Introduction: Lower back pain is the most common musculoskeletal disorder in developed
countries. A higher prevalence of developing lower back problems is experienced by
employees who spend most of their time in forced standing or sitting posture which causes
mechanical stress on passive and active structures. When working in a sitting posture, the
muscles that act as stabilizers are less active compared to when working in a standing
posture, resulting in a greater stress on passive structures. When working in a standing
posture, the stress is greater on the lower extremities, in addition, excessive lumbar lordosis
may occur, causing increased stress on the facet joints. Purpose: To review recent literature,
to compare the effects of a predominantly standing or sedentary mode of work on spine
loads, and to develop recommendations for creating a workplace that would cause the least
load on spinal structures of employees. Methods: We searched the literature in the following
databases: PubMed, Science direct, PEDro, and printed literature in the libraries of the
Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Sport Ljubljana. The following inclusion criteria
were used to review the literature: full text accessibility, English or Slovenian language,
publication of a scientific article between 2006 and 2019, scientific journal articles
discussing sitting or standing posture at work and its effect on the mechanical load of the
spine. Results: From a search set of 517 hits, 5 randomized controlled trials by foreign
authors were included in the final analysis of the literature review. Each of the studies
examined the effects on spine load when sitting or standing. Discussion and conclusion:
Both excessive flexion of the lumbar spine while sitting and excessive extension while
standing affect the degeneration of spinal structures. There is a gradual fatigue of the active
structures – muscles which due to reduced activity contribute to the stress on passive
structures – ligaments, intervertebral discs and nerve roots. Instead of preventing sedentary
work and promoting only standing posture, employees should have the freedom to choose a
work posture and easily adjust it. Based on the literature reviewed, we believe that besides
the ergonomic adjustment of the workplace more emphasis should be placed on maintaining
the optimal posture that employees have either while sitting or standing.
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