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MARCH 17, 2005
By Olga Kharif Oddball Answers to Back Pain As an aging workforce suffers more spasms and twinges, sales of weird and wonderful office chairs, stools, and cushions are booming
Marianne Burke has been sitting on a ball for a month now. She and two other analysts in Horizon Air's accounts payable department in Seattle recently ditched their office chairs for so-called stability balls, the colorful, bouncy spheres on wheeled frames intended to provide back support. Commonly found in gyms, they haven't been office furniture -- until now. They have been having a ball ever since. "My lower back is much better," Burke reports. "And I like to bounce on it." No doubt at least one co-worker teases the bouncy bunch. But chances are they won't be oddities much longer. Increasing numbers of workers are dragging stability balls -- so-called ball chairs and even weirder contraptions -- into their offices in the hope of alleviating back and shoulder pain. SPHERE OF INFLUENCE. Designers are responding to that rising demand with imaginative forms and nifty uses for some cutting-edge materials. In the next few weeks, Fitness Quest, which sells products through Wal-Mart (WMT ), plans to launch its Bosu DSL ball, which, unlike the typical stability ball, will contain "loose granular material," says inventor David Weck, who also trains professional athletes. Balls will come in 5- and 20-pound sizes -- enough weight to stop them rolling away, he says. That's just one of the many innovative ideas for desk seating that is both high-tech and functional. Many of the new contraptions, such as ball chairs, bouncing stools, and knobby cushions, are protected by dozens of patents covering everything from spring design to materials and fabrics. The first ball chair prototype won the first prize at the Geneva Inventors Show in 1999. Now copycats are rolling out cheaper models. Depending on the manufacturer, such items come with egg-shaped balls or the more traditional orbs and cost between $99 and $250, making them affordable to the mass market. With some designs, such as the original Geneva show winner, Dr. Ritter ErgoChair, the sphere can even be removed from the frame and used as an exercise aid. SLIP AND SUE? For those still worried that stability balls and ball chairs can't be adjusted to an individual person's height, there's the Swapper, a chair from Via Seating available in specialty stores like Relax The Back since 2001. In the past 12 months, Via Seating began selling the chair -- which resembles a bar stool, but allows its owner to bounce and move from side to side -- in mainstream stores like Dania and Scandinavian Design. The stool, which can be adjusted from 22 inches to 27.5 inches, sells for $569 to $699 and can also be adjusted to enhance or dampen bounciness, thanks to its patented spring. Until now, many companies have hesitated to introduce these products, fearing workers would fall off and injure themselves -- even though studies of schoolchildren in Europe show kids tumble from conventional chairs more often. Slowly, however, chair alternatives are finding their way into offices, particular at tech outfits. Some employees at recruiter Monster (MNST ), airplane maker Boeing (BA ), and computing giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ) are already sitting on balls rather than chairs, according to Deby Harper, owner of supplier The Fitness Co. in Scottsdale (Ariz.). GROANS AND MOANS. So, why the sudden interest in alternatives to something as mundane as a chair? Simply put, the U.S. is fighting a back-pain epidemic. More than 100 million Americans suffer from back pain, according to the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. In fact, back pain is the second-biggest reason for doctor's visits, behind upper-respiratory infections, according to the American Chiropractic Assn. The problem is exacerbated by a workforce that's aging and getting heavier. "As you get older, some of these aches and pains become more prevalent," says Ken Tameling, a director of marketing for furniture maker Steelcase (SCS ). That's partly why desk chairs are the fastest-growing category of the office furniture market, according to research consultancy Freedonia. Others are slashing prices on proven ergonomic designs by outsourcing production to countries with lower labor costs. Fitness-products seller Ball Dynamics recently unveiled its FitBall Seating Disk, a special cushion that's placed onto one's desk chair seat. Unlike the $33.95 Disc'O'Sit Balance, its other cushion product with a dome-shaped top and bottom made in Italy, the new model is made in Taiwan and costs $26.95. SEAT OF INSPIRATION. The price difference may not be huge, but Ball Dynamics' cushion sales are already up 30%, says Jack Broderick, national accounts manager for the Longmont (Colo.) company. Both pillows have tiny bumps on one side to improve circulation in the, um, nether regions. Office-furniture maker Herman Miller (MLHR ) has been experimenting with cheaper materials, such as various resins, instead of more expensive plastics to make its ergonomic chairs less expensive, says Gretchen Gscheidle, research program manager for the Zeeland (Mich.) company. The number of chair designs from both established manufacturers and startups is shooting through the roof, as companies trumpet the next big thing for back pain. "A furniture designer can put more imagination into a chair than into a desk," says Stefan Wille, owner of the Aktrin Furniture Information Center in High Point (N.C.). BOTTOM LINE. Sure, many of these products receive their share of criticism. For instance, the balls can burst. They also require strong abdominal and back muscles, says Carol Morodomi, a physical therapist at industrial-therapy provider PreCare in Sonoma (Calif.). Fact is, "the ideal work environment would have multiple seating options," says Herman Miller's Gscheidle. Alas, corporations likely won't spring for multiple chairs any time soon. And that means individual employees will have to pay for an extra cushion or a ball out of their own pockets. But with back pain such a prevalent problem, even the strangest designs could well find their followers.  Kharif is a BusinessWeek Online reporter in Portland, Ore.
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