We don’t need to study anatomy to learn that the human being is made to move. But social changes in the last 150 years have made us “sedentary”. The problem: wrong and constant sitting burdens whole economies with sick rates affecting millions.

Over 80 % of our daily activity is actually passive, monotonous and adynamic: sitting at breakfast, sitting in the car, sitting before the computer, and sitting in front of the television at night. And because we usually sit wrong, we inevitably end up with negative after-effects: overstress on the spine, tension, aches and pains and in many cases irreparable, permanent damage. In Europe in the meantime, almost 50% of sick days occur in this sphere annually (source: Study of the Work Foundation on commission of the EU, 2009).

What’s to blame for these illnesses? It’s not only that we sit wrong, it also has to do with the long hours of sitting in general – combined with static work behaviour and intensive periods at the computer screen. The key to better health in the office thus always lies in the interplay of human behaviour (movement), surroundings (atmosphere of well-being) and furniture (workplace ergonomics).

In Europe in the meantime, almost 50% of sick days occur in this sphere annually

(source: Study of the Work Foundation on commission of the EU, 2009).

In the field of ergonomics we have meanwhile been able to reach a technical status that guarantees sitting for longer periods without any problem – provided we make use of all adjustment options offered today by a modern office chair. Unfortunately, things look different in practice. So, in order to change this, we went into the film studio and embarked on “Mission Backbone”.

Its character as an educational strategy was the very reason we didn’t want to play the schoolmaster in making the video. So we sent up a small, remote-controlled helicopter as a way of introducing the appropriate counter-measures in the fight against back pain. Incidentally: when did you do something good for your back? This 3-mimute video gives you the opportunity to do so.

Video: Ergonomic sitting