or back im not too sure) which are not usually exercised. Another website said that usually people 'put their back out' because even fi they do exercise at the gym or what not, they are doing the major muscles, not the minor muscles which this exercise ball would do, by sitting on it infront of the computer lets say.

 

sound wrong or what?

[Phi for All]

I used one for a chair for a little over a year. While the "constant unconscious motor adjustments to compensate for changes in your centre of gravity" Glider mentions were not overly tiring, and in fact strengthened my leg and abdominal muscles somewhat, I found that my concentration suffered. You unconsciously end up forcing yourself to stay as still as possible, since even reaching for your mouse upsets your balance. Even after I got used to the motor adjustments, I found that when I needed to concentrate on what a client was saying on a phone conversation I would stand up or sit on the edge of my desk.

 

I'm back in a chair with lumbar support and I prefer it. If you are up and down a lot (and don't have workplace safety issues, as Glider mentioned) it's not a bad way to go. If you are mostly seated at your desk 8 hours a day I would not recommend it.

[The Spith]

As a rower I use Swiss balls for exercise quite a lot in our squads core stability exercises. Whenever we use them we focus on switching on our abdominal muscles and using them to keep us balanced (the same way we balance boats).

 

Although they perform this function very well I would not advise sitting on them for long periods of time. It takes quite a great deal of concentration to balance yourself on them correctly, and so you'd probably find it hard to both stay balanced and concentrate on your work.

 

If you are serious about using a ball to sit on though I'd reccomend spending some time practicing first an building up your abdominal strength. A simple exercise is to sit on the edge of your chair and try alternately raising each leg just a little bt of the ground without shifting your weight at all.

[Glider]

well' date=' what i've been reading says that it makes u keep a good posture, while normal chairs let u relax and sit with a bad posture.

 

also, normal chairs are letting you relax, while the ball has no support so you are forced naturally to keep your back straight and keep yourself steady on the ball, which works the small muscles inside your body.. (abs area or back im not too sure) which are not usually exercised.[/quote']

It's true that 'normal' chairs let you relax and possibly develop a bad posture (depending on the chair), but removing all support won't necessarily encourage a good posture. It's equally likely that you'll develop a 'compensatory' posture; one that allows you to keep your balance on the ball, but that is not necessarily so good for your back.

 

Also, as I mentioned, the work you do ('the small muscles inside your body') to keep yourself steady, is in addition to the work you are supposed to be doing at the computer. This is what makes it tiring. If you are sitting in a chair at work, you shouldn't have to work just to sit. A chair is supposed to allow you to relax (to a degree).

 

Another website said that usually people 'put their back out' because even fi they do exercise at the gym or what not, they are doing the major muscles, not the minor muscles which this exercise ball would do, by sitting on it infront of the computer lets say.

There are chairs specifically designed to encourage good posture. You can find them in specialist shops. They are kind of 'Z' shaped and finely adjustable and they make you sit straight in a manner that does strengthen the small muscles each side of your spine (the ones most people pull).

 

These chairs have two major advantages: 1) They provide specific support that is designed to encourage a good posture, which is a lot better than no support at all, which just encourages a compensatory posture.

2) They are stable and designed so that the user can sit at a work station both comfortably and well (posture) for hours without undue strain (although they can take a week or two to adapt to depending on how good or bad your posture is to begin with).

 

The whole point of a well designed chair in a workplace is that you should be able to sit on it for long periods of time whilst maintaining a healthy posture without strain or fatigue and without the risk of falling off.