Supporting the Spine

It is a beautiful and incredibly complicated precision mechanism that protects you, connects your brain with your muscles, and literally holds your body together. It is packed full of muscles, tendons, and nerves, in an intricate web. Your spine does an amazing job for you, and it deserves love.

Most of us don't use the core muscles that support the spine as much as we should, and they tend to get weaker over time.

A healthy seating posture keeps the head, shoulders and hips in alignment and the natural curves of the spine in place.  Many people lean forward when sitting for a long time. This pushes the lower back outwards toward the chair, against the natural inward curve, which can stress the mechanisms of the lumbar spine. 

Our back supports can help adjust your seated posture to a more natural and healthy one.  To use the back support in the most helpful way, you should feel that your spine is in a natural position. It should not overly accentuate the inward curve, nor should it feel unsupported. Everybody has a different body shape, and that's why we make ergonomic supports that you can position in place on the chair and adjust to suit your back.

The thoracic spine is all about protection, and so it does not have a lot of flexibility. It anchors your ribs, giving stability and a safe space for the heart, lungs and liver. Most of your ribs meet at the sternum. Your bottom ribs give protection to your kidneys, but they are anchored only at the spine, not at the sternum. These ribs have less slightly stability because of this and are more prone to issues that can cause back pain. The thoracic spine has a natural outwards curve.

The lumbar spine or lower back is a region of power, giving you strength to lift heavy objects, and flexibility to twist and bend. Your lower vertebrae bear the entire weight of your body, and this pressure on them can lead to injury. The lumbar spine has a natural inwards curve.