Posted By sue cotten I am looking at saddle stools for people who have bad posture or back problems. So far managed to track down Bambach saddle stool (£500+ very expensive) Salli saddle stool(ditto) and a saddle stool sold to beauty therapist £70. Having just had a 'ride' on the £70 version it seems to be OK. Has anyone tried, or know someone who has used the saddle stool for long periods of time at a workstation. It would appear the saddle stool doesn't fully comply with DSE regs unless it is supplied with an adjustable backrest, some coys do. Research suggests the saddle stool puts the spine in balance achieving a correct posture, therefore relieving fatique and musculoskeletal ymptoms? Makes sense to me.

Posted By David Mains Hi Sue, I would agree that you need to get the advice of a physio or occ. therapist before you shell out on any kind of specialist seat. I had a situation where a member of staff had issues with posture/seating due to an underlying condition. We managed to get a saddle chair on trial and found that it was not suitable for her particular condition. However while we had it we tried it out elsewhere!

Posted By David Mains I am confused as to where I mentioned that an Occ. Therapist would carry out an Ergonomic Assessment??? What I did suggest was getting the advice of a physiotherapist or occupational therapist as they would be able to give valuable input on an individual's condition - especially if the individual is attending one or other of these clinical professionals. Alternatively you could hire an ergonomist!

Posted By Dave Daniel Try reading "The Seated Man - Homo Sedents" by A C Mandal (a Danish Ergonomist)1985 if you can find a copy [ISBN 87-982017-1-9]. Dafnia Publications, Taarbek Strandvej 49, 2930 Klampenborg, Denmark. (my copy was £7.50 mail order from them 10 years ago I think.) This excellent and very readable publication in English outlines the case for such seating positions and reviews the anatomy and ergonomics clearly. Mandal concluded that a chair with a forward-inclined seat (15 degrees) creates the same straight back seating position as Bambach now claims but the seat height and desk height also need to be raised - the desk to about 900mm, and preferably a sloping worktop/vision plane. There are soem good diagrams and photos of his research. Interestingly he points out that a victorian clerk would have a desk with remarkably similar dimensions. He used wedge cushions and raised desks on blocks to achieve the result. I don't think that the human species has evolved beyond using his work in the last 20 years... Dave Daniel Technical Director Practical Risk Management