Monday, June 14, 2010

Benefits of Using an Exercise Ball as an Office Chair

Day 4. I usually wake up with very stiff, sore hips and lower back, but this morning there wasn't much stiffness and little pain. Of course, my feet were a little tender.

It occurs to me that I have been seeking alternatives to the traditional office chair for at least 20 years. I did spend about two years or so sitting mainly on an exercise ball, which I enjoyed until the ball eventually stopped holding air and I got rid of it. Many people tout the benefits of sitting on an exercise ball, which some claim will give you abs of steel and so on. I certainly didn't receive that particular benefit. I did however find that I tended to move around a bit more. In particular, I tended to bounce up and down slightly and rotate my hips, which was probably a good thing.

I also thought it was funny, and I believe laughing is almost always beneficial.

Oddly, there seems to be some concern that people may injure themselves by falling off the ball. As a not-particularly-athletic person, I'm here to say that particular risk is negligible in most cases. But the ball still allows you to slouch, and unless you're consciously moving around, you can still ending up spending much of the day with your hips locked in an L shape. But switching from chair to ball and back would at least have the benefit of variety, another plus.

There's quite a bit of online debate about the benefits of sitting on an exercise ball at work, and I suspect the official jury is out. I'm certainly not convinced that an expensive exercise ball chair would be worth more in the long run than a simple ball, which can be had for $20-$40 at drugstores and other outlets.

Currently playing: "Tam Tam Kébando" by Camara Aboubacar. Very good for tired knees.

Photo by Adria Richards on Flickr.

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