As a follow-up project to the Dyn-Sit-Pain study, this research aims to investigate the overall health as well as the physical and mental well-being through dynamic office chairs. The development of an innovative dynamic office chair concept will be professionally and scientifically supported, and the developed prototypes will be examined within the framework of usability studies.
Signed Informed consent
People aged between 18 and 65 years
People classified as pain developers (e.g.: a 10 mm increase in pain on a 100 mm paper-based VAS)
Office workers
Physical or mental limitations that make dynamic sitting or use of the procedure chair difficult (e.g. wheelchair users, vestibular dysfunction)
Pregnancy
Sitting for less than 20 hours per week at the main workplace
Body weight over 110 kg and a body height over 195 cm
Crossover
Dynamic office chair (saddle chair with standard pendulum mechanism)
DeviceThe dynamic office chair has a typical office chair design (e.g. seat pan and a lumbar support). The seat pan is mounted on a flexible mechanic construction that allows hip movements in the frontal plane while sitting.
Dynamic Office Chair (office swivel chair with integrated newly developed pendulum mechanism)
DeviceThe dynamic office chair has a typical office chair design (e.g. seat pan and a lumbar support). The seat pan is mounted on a flexible mechanic construction that allows hip movements in the frontal plane while sitting.
Mean change in subjective lower back pain (before vs. after work, weekly average) estimated by visual analogue scale (VAS)
Participants will rate their subjectively perceived lower back pain before and after a conventional occupational day on 5 consecutive days starting at baseline (week 1) and ending with the post-intervention visit (week 6). Subjectively perceived lower back pain will be assessed with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The VAS used for this study ranges from 0 (none) to 100 points (strongest pain imaginable). Question: Please rate the level of your lower back pain at this moment.
Mean change in subjective mental fatigue (before vs. after work, weekly average) estimated by VAS
Participants will rate their subjectively perceived mental fatigue before and after a conventional occupational day on 5 consecutive days starting at baseline (week 1) and ending with the post-intervention visit (week 6). Subjectively perceived mental fatigue will be assessed with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The VAS used for this study ranges from 0 (none) to 100 points (strongest mental fatigue imaginable). Question: Please rate the level of your mental fatigue at this moment.
Mean subjectively rated work performance (after work, weekly average) estimated by VAS
Participants will rate their subjectively perceived working performance before and after a conventional occupational day on 5 consecutive days starting at baseline (week 1) and ending with the post-intervention visit (week 6). Subjectively perceived working performance will be assessed with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The VAS used for this study ranges from 0 (not productive at all) to 100 points (very productive). Question: Please rate the level of your working performance on this working day.
Change in impact of pain on the daily life (pre vs. post intervention) estimated by ODI-D
Participants will rate their subjectively perceived pain with the German version of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI-D) at the baseline and post-intervention visits. The ODI-D coverts 10 items: Pain intensity, Personal care, Lifting, Walking, Sitting, Standing, Sleeping, Sex (if applicable), Social and Travel. Each item consists of 6 statements which are scored from 0 (lowest disability) to 5 (highest disability).
Usability estimated using the UEQS questionnaire
Subjects will rate the usability of the dynamic chair with the German version of the User Experience Questionnaire-Short version (UEQ-S) at the relevant post-intervention visit. The UEQ-S cover both classical usability aspects (efficiency, perspicuity, dependability) and user experience aspects (originality, stimulation). It consists of 8 items, each rated on a seven-point scale with a ranked order. The endpoints of the items are (left to right): obstructive to supportive / complicated to easy / inefficient to efficient / confusing to clear / boring to exciting / not interesting to interesting / conventional to inventive and usual to leading edge.
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