Sitting disability
A
Sitting disability is a condition in which a person may not be able to
sit, usually due to pain, but can also happen to persons sitting in wheel chairs. It is also known as the "reduced ability to sit", "sitting problems" or "inability to sit".
Sitting disabilities have generally been an unrecognized disability. The term "sitting disability" is not a well known expression although it is a term used to describe notable symptoms for people with severe
back pain. The disabilities usually mentioned in research and legal documents are reduced mobility and visual or auditory impairments.
Pain while sitting is a well known symptom when having
ischial tuberosity[
1],
Myofascial Pain Syndrome,
coccyx pain,
failed back surgery and back pain in general. An inability to sit is one of the signs of chronic low back pain[
2]. Low back pain is a condition that affects a large part of the general United States population at some point in life [
3]. Sixty-five percent to 80% of Americans have an episode of
low back pain at some time in their lives. Although most cases resolve quickly, 40% recur and 5% result in a residual disability after 1 year.
In the U.S., acute
low back pain (also called
lumbago) is the fifth most common reason for all physician visits. About nine out of ten adults experience back pain at some point in their life, and five out of ten working adults have back pain every year [
4].
With several severe pain syndromes, like
neuralgia or
Pelvic Pain(Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction), pain during pregnancy or after given birth, the pain can be aggravated by sitting.
The specific problems for persons with back problems are usually not addressed anywhere in research, legal documents, accessibility or anti-discrimination laws.
Sitting problems are usually an
invisible disability. This combined with the fact that reduced ability to sit is not mentioned in research or anti-discrimination laws, makes it even harder for people to live with this kind of impairment.
A person with a sitting
disability caused by excessive
pain, is unable to sit or stand for long periods of time, and will need to lie down. The availability of benches or other devices where one may lie down may be a critical factor that determines whether a means of transportation or a public building is usable or not for many people with this form of disability. Public buildings and transportation such as flying are often inaccessible to people with severe sitting problems. People suffering from both sitting- and mobility problems often have to use a
wheelbench, which is usually too large to fit into an elevator.
A sitting disability is a medical condition that makes a person unable to sit,
not unable to move. It is not the inability to sit that prevents a person from being in a building, it is the lack of places to lie down or comfortable reclining chairs. Accommodations for people who have a sitting disability are being enforced as Western nations integrate
Universal design into their societies. The
Norwegian back pain association has described this in relation to sitting problems in a document to the Government in Norway.
For some medical conditions like
Pudendal neuralgia, avoiding activities like sitting, which worsen the condition [
5], is regarded as crucial. A severe sitting disability requires major life adjustments.
*
Invisible disability*
Sitting*
(Norwegian) External article*
(Norwegian) External article*
External Article*
Neuralgia and sitting*
A U.S. court case involving the disability
