Pure stone age!
Homo sapiens have been adapted over thousands of years to conduct a physically active life, which has been the precondition for our survival. We have hunted, fished and farmed the land. The human body and its functions have also been adapted to suit the earth's gravity. Today our lives have been changed. Most people spend the lion's share of their day sitting down, which the body is not at all suited for. Problems arise because of it. Pain in the back, neck and shoulders are well-known disorders that are the cause a lot of suffering for many people. These disorders also result in enormous costs to the company, society and the individual.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics means that you adapt your work environment to suit human conditions and limitations. But to achieve this you must first know what these conditions and limitations are. Only then can you adapt your working environment, with work tools, aids and by taking the psychosocial environment into consideration.
At Malmstolen AB we have concentrated on one part of ergonomics - the sitting part. It is only one part of the problem, but because the chair is the work tool that is closest to the body, the design of the chair is a key factor. Our objective is to prevent musculoskeletal disorders wherever possible to areas like the back, shoulders, neck and various consequential effects such as numbness in the arms and hands. All of our activities and product development are based on current, international research in load ergonomics. This applies in particular to all biomechanics, physiology and neurology, but also to psychology. The foundation stones of the Malmstolen solution are called SAAR (SRRM) (Support-Relief-Relaxation-Movement)
Gravity
As with all living organisms on our planet, we are affected by the gravitational pull of the earth. When we talk about load in load ergonomics we mean the gravitational effect on the body. The nervous system contains something called the "muscle spindle system" that senses the bodies balance in any space. This system senses if we, for example, are about to lose our balance when the muscles and ligaments are under stress. When you are sitting for a long time, the body is exposed to a static load and muscular activity, and the system is then highly active. Following all muscular activity, nutrients and oxygen are burnt which creates waste products. These products include substances that irritate chemically sensitive nerve cells. These provide feedback signals to the muscle spindle system to activate the loaded muscular system to an even greater extent. Even more waste products are generated which further irritate the chemically sensitive nerve cells. These waste products also include substances that are highly prone to produce pain.
Malmstolen solution
The Malmstolen solution is based purely on physics. The greater the surface a weight is distributed over, the less the resulting load. For this reason our chairs have been developed to offer each individual the largest possible contact surface. The unique backrest shapes itself in line with the natural back profile of the person sitting down, and therefore provides maximum support and relief. By default, the backrest is set to suit 70-80 % of all users. But for people who have a very deep lumbar region, for example, or some form of back complaint, the elastic straps in the backrest can be further adjusted in order to ensure these receive maximum relief for each individual. Even the Pascal seat, which has been produced in cooperation with Dux, has been developed to distribute the weight of the body over the largest possible area as a way of reducing the load.
Movement
A lot is talked about variation of movement in ergonomics. Our survival over the millennia has called for a lot of physical activity. We have hunted, fished, farmed and suchlike in order to sustain ourselves. Our bodily functions are adapted to suit this active life. We call, these movements activity-related movements.
In load ergonomics there is an additional type of movement. Let's say you have to sit on a hard ribbed-backed chair for an extended period. The longer time goes, the more you have to change your sitting position. This is certainly a type of movement variation, but these movements are load related.
An uncomfortable sitting position generates a number of tensions in your muscular system and ligaments and also causes an uneven weight distribution on your backbone and its discs. As time goes by this feels increasingly tiring and troublesome. We simply start by changing our sitting position in order to find a new and more comfortable posture. When the new position doesn't provide the necessary support and relief either, we will once again change position.
Put simply, the consequence of load-related movements is that the body's warning system for the negative effects of gravity on our body is activated. The muscle spindle system in particular is active with its consequential and warning signals (fatigue, discomfort, pain and suchlike). If we ignore the signals our bodies send us, we increase the risk for a range of long-term musculoskeletal disorders arising.
Malmstolen solution
The Malmstolen solution is based on physiology. The chair must as far as possible satisfy the body's potential for being able to conduct naturally relaxing activity-related movements. The movement of the body in the chair must come about naturally based on the type of work the person is doing and not be caused by diverse body tensions and discomfort that an uncomfortable chair with inadequate relief capacity might give rise to. Movement and a relaxed muscular system facilitates good blood circulation and thereby good nutrient replacement.
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