The Effect of Chair Designs on Sitting Pressure Distribution and Tissue Perfusion

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of five chair designs on interface pressure distribution and tissue perfusion in the buttock-thigh region.

Background:

Prolonged sitting has been found to contribute to the symptoms of work-related low back pain. Studies have found that chair design affects users’ sitting posture and comfort. As sitting applies pressure to the user, it is necessary to investigate how chair design affects sitting pressure and tissue perfusion during sitting.

Method:

We tested five chair designs (Suspension A, Suspension B, Foam A, Foam B, and bicompliant) on 15 young, healthy females. Sitting interface pressure and buttock-thigh tissue perfusion (in terms of transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide, tcPO₂ and tcPCO₂, respectively) were measured during 10-min sitting on each chair.

Results:

We found that chair design significantly affected the distribution of the sitting pressure (p < .001) and buttock-thigh tissue perfusion (p < .023). Average pressure and total contact area were found highest in both foam designs, and the average pressure was the lowest in one of the suspension designs. Across all tested chair designs, the anterior portion of the seat sustained the lowest contact pressure. It was also found that tcPO₂ was the lowest (p < .003) and tcPCO₂ was the highest (p < .001) in tissue around ischial tuberosity for all chair designs.

Conclusion:

Chair design and materials of the seat significantly affect the sitting interface pressure distribution and tissue perfusion in sitting area. Further evaluation of these outcomes may provide useful information to correlate chair design with sitting comfort.

Keywords

office chair design sitting posture interface pressure low back pain

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alnaser

M. Z.

Wughalter

E. H.

(2009). Effect of chair design on ratings of discomfort. Work. 34, 223–234.

Baldwin

K. M.

(2001). Transcutaneous oximetry and skin surface temperature as objective measures of pressure ulcer risk. Advances in Skin and Wound Care, 14, 26–31.

Bernard

B. P.

(1997). Musculoskeletal disorders and workplace factors. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services.

Bogie

K. M.

Nuseibeh

Bader

D. L.

(1992). Transcutaneous gas tensions in the sacrum during the acute phase of spinal cord injury. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H, 206, 1–6.

Bogie

K. M.

Nuseibeh

Bader

D. L.

(1995). Early progressive changes in tissue viability in the seated spinal cord injured subject. Paraplegia, 33, 141–147.

Callaghan

J. P.

Dunk

N. M.

(2002). Examination of the flexion relaxation phenomenon in erector spinae muscles during short duration slumped sitting. Clinical Biomechanics, 17, 353–360.

Callaghan

J. P.

McGill

S. M.

(2001). Low back joint loading and kinematics during standing and unsupported sitting. Ergonomics, 44, 280–294.

Harrison

D. D.

Harrison

S. O.

Croft

A. C.

Harrison

D. E.

Troyanovich

S. J.

(1999). Sitting biomechanics part I: Review of the literature. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 22, 594–609.

Kanayama

Togawa

Takahashi

Terai

Hashimoto

(2009). Cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging study of lumbar disc degeneration in 200 healthy individuals. Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, 11, 501–507.

10.

Liao

M. H.

Drury

C. G.

(2000). Posture, discomfort, and performance in a VDT task Ergonomics, 43, 345–359.

11.

Lis

A. M.

Black

K. M.

Korn

Nordin

(2007). Association between sitting and occupational LBP. European Spine Journal, 16, 283–298.

12.

Maetzel

(2002). The economic burden of low back pain: A review of studies published between 1996 and 2001. Best Practice and Research: Clinical Rheumatology, 16, 23–30.

13.

Makhsous

Lin

Bankard

Hendrix

Hepler

Press

(2009). Biomechanical effects of sitting with adjustable ischial and lumbar support on occupational low back pain: Evaluation of sitting load and back muscle activity. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 10, 17.

14.

Makhsous

Priebe

Bankard

Rowles

Zeigler

Chen

Lin

(2007). Measuring tissue perfusion during pressure relief maneuvers: Insights into preventing pressure ulcers. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 30, 497–507.

15.

Newsome

T. P.

Pearcy

M. J.

Rolfe

(1981). Skin surface PO2 measurement and the effect of externally applied pressure. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 62, 390–392.

16.

O’Sullivan

O’Dea

Dankaerts

O’Sullivan

Clifford

O’Sullivan

(2010). Neutral lumbar spine sitting posture in pain-free subjects. Manual Therapy, 15, 557–561.

17.

Rohlmann

Zander

Graichen

Dreischarf

Bergmann

(2011). Measured loads on a vertebral body replacement during sitting. Spine Journal, 11, 870–875.

18.

Sato

Kikuchi

Yonezawa

(1999). In vivo intradiscal pressure measurement in healthy individuals and in patients with ongoing back problems. Spine, 24, 2468–2474.

19.

Spyropoulos

Papathanasiou

Georgoudis

Chronopoulos

Koutis

Koumoutsou

(2007). Prevalence of low back pain in Greek public office workers. Pain Physician, 10, 651–659.

20.

Vos

G. A.

Congleton

J. J.

Moore

J. S.

Amendola

A. A.

Ringer

(2006). Postural versus chair design impacts upon interface pressure. Applied Ergonomics, 37, 619–628.

21.

Williams

M. M.

Hawley

J. A.

McKenzie

R. A.

van Wijmen

P. M.

(1991). A comparison of the effects of two sitting postures on back and referred pain. Spine, 16, 1185–1191.

22.

Xakellis

G. C.

Frantz

R. A.

Arteaga

Meletiou

(1991). A comparison of changes in the transcutaneous oxygen tension and capillary blood flow in the skin with increasing compressive weights. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 70, 172.