hygiene - the international C.E. magazine of dental hygiene

12 I I C.E. article_ ergonomics while driving around the race course. Success for a top-level race car driver is driven by a strict regimen foreating,exerciseandnearlyallactivitiesofdailylife so they can be in top shape physically. It is the total package, including the racing team and pit crew all using checklists, that creates this success. The idea of a form-fitting chair for dental practi- tioners might not be practical, yet think of the pos- sibilities. Those same ideas can be brought into the treatment rooms with the “Seating Risk Assessment Checklist” shown in Table 1. This checklist helps to evaluate overall balance. Many professionals have damaged themselves by repeatedly sitting, leaning, stretching and twisting for so many years. As Cindy Purdy, RDH, BS, consulting with Crown Seating re- centlysaidtoanonlinegroup,“Changingstoolsalone willnottreatmedicalissues,butitcancertainlyoffer benefits for the future.”15 _Recline/incline seating Passengers are required to sit upright at take-off and landing on any plane (Fig. 4). Most passengers can’t wait to hear the announcement that the cruis- ing altitude has been reached so the seats can be leaned back for more comfort. Unfortunately, dental professionals tend to sit in this upright position all day. When seated in this position for long periods of time,practitionersbothelongateandshortendiffer- entmusclegroupsinthelegs.Humansarenotmeant tositcompletelyuprightandespeciallynotforalong day in the office. 16 A more comfortable sitting position for most is in a reclined position (Fig. 5). Think of your comfortable recliner in front of the television after a long day of work or the experience sitting in a first-class seat on a plane. Reclining is so very comfortable. This is the way race car drivers sit; but it’s not very practical for treating dental patients. Now take that reclined position and rotate the torso on its axis to create the inverse position, called an inclined position17 (Fig 6). Incline is the automatic position created when sitting on a horse or a saddle stool. It is a more balanced position. This balance helps preserve the hips and spine in the proper posi- tion. It is defined as an open body position that is morecomfortable,lessharmfulandallowsforproper lumbar curvature. The pelvis rotates downward and forward, enabling the knees to stay below hip level. This creates less stress and strain on the back, neck and shoulder muscles. A slight incline of the seat (5-15 percent) is ideal. If you adjust more than 20 percent out of a neutral position for an extended periodoftime,muscleimbalancesarecreated,which means the muscles are adaptively shortening on one side and elongating on the other. This results in misalignmentofthespineandjoints,andinthiscase, thehipjoint.Whenapersonsitsproperlyonasaddle seat, the pelvis is properly positioned and stabilized, sothebodynaturallyandautomaticallyassumesthe least-stressful position. _Static vs. dynamic seating For sitting positions, there are two more checklist considerations. In traditional chairs, the practitioner sits in a static position that does not provide much movement or stimulation of the muscles. A new termhasbeengiventosomeoftheadvanced-design chairs:dynamicseating.Thedynamicchairoffersthe hygiene 1_2012 Table 1_Seating Risk Assessment Checklist (Table adapted from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s ‘Checklist for Ergonomic Risk Factors’)