Remember when people were bringing fitballs into workplaces to try and get a bit more movement into their day?
It turned out to be a fad that didn’t last for two main reasons:
1. The safety issue.
Big balls tend to roll and potentially cause falls. Picture Betty holding her cup of Soy Chai carefully as she comes around the corner… ball rolls into the corridor… Not good!
Worksafe Victoria and the equivalent bodies in other states eventually declared these a no go.
2. Posture issue
The other issue that us Occ Health Physio’s were aware of was that the lack of back support was a problem. People usually started on them okay with lovely posture and looking like a yoga master.
However, after a few minutes the muscles start to tire and most people start to slouch with their heads poking forwards. The yoga master transforms into a slumped frog. This is not a healthy position to stay in for long durations as we know.
In my role as National Chair of APA Occupational Health Physio Group I get asked to review products as to whether they should be endorsed by the APA. One recent one was given thumbs up by me. It’s a chair known as the Ergoflip.
The Ergoflip is created by an innovative Ergonomic furniture company based here in Australia. I like it because it has the potential to bring in the advantages of the fitball but without the pitfalls mentioned above.
Note that at PHW we don’t get commissions or kickbacks for any of the products we recommend. We simply recommend good products. When you get an ergonomic report from us you can be sure that we are focused fully on recommending the products that to our knowledge are the best fit for your purpose and budget.
Our recommended products list is freely available on our website – and this new Ergoflip chair will be the next addition.
Have a healthy and productive day,
By David Hall