OPTION 3

Finally, a solution has arrived for computer users with back or neck problems. For them, sitting upright at traditional workstations can be painful and debilitating. Option 3 was designed to provide these computer operators with a nearly horizontal, ergonomically correct body position, which relieves pressure on the spine. Developed by a physical therapist and featured in Spine Letter, Physical Therapy Products and Journal of Sports and Physical Therapy, its flexible design offers relief from the pain and muscular fatigue generated by vertical sitting postures. Option 3 can prevent patients from slipping into the "Disability Spiral" and instead allow them to re-enter the workplace in a productive manner.

In the medical community, prolonged sitting has long been identified as a major factor contributing to the generation of low back pain. A widely recognized research study by Nachemson and Morris measured spinal intradiscal pressure in various body positions. Lumbar intradiscal pressure was shown to increase in upright sitting posture and substantially decrease when the angle between the spine and the horizontal plane was lessened ("recumbent positioning").

Prolonged periods of high intradiscal pressure can cause cumulative tissue breakdown and degenerative changes in the spinal discs. With progression, spinal joints become unstable, leading to bony degeneration. Advancing degenerative changes due to disc herniation or rupture and/or bony encroachment may cause pressure on spinal nerves. This complicated process is the source of most back and neck pain as well as associated CTD's of the extremities. The relevance of the Nachemson study in today's computerized workplace lies in the high levels of intradiscal pressure caused by the static vertical sitting postures required of computer operators.

Sitting, even in the best possible supported positions, produces high levels of spinal intradiscal pressure. Reducing intradiscal pressure can relieve pain and decrease the rate of progression and extent of spinal degenerative changes. Option 3 allows individuals to operate computer equipment from a supported recumbent position in which the spinal discs are substantially unloaded.

The recumbent position also eliminates gravitational stress on the neck and shoulders. The constant muscle contraction needed to maintain vertical sitting posture can compress blood vessels and nerves passing though the neck on their way to the arm. Restricted circulation of the arm and nerve irritation can lead to CTD's in thc neck and/or upper extremities. The upper extremity support offered by Option 3 decreases the muscle work done by the shoulder- complex to maintain posture and reduces repetitive muscular strain of the forearms and hands. For people whose jobs require them to work at computer terminals for extended periods of time, Option 3 offers immediate relief afforded by proper ergonomic positioning.