Can car seats be transformed into office chairs? Experts say: not suitable for long-term desk work.

Experts say the practice is not recommended

Is this new "office chair" really suitable for office workers to sit for a long time? In this regard, Ding Youyi, a pain doctor at Changjiang Shipping General Hospital, believes that if the modified chair is suitable for home or office use, in addition to the need for the structure of the chair to conform to body mechanics, the height of the table and chair, whether the seat has armrests, and whether the head, neck, waist and back are supported. and so on, there is a certain "specialty", and at the same time, it should be comprehensively evaluated in combination with the individual differences in the physiological curvature of the human body's own spine.

Deng Biquan, deputy chief physician of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department of Wuhan Central Hospital, said that although the car seat is changed into an office chair, it feels very comfortable to sit on, but its height, thickness, hardness, air permeability, and envelopment are not suitable for long-term use. Time is working at a desk, so this practice is not recommended from a professional point of view.

People are in a relatively static state when driving. To a certain extent, car seats can provide support that fits the human body for drivers in a long-term sitting position. However, in the office process, in addition to being in a static state, people often need to be in an active state, so home chairs and office chairs will take into account the coordination relationship between body posture and chairs when designing. In addition to the common adjustment of sitting depth, there are also adjustments to the height of the lumbar support, the support state of the head and neck, and the inclination of the back. Office chairs converted from car seats cannot take into account these problems very well.

In addition, considering factors such as safety and shock resistance, car seats are generally thicker, and the air permeability will be slightly worse, and long-term sitting for a long time is also more likely to breed bacteria.

How to choose the office chair that suits you

The study found that people of different genders, ages, office postures, and even different body types have different needs for office chairs. So, how should office workers choose an office chair that suits them?

Ding Youyi suggested that when choosing an office chair, the first thing to look at is the seat height. Generally, when sitting on a chair, the headrest protects the cervical spine, the hips and knees can be comfortably maintained at about 90 degrees, and the front of the chair does not squeeze the thighs. If numbness or pain is caused, the feet can be freely placed on the ground or foot pads, which is the best height. Secondly, the angle of the chair back can be tilted back by 25 to 30 degrees to make the human body feel comfortable and relaxed. The lower part of the chair back must have enough curvature to support the forward bending of the waist, and not too much, so as to avoid the hip slipping; the height of the armrest of the chair should be at the shoulder level. When the hips are neutral and relaxed, just enough to support the elbow or forearm, and the hands are placed naturally. At the same time, the seat should use adjustable height and can be moved.

Ding Youyi said that a normal sitting posture plays an important role in the protection of the cervical and lumbar spine. In general, sit in a neutral position, and the height of the desktop should reach about 5 cm below the xiphoid process of the human body when sitting down, so as to provide enough space for the knees; the working plane (for placing documents, books, tablets, mobile phones, notebooks, etc.) can be inclined 30 degrees to 40 degrees; the armrests of the seat can effectively support the elbows, the elbows can be comfortably placed on the armrests, the shoulders do not sink or rise, and the waist has sufficient arc support.

Deng Biquan added that special attention should be paid to the adjustment of sitting and standing posture during office work. "Everyone knows that sitting for a long time is harmful to the body. Therefore, some sedentary people have purchased a liftable table board, raised the table top, and forced themselves to stand up to work. In fact, this method is not healthy." He explained that although standing work can be done in a certain way To a certain extent, it can solve the problem of lumbar intervertebral disc caused by prolonged sitting, but standing for a long time will affect the venous circulation of the knee joint and lower extremity, and there will be a risk of varicose veins after a long time.

Deng Biquan suggested that office workers who need to sit for a long time can rest for 15 minutes every 1 to 2 hours of work, get up and do muscle relaxation and simple exercises, such as squatting to promote blood circulation in the buttocks; doing stretching exercises to stretch the lumbar spine back, relieve pain Fatigue from sitting for a long time.