Find out how the ergonomic benefits of Focal are helping professionals “work better, live better” through their individual experiences and testimonials.

Video 1 – Don Levine of Olympic Physical Therapy

So, more and more I’m liking to FocalUp!

It’s become seamless now with a simple functionality upgrade I made this week…

Initially I was using my desktop computer at my sit-desk and my networked laptop when at my Locus Upright – totally functional but a convenience and efficiency obstacle  as I moved between workstations / computers.

My upgrade consisted of an $8 25’ braided HDMI cable that now connects my desktop computer to the 47” LED flat screen monitor/TV located over my Locus Upright, making it a third monitor on my desktop computer’s extended desk top. Wireless keyboard(s) and mouse allow me to move effortlessly between my two workstations while never leaving my computer’s extended desktop – I move about 4 steps between the two workstations (3 monitors) and simply slide my documents and Apps from one screen to the next depending where I am. Fully integrated – seamless! This is a terrific set up from a bio-mechanical, ergonomic, technical, and efficiency perspective.

This simple technical enhancement may/not seem significant, but for me as a user that moves between two workstations this integration is a big deal in making optimizing my comfort and performance.

The next enhancement here will be the addition of a  40” x 1” semi rigid slit foam tube (used for hot water pipe insulation) to the upper-edge/underside of the Locus for power/HDMI cable management… allowing cables to be contained then routed down the back side of the Locus leg out of view. No more wires hanging around the desk top.

 

But don’t take our word for it. Well-respected medical doctors have been reporting on the health dangers of sitting disease caused by prolonged sitting for years.

An American Cancer Society study (July, 2010) concluded that the amount of time you spend sitting, independent from your level of physical activity otherwise, has a significant impact on your overall risk of death. Therefore, public health messages promoting physical activity only tell half of the story–reducing time spent sitting is equally important.

“Several factors could explain the positive association between times spent sitting and higher all-cause death rates,” said [ACS epidemiologist Alpa V. Patel, M.D., Ph.D.]. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.” (1)

Mayo Clinic endocrinologist James A. Levine, M.D., Ph.D., famous for his research on the connection between good health and the necessity of moving your body throughout the day, links sitting with an increase in risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as to the many problems that can stem from obesity and metabolic syndrome (elevated blood pressure and sugar, high cholesterol and excess abdominal fat). (2)

“Today, our bodies are breaking down from obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression, and the cascade of health ills and everyday malaise that come from what scientists have named sitting disease … Every two hours spent just sitting reduces blood flow and lowers blood sugar, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease,” said Dr. Levine.

And studies recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (March, 2012) and The Lancet (July, 2012) came to very similar conclusions: physical inactivity or prolonged sitting is a risk factor and has a major negative impact on human health worldwide, independent of physical activity. Decreasing sitting/sedentary time could substantially improve health. (3, 4)

So take a stand! Don’t let sitting disease get you down!

• NYU Physician, Fall 2012 – “Restoring a body in motion”
• Mayo Clinic – “What are the risks of sitting too much?”
• The American Cancer Society – “Study Links More Time Spent Sitting to Higher Risk of Death”
• The Lancet – “Effect of physical inactivity”
• The Wall Street Journal – “Taking a Stand at Work”
• BMJ Open – “Sedentary behavior and life expectancy in the USA”
• Pennington Biomedical Research Center – “Cutting Daily Sitting Time Might Extend Life by Two Years”
• British Journal of Sports Medicine – “Too much sitting: a important predictor of chronic disease risk?”
• Archives of Internal Medicine – “Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk”
• Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute – “Office study makes a stand for better health”
• Forbes – “Get Up, Stand Up, For Your Life”

2012 marked the 18th annual ErgoExpo, the largest ergonomics event in the nation. Attendees include professional ergonomists as well as health, safety, productivity and risk management professionals from corporations, governments, institutions and advisory firms. The Attendees’ Choice Award has been awarded for the past eleven years.

Attendees voting for this award look for products that “offer the best opportunity to increase productivity and profitability, while improving workplace health and safety.” The majority of attendees are end users, responsible for making purchasing decisions for their organization.

Martin Keen, industrial designer and founder of Keen Footwear, founded Focal Upright Furniture after using standing desks in his own studio. Standing was tiring and he soon found himself leaning against a modified seat. Using an old stool with the seat tilted forward, Keen began leaning while working. He suddenly realized he was no longer aware of posture – he was simply energized and focused on his creative work. “There is a place between standing and sitting where our body wants to be. It’s a natural, neutral posture and it just feels right.”

Research into the new phenomenon of “Sitting Disease” confirmed that this was a major improvement on the office cubicle. Keen hopes that launching Focal Upright Furniture’s Locus Workstation, featuring the iconic Locus Seat, will revolutionize the office furniture industry in the same way his footwear designs have changed the shoe industry.

Based on the response at the 2012 National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition, it appears experts think Keen’s approach may have an even bigger impact.

Martin Keen, founder and designer of Focal Upright Furniture, is pleased to announce a Focal book signing with Dr. Galen Cranz, author of the seminal book, The Chair, at the National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas this year.

The two visionaries have discovered a common interest in encouraging people to re-think their relationship with their workspace. Keen’s Focal Upright Furniture is revolutionizing the office furniture industry in the same way his footwear designs have changed the shoe industry. As for Cranz, she “is no sedentary historian. The Chair is a call to action,” says Jonathan Levi of the Los Angeles Times.

Keen developed his line of upright furniture after using standing desks in his own studio. Standing was tiring so he designed a better option. His new Locus™ workstation puts you in a posture halfway between standing and sitting; it is designed to move with you, encouraging active, yet gentle, muscular engagement. Locus supports your natural balancing point, encouraging healthy movement, blood circulation and oxygen flow.

“It’s a natural, neutral posture and it just feels right,” says Keen.

After launching Focal, Keen discovered Cranz’s book and instantly recognized a like-minded thinker. Cranz, a Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of California Berkeley, teaches a class that examines both footwear and chair design and how the two have had an impact on people.

“This is what I’ve been looking for,” says Cranz, referring to Keen’s new upright workstation.

Cranz’s highly respected book has had an enormous impact on furniture design theory.

“Relating much of the modern era’s rampant back pain to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle spent in conventional seating, Cranz goes beyond traditional ergonomic theory to formulate new design principles that challenge the way we think and live. A farsighted and innovative approach to our most intimate habitat, [her] book offers guidelines that will assist readers in choosing a chair – and designing a lifestyle – that truly suits our bodies.” (Book Jacket Notes. The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design by Galen Cranz. 1998.)

Focal Upright Furniture will be at the Ergo Expo Booth 312, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, from December 4 – 7, 2012. Dr. Cranz will join Focal on December 5 – 6. Signed copies of her book, The Chair, will be available.

Press Contact:
Mary Hall Keen
Mary@FocalUprightFurniture.com
401-654-1340