Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 December 1899 — Virtues of the Straight-Back Chair. [ARTICLE]

Virtues of the Straight-Back Chair.

When our grandmothers were girls, and straight-back chairs instead of cushioned divans were the usual restplaces, says the Public Ledger, the young women held themselves with a straightness that was almost stiffness. Then when they grew old they still held themselves like duchesses. For it is the way one sits rather than the exercise one takes that determines the erectness of the figure. A prominent physician says that the proper sitting position requires that the spine shall be kept straight and that the support 'needed for the upper part of the body shall be felt in the right place. Therefore it is necessary to sit as far back in the chair as possible, so that the lower end of the spine shall be braced against the back of the seat. If this back is straight the shoulders will also rest against it; but even if the shoulders have no point of support, it will be found that they do not need it when the base of the spine is supported properly. This position makes no strain upon the ligaments of the spine. Every organ of the body is properly fixed by this attitude. The feet should rest squarely upon the floor; thus perfect equilibrium and rest are secured. The arms should never be crossed, for that position causes a strain upon the spine, places a weight upon the stomach and diaphragm, and thus greatly increases the labor of digestion and respiration.