About
9
Publications
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Citations
Introduction
My PhD investigated the history of seating design that facilitated spinal postural health & task. My continuing research interests are a) consideration of aesthetics in design to the detriment of postural health b) tracing research progress of optimal seating designs & postures. Such progress may be seen by comparing my 2001 & 2014 papers. I have been invited to present in Aust., Japan & U.S. & published my PhD in books & journals. I also run seminars in unique locations; see Projects .
Current institution
Additional affiliations
March 1999 - October 2003
Position
- PhD Student
Description
- During my candidature I read in rare book libraries & observed & measured artefacts in museums in UK, US, Germany & Aust. These data informed my thesis regarding factors that impacted posturally healthy seat design throughout seating history.
February 1980 - November 2004
Position
- Clinical educator, clinical supervisor
Description
- I taught on the Graduate Diploma of Manipulative Therapy at Cumberland College of Health Science 1980-1994. When CCHS became Faculty of Health Sciences and the course Masters of Manipulative Therapy I continued in the role 2002-2004
January 2008 - present
Position
- Adjunct Research Fellow
Description
- In this position I write papers, book chapters and published my PhD in 2 volumes.
Publications
Publications (9)
Dynamic seating design purports to lessen damage incurred during sedentary occupations by increasing sitter movement while modifying muscle activity. Dynamic sitting is currently defined by O’Sullivan et al. (2013d) as relating to ‘the increased motion in sitting which is facilitated by the use of specific chairs or equipment’ (p. 628). Yet the evi...
This book differs from other books in the genre in two ways. First, it blends issues of health and history with seat design and use. Second, it focuses on functional seating, or seats of various common forms that serve practical, everyday, task-related functions.
Seat furniture design peculiar to the Victorian era may be broadly divided into patent and
parlour seating. These two seat furniture forms refl ected the many contradictions that were
the reality of the Victorian period. Patent seating offered a multiplicity of supported postures
to facilitate task and prevent spinal ill health. While patent seatin...
The best knowledge on seated posture before the Enlightenment
was not scientific, but influenced by sociocultural,
economic, and manufacturing factors. Although
the pursuit of knowledge related to spinal postural health
was advanced with the advent of empirico-analytic research,
academic opinion continued to be influenced by
unsubstantiated informa...
The harmful effects of sustained sitting and the health of the spine are well documented. The focus of much of this investigation has been sedentary occupations. However, how people sit during leisure hours can impact on the health of the spine both in and out of working hours.
A literature search was conducted using Amed, Cinahl and OVID Medline d...
THis book examines the relationship between sitting posture and seating design and the health of the back. The reported research demonstrates that some popular leisure seat design encourage poor sitting postures leading to low back pain, the onset of which may not occur until the following day. The book makes recommendations for enhancement of seat...
Prolonged sitting with poor posture is associated with the development of lower
back pain. Ergonomic texts for physiotherapists contain diverging and confusing
views on recommended postures for the lumbar spine when seated that will
promote postural health and optimal functioning of the lumbar spine. A review of
the literature reveals that proponen...
