Max
11-28-2006, 03:19 PM
Was Mom wrong? Study says you shouldn't sit up straight
UNNATI GANDHI
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Defying the age-old advice of parents and teachers, a new study shows that you're better off sitting back than sitting up.
An Alberta researcher has found that while seated, with feet flat on the ground, leaning back to create a 135-degree angle between the thighs and trunk is much less straining on the spine and will not lead to the potentially chronic back pain associated with sitting in an upright position for extended periods of time.
"Up until now it's always been, 'Mum knows best,' and so you sit up straight," said Waseem Amir Bashir, a researcher in radiology and diagnostic imaging at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton and lead author of the study.
Back pain is the most common cause of work-related disability in Canada, and a major cause of lost work time, according to Statistics Canada. The agency estimates that between 70 and 85 per cent of Canadians will have some kind of back problem during their life.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061128.wxhsitn28/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
UNNATI GANDHI
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Defying the age-old advice of parents and teachers, a new study shows that you're better off sitting back than sitting up.
An Alberta researcher has found that while seated, with feet flat on the ground, leaning back to create a 135-degree angle between the thighs and trunk is much less straining on the spine and will not lead to the potentially chronic back pain associated with sitting in an upright position for extended periods of time.
"Up until now it's always been, 'Mum knows best,' and so you sit up straight," said Waseem Amir Bashir, a researcher in radiology and diagnostic imaging at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton and lead author of the study.
Back pain is the most common cause of work-related disability in Canada, and a major cause of lost work time, according to Statistics Canada. The agency estimates that between 70 and 85 per cent of Canadians will have some kind of back problem during their life.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061128.wxhsitn28/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home