Say No to Exercise Balls in the Office

VelocityEHS’ board-certified professional ergonomist, Greg Cresswell, explains why exercise balls are best kept for workouts and wellness rather than used as a primary office chair.

Video Transcript

Lauren: Hi, I’m Lauren Caris with Humantech (now VelocityEHS Ergonomics), and today I’m here with our board-certified professional ergonomist, Greg Cresswell.

Greg: Hey, Lauren.

Lauren: Hey, Greg. So, Greg, one of the questions that we get asked about a lot…

Greg: Still

Lauren: …still is using the exercise ball as your primary office chair. Greg, in your professional opinion, what do you think about that?

Greg: Well, Lauren, I think there are four good reasons not to replace your office chair with an exercise ball.

Lauren: Okay.

Greg: So first of all, an exercise ball requires muscle activations. They’re used to improve your core strength, balance, and stability. So, as a chair replacement, they’re just not sustainable. You’re just as likely to slouch throughout the day with sustained use of an exercise ball. Secondly, they have actually been shown to increase pressure on the spine and soft tissue compression as well. Third, they’re not adjustable in height and they don’t offer any back support. And then finally, there are several safety concerns with the exercise ball as well. So, for example, if you have a hundred employees in your office and they’re all sitting on exercise balls and the fire alarm goes off, then what?

Lauren: Yeah, not good.

Greg: Not good.

Lauren: Okay, so what should people do instead of using these as their primary?

Greg: There are tons of good options out there. I would recommend a fully adjustable office chair in combination with a sit-stand workstation. Those things, like that, are great alternatives.

Lauren: Okay, good. Thank you, Greg. So, for more tips like this, visit our HTTV page on Humantech (now ehs.com). Thanks for watching.