ABSTRACT
Suzanne is 47 and has worked full time for some years in the customer service section of an insurance company. She has contact with the company’s clients by telephone, e-mail, and sometimes by text message. All the details of the company’s products and their clients are on computers. She therefore uses her computer to
6.7.1 Symptoms ......................................................................................... 155 6.7.2 Damaged Structures ......................................................................... 156
6.8 Gender-and Age-Related Differences .......................................................... 157 6.9 Explanatory Models ...................................................................................... 158
6.9.1 Different Models ............................................................................... 158 6.9.2 The Cinderella Model for Muscle Activation ................................... 160 6.9.3 Impaired Blood Flow as a Cause of Pain ......................................... 161 6.9.4 Altered Biochemistry as a Cause of Pain ......................................... 162 6.9.5 Motor Control in Prolonged, Low-Intensity Sedentary Work .......... 163 6.9.6 Sensitization and Propagation of Pain .............................................. 163 6.9.7 Other Explanatory Models ............................................................... 164
6.10 Scienti—c Evaluations .................................................................................... 164 6.11 Sitting Still: A Health Risk in Itself ............................................................. 164
6.11.1 Sedentary Work is Physically Low-Intensity Work .......................... 164 6.11.2 Sedentary Work Could Be a Health Risk ......................................... 165 6.11.3 The Continuous Remodeling of the Body ........................................ 166
6.11.3.1 A Model ............................................................................. 166 6.11.3.2 Muscles .............................................................................. 167 6.11.3.3 Joints .................................................................................. 167 6.11.3.4 Skeleton .............................................................................. 168 6.11.3.5 Coordination and Balance ................................................. 168 6.11.3.6 Body Fat ............................................................................. 168
6.11.4 Health Risks from Physical Inactivity .............................................. 169 6.12 Is the Job Low Intensity, Sedentary, or with Static Load? ........................... 170
6.12.1 Occupational Designation ................................................................. 170 6.12.2 Self-Reported Physical Activity and Level of Exertion .................... 170 6.12.3 Observations of Work ....................................................................... 171 6.12.4 Measuring Physical Activity ............................................................. 172 6.12.5 Measuring Energy Metabolism ........................................................ 172 6.12.6 Measuring Muscle Activity .............................................................. 173
6.13 What the Law Says about Prolonged Low-Intensity, Sedentary, and Static Work ................................................................................................... 174 6.14 Suggestions for Improvements ...................................................................... 176
6.14.1 Organization of Work ....................................................................... 176 6.14.2 The Level of Activity at Work and in Connection with Work .......... 178 6.14.3 Work Equipment ............................................................................... 178 6.14.4 The Individual .................................................................................. 178 6.14.5 Society .............................................................................................. 179
6.15 Summary ...................................................................................................... 180 References .............................................................................................................. 180 Further Reading ..................................................................................................... 182
retrieve information and enter new details into client accounts. A new task introduced a year ago is that, if there are gaps between incoming client calls, she has to ring up potential new clients to offer them the company’s services. Altogether, she normally —nds time for between 75 and 100 customer calls on each working day. Employees have a —xed monthly salary with a bonus for the number of new clients they recruit.
