• Why is body position or posture important while sitting?
• What should I avoid while sitting?
• How does sitting on a chair that is too high affect your body?
• How does sitting on a chair that is too low affect your body?
• How does work at a worktable that is too high affect your health?

Why is body position or posture important while sitting?

Poor arrangement of the workstation encourages an awkward body position. A poor body position or posture can hinder breathing and blood circulation and contribute to injuries affecting people's ability to move.

What should I avoid while sitting?

• Tilting the head forward. This helps prevent neck injury.
• Sitting without lumbar support. This helps prevent back pain.
• Working with arms raised. This helps prevent neck and shoulder pain.
• Bending wrists. This helps prevent muscle cramps.
• Working with unsupported forearms. This helps prevent shoulder and back pain.

• Cramming thighs under a worktable. This reduces blood circulation.
• Sitting on a chair that has poor support. It can overturn and cause injuries.

How does sitting on a chair that is too high affect your body?

• It destabilizes your body causing tiredness.
• It puts pressure on your thighs. This reduces the back flow of blood and can cause swelling in the legs, varicose veins, and swelling in the ankles.
• It puts pressure on the sciatic nerve causing pain or discomfort.
• It prevents proper use of the chair's lumbar support.

How does sitting on a chair that is too low affect your body?

• It disrupts blood circulation in lower legs, causing swelling.
• It puts pressure on internal organs.
• It creates too much pressure on buttocks and causes discomfort.

How does work at a worktable that is too high affect your health?

• It prevents use of proper lumbar support and can cause back injury.
• It over-stretches spine and can cause back injury.
• It forces the head to tilt forward and can cause neck injury.
• It stresses shoulders and causes pain.
• It tires the whole body.

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Document last updated on November 1, 2010

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