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Posted by: br3aker4lyfe Aug 14 2008, 10:14 AM

I was reading sum article that using a excercise ball as your desktop chair at work or at home is alot more benefitial than using a normal chair.
comments?

Posted by: hi-C Aug 14 2008, 10:36 AM

I can see that. It would cause you to have to work to keep your balance and therefore work your abs. And then there's the whole thing with it being moldable to your butt, so it's probably more ergonomic. But what about your back? Wouldn't that cause strain? And the ball would have to be as high as the normal chair seat so you can complete your work without having to reach too much.

Posted by: br3aker4lyfe Aug 14 2008, 10:44 AM

the one i have is 65cm and its like 1 inch lower as to the original seat i was using.
doesnt the ball help u adapt to good back posture?

Posted by: xSyncx Aug 14 2008, 10:53 AM

What do you think im sitting on right now?

Posted by: xSyncx Aug 14 2008, 11:09 AM

i use the wii on and off. We had to send ours back into nintendo today, so im using by dad's laptop (sorry for confusion)

Posted by: hi-C Aug 14 2008, 12:31 PM

Well, not if you're sitting on it. It seems to me that you'd have to hunch over, at least a little bit, to relieve some of the tension on your back.

Posted by: karmakiller Aug 14 2008, 05:32 PM

I don't lean back on my desk chair. Well, my desk chair is really old and whenever I lean back it sounds like a dying cat. I suppose you'd probably have to some sort of balance to use one as a chair, but I don't know if it would improve your balance.

Posted by: Reidar Aug 14 2008, 06:29 PM

For prolonged periods, you'd be collapsing all of your weight onto one focal point instead of distributing the load.

The seated posture is a stressful position on your back as it is. An ergonomic chair is important.

EDIT: Wow. The above information is from a favorite book of mine, Low Back Disorders, that I've been studying for years. The author is a professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, whom I've been in touch with via email. Out of curiosity, I looked up an article that advises using an exercise ball and it read:

Update 2007: After a traffic accident, I had tailbone pain when using the exercise ball as a chair and discontinued using it. Stuart McGill, PhD. in "Low Back Disorders" cautions against use of an exercise ball as a chair for those with lower back pain.

Posted by: xoxo_proud Aug 15 2008, 08:32 PM

This topic reminds me of The Office.

Well if it causes lower back pain then I couldn't use one. I have a bad lower back. I don't think I'd be able to sit on an exercise ball all day anyway.

Posted by: rockguy Aug 15 2008, 08:46 PM

shiet... now where can i order some of those???

Posted by: towntown2 Aug 15 2008, 08:51 PM

Dwight Schrute says that having an exercise ball as a desktop chair results in more pleasurable sex, so..I'd do it.