Sitting Biomechanics Laboratory

Part of the
Sensory Motor Performance Program
Room 1340, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago


Sitting Posture Effect on Lung Capacity

 


Hypothesis
We hypothesized that sitting posture affects the respiratory performance of seated individual through the change of the effective space within the ribcage and the efficiency of respiratory muscles. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1), Forced Expiratory Ratio (FER) and Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) were measured in 40 subjects in the Normal, WO-BPSand Slumped postures.


Findings

  • Slumped sitting significantly decreased LC-EF
  • The WO-BPS posture significantly promoted LC-EF
  • The WO-BPS posture might be a better seating option for people sitting for a prolonged time.


Publication: Fang Lin, DSc , Sriranjani Parthasarathy, BS , Susan J. Taylor, OT/L , Deborah Pucci, MPT , Ronald W. Hendrix, MD , Mohsen Makhsous, PhD (2006) Effect of Different Sitting Postures on Lung Capacity, Expiratory Flow, and Lumbar Lordosis, Arch Phys Med Rehabil.

Last updated May 25, 2008 by Makhsous.
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