Should You Use An Exercise Ball At Your Computer
Exercise balls and ball chairs should only be used as a chair option that you frequently swap between a standard office task chair. It should not be sat on for more than a couple hours at a time and not used as your only computer workstation chair (primary) for an 8-hour workday.
Why not?
There are many supporting reasons ergonomists, occupational health, and researchers would agree on the statement above as follows:
The exercise ball promotes trunk stability and the use of the lower back and core abdominal muscles to support the body while maintaining a neutral spine posture. Using these muscles is a good way to strengthen them, but only for a limited amount of time. Over an 8-hour shift, the muscles will fatigue rapidly, causing the body to compensate and assume non-neutral postures, otherwise known as slumping. Slumping will place pressure on the spinal discs, which may cause discomfort and outweigh the assumed benefits of using the ball at work.
The exercise ball can be unstable and tend to roll, even when place in a ring, thereby introducing a safety hazard in the office.
Exercise balls are not height adjustable and do not accommodate workers of different statures. Since these balls are at a fixed height, workers may assume non-neutral arm and leg postures while seated at a desk. Working with shrugged shoulders or dangled arms for the duration of the day may create discomfort, again outweighing the perceived benefits of the ball.
Employees cannot swivel or navigate around the workstation.
Getting on and off or reaching from the ball may constitute a falling hazard.
The sitting surface does not provide adequate support for the buttocks and thighs.
While there are therapeutic and training benefits to using an exercise ball as an office chair, inherent risks exist with sustained use of the ball. To be most effective, exercise balls should be used for their primary purpose, in PT and training facilities.
To get the most support, stability, and adjustability from your office seating, use standard ergonomic office task chairs and consult your local ergonomic specialist to guide you. An office task chair is one that is adjustable in many ways and supports your lumbar spine making it an effective tool for the 8-hour workday.
If you do want to incorporate an exercise ball chair in your seating regiment and already have a task chair, then the best regiment would be one to which you sit on the ball for a portion of each two hours for a duration of no longer than 20 - 30 minutes. This will ensure that your core, pelvic, and back muscles have the stamina to maintain proper postures.