Sitting - is that so difficult?
In our sivilisation sitting is such an ordinary thing, that not many reflect on it.
In technical terms, sitting is a complicated business for the body. Muscles, nerves, skeleton, blood vessels etc are all afflicted by sitting. Stale buttocks suffer from lack of blood in the area caused by the disruption of blood vessels (caused by pressure). The nerves communicates with the brain and tell it “to get moving”, on which impulse the brain commands the appropriate muscles to move, leading to a new position. The blood-flow is re-opened and pressure is relieved, and the status quo is regained.
How do you keep the balance when sitting? What is balance? The boss of your body is your brain, which uses the rest of the body for its own purposes. For the brain to be in command, it needs to assess “all” around it, and faculties like hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and feeling are all applied. The best conditions for the brain is when it can turn the head (where it sits) to locate whatever it needs to locate for reasons of security, comfort, food, etc.
This position happens to be when the head is more or less at a horizontal level.
Well, then, how do you keep the head horizontally aligned? The spine sits on the pelvis that connects to the legs that stand on the feet. All these parts of the body have to do their work when you sit: muscles in the stomach and back keep the spine up. The positions and angles of your legs determine which way the pelvis is tilting, which again influences the curvature of the spine. To arrest the pelvis from moving uncontrollably, we try to stabilize it by crossing the legs, by attaining an asymmetric posture, by crossing the arms over the chest, by moving one leg under you, etc. And all this we don’t even know we are doing, and definitely not why. Well, the brain does, and it commands the body to move every now and again.
Try sitting on a bench completely still for two (2) minutes.
In the long run, you will tire, and need to lie down for a rest.
By studying these mechanisms, we find that the body may be stabilized in only a few places, and this will improve both on comfort and on how long you can keep the position. In the world of Vital Base, we try to find these spots and transfer them into the cushion. It is feasible.
When a piece of furniture or a cushion for wheelchairs is properly constructed, and we have admitted the “balance knowledge” into the cushions, the user can sit comfortably for long periods of time, and won’t need to reposition so often.
Such furniture is often named to be “comfort chairs” etc, and most people think they are luxurious. In cushions for wheelchairs , it is a "must" to have the very best comfort, stability and support.
Therefore you’ll always find the very best pressure distribution, support and stability in wheelchair cushions from Vital Base AS. We also put in som extra ventilation to boost comfort.
Vital Base AS has all of this knowledge, and we use it daily to develop and manufacture the best seating for our customers.