Sedentary Work, But Not So Easy

In workers' compensation there is, rightfully, a big focus on return to transitional duty as soon as possible during the recovery phase of an injury. This often poses a challenge for supervisors and human resources managers who struggle to balance productivity needs with medical restrictions. More often than not, “light duty” becomes synonymous with sedentary or seated work.

While this is fine for many extremity problems, seated work for spine problems can pose a special challenge and can, ultimately, be counterproductive.

Metabolically speaking, it is harder for muscles to hold the body still than to move it around. When muscles are working to “posture” they are, by virtue of a near constant state of contraction, wringing out or diminishing their blood supply. Recovering muscles require a good supply of blood to remove toxins and bring nutrients to the affected area.

Additionally, prolonged contraction over time causes an increase in joint compression which, in turn, can irritate certain conditions. If the seated workstation does not adequately support an aligned posture, then the effects of holding still will be greater.

A proper physical-demands analysis of existing jobs can help to take the guesswork out of transitional duty. By identifying which parts of “regular” duty can be performed by an injured worker, a supervisor may be able to maintain productivity demands without having to create busywork for people recovering from an injury. There is also a psychological benefit to keeping the injured worker as close as possible to their pre-injury work environment.

More food for thought about sedentary work comes from the January 27, 2005 journal Science . Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic has determined that it is metabolically more effective to put more NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) into your life to maintain or achieve your healthy body weight than to seek organized exercise.

It appears that thin people innately have more spontaneous physical activity and are on their feet an average of 2.5 hours per day more than overweight people. By building more activity into the workday the researchers also found that people were more productive overall and less fatigued at the end of the day.

Look for a commercially available computer-treadmill workstation in the near future. At a projected price of $1000.00 this workstation can help you burn an additional 100 calories per hour by working while walking at 1.0 mph. This extra activity translates into 8000 calories for a 40 hour work week and if you work 10 hours per day you can lose about 50 pounds per year, assuming no other change in your eating or exercise habits.

Could this be the workstation of the new millennium? Does the computer treadmill have applications for minimizing the effects of sedentary work for people with chronic spine problems? Only the future knows for sure…now get up and take a walk!

For more information about Physical Demands Analysis for assistance in developing transitional duty programs contact Jayne Gribble at jayne.f.gribble@medstar.net