An orthopedic chair as part of the solution
There are more pleasant ideas: Sitting in front of the computer for eight or more hours with a vaguely sore back is, for very few people, one of the things you have to experience. Nevertheless, back pain and an unpleasant pulling or tension in the back have become a constant companion for working people who spend large parts of their day at work Desk spend sitting. Part of the solution to the problem can be purchasing one orthopedic office chair be. What very few people know: The German pension insurance helps with the purchase.
2. Orthopedic office chair: What variants are there?
3. The right contact: The German Pension Insurance Association
4. The medical perspective: The office chair doesn't heal, but it is strong in the team
5. The right way to get to a specialist retailer is through the paper jungle
6. The right wire to the right place
Table and chair, considered tools used daily
For as long as humans have been working, they have been using tools. As technical possibilities and needs changed, the items that workers needed also changed. Two eras have led to major changes in this context: industrialization and, almost a century later, the widespread introduction of computers into all possible professions. In a time in which even carpenters cannot avoid having one or two computers in the office in order to remain competitive, job profiles that were once so diverse have become pretty much the same - at least from the outside. Regardless of whether you are a lawyer, sales manager, doctor, wholesaler or accountant: everyone stares at displays for a longer or shorter period of time - and sits there. Even for students, most of their time outside of the lecture hall takes place behind the laptop. By shortening school time and study programs, the education system has also made students' days longer - and therefore the time that has to be spent in chairs. In short: People generally sit far too much.
For a long time, employees and employers viewed a powerful computer, a fast Internet connection and telephones as the main tools for office jobs. Since back problems have been recognized by doctors and health insurance companies as a widespread disease, tables and chairs have increasingly been given the status of “tools”. In short: a far-sighted employer and a health-conscious self-employed person take care when setting up one workplace at least as much attention is paid to the furniture as to the technology.
Orthopedic office chair: What variants are there?
A lot has happened in recent years, especially when it comes to chairs. A decent office chair is now expected to at least have a height-adjustable seat, adjustable armrests and an adjustable backrest. As orthopedic office chair is a piece of seating furniture that can be ergonomically adapted to the needs of the user - in plain English: on which you can sit healthily. However, they are usually only used when sitting for long periods leads to pain or orthopedic problems - which then need to be alleviated. For example, if an employee suffers from severe, undefined back pain, a rheumatic disease or the consequences of a herniated disc, a suitable one can be found Office chair make it easier to return to work.
The right contact: The German Pension Insurance Association
Under these circumstances, the German pension insurance also comes into play. Their legally defined tasks (§§9 ff. SGB VI) also include participation benefits “to counteract or overcome the effects of an illness or a physical, mental or psychological disability on the earning capacity of an insured person and to prevent impairments to their earning capacity.” Simply put, this broadly means: If an employee is at risk of no longer being able to work due to illness, the German pension fund will also help with purchasing one orthopedic office chair. The condition is that the person's ability to work is significantly endangered or reduced and that the purchase of such an office chair can be restored or the risk of incapacity to work can be completely averted.
If you just read a few lines through the conditions, it quickly becomes clear: If you just want to sit more comfortably because you occasionally go home tense after a day at work, you can use the subsidy or cover the cost of an orthopedic chair. However, if you want to compensate for the consequences of an existing disability caused by an illness, the German pension insurance is the right place for you.
Incidentally, occupational safety does not apply here: employers are only obliged to provide their employees with ergonomic seating. This does not mean that you have to purchase special furniture for your employees that takes individual limitations due to illness into account. In short: A classic office chair - yes, a special chair whose adjustment options are tailored to Bechterew's disease - no.
The medical perspective: The office chair doesn't heal, but it is strong in the team
Before going to a furniture store or an office furnishings online shop, you should consult a doctor. Because if there is a constant pain in the back and all the known exercises suggested by health insurance companies and health magazines don't help, there may be a deeper medical problem. Dr. Christian Schneider is head physician at the Sports Orthopedic Institute and Back Institute at the “Schön Clinic” in Munich Harlaching. The sports doctor is an expert in conservative treatments and explains the classic approach as follows: “If a patient complains about new back pain, it is first important to rule out acute problems such as a herniated disc or an activated rheumatic disease and then treat them accordingly.” The specialist confirms that a suitable office chair or a chair-table combination can definitely help as an accompanying therapy during rehabilitation. Such “intelligent” furniture can be adapted to the needs of the patient even more specifically than conventional furniture Office furniture.
An orthopedic office chair can help, especially if you have vague back pain that has no underlying medical causes. “Ideally, they are equipped with moving parts so that static sitting becomes constant movement,” says Dr. Christian Schneider. “These sitting balls were very popular for a while,” he remembers. “If I assume that the spine should be constantly moving, then I’m definitely on the right track with a sitting ball like this in the right size.” But their popularity has declined significantly over time, he reports. Namely, when their users suddenly experienced new pain: muscle tension. “It is the nature of a ball that I can never sit still on it and – this is the desired effect – I have to constantly make compensatory movements with my back, which in turn strengthens the muscles.” But as with any sporting training that you do from a standing position for eight or more hours a day: “That causes muscle soreness.” To start with, he recommends chairs whose seats allow you to sit in a relaxed but relaxed manner. It is fundamentally important for all office furniture that it allows rectangular levels. “Hips, knees and elbows should be positioned at a 90-degree angle to the upper body, thighs and forearms,” says Dr. Christian Schneider. There is no diagnosis that inevitably requires an orthopedic chair. Furthermore: “Such a chair can only ever be part of the therapy and not the therapy itself.”
The right way to get to a specialist retailer is through the paper jungle
In principle, anyone who works sedentary and with a suitable one can apply for the German pension insurance Office furniture wants to ensure that he can continue to work - whether that requires a special chair or table. Typical situations would include, for example, having had a disc operation, a stiff spine, a hollow back, diseases of the skeleton or leg veins. Accordingly, the recommendation to apply for such furniture often comes from a doctor. Grit Wolter from the German Pension Insurance Association explains how this recommendation can best be implemented.
Although the path to the orthopedic office furniture isn't particularly complicated, there are a few pitfalls lurking. The most disastrous thing straight away: Don't act too quickly. “As with all real services, this also applies to orthopedic office chair: First get the application approved and then shop.” Anyone who creates facts and subsequently submits an invoice usually forfeits their right to participation. “The correct order looks like this: first request the applications, fill them out, add a letter from the doctor, submit them and wait for approval,” says Grit Wolter. Specifically, the applicant definitely needs an “Application for Participation Benefits for Insured Persons – Rehabilitation Application” (Form G100), as well as the “Attachment to the application (office chair)” (Form G3143) and a written diagnosis from the doctor, with a justification as to why he considers appropriate office furniture to be useful. Alternatively, the doctor can fill out the “Medical report on the application for rehabilitation benefit” form. “All forms can be downloaded from the German Pension Insurance website – either individually or as a folder,” explains Grit Wolter.
Once the applications and certificates have been submitted, processing usually does not take long. Grit Wolter speaks of days, not weeks. Once the positive decision has been received, the patient should go to the specialist retailer, where they can get advice and try out different chairs. “The patient is then free to decide whether he would like to advance the bill and then have the purchase price reimbursed by us - or whether he wants to submit the bill and have the German pension insurance pay the amount for him.”
By the way, there is no upper limit for participation. “All applications are checked by our social medical service based on the medical diagnosis,” confirms Grit Wolter. This is important because for some diagnoses, for example, a chair is not enough or a height-adjustable table makes sense, which is then approved on top of that. A final word on communication: For reasons of proof, applications must be submitted by post; in order to meet the deadline, an application by email is initially sufficient - supporting documents must be submitted by post and signed.
The right wire to the right place
FORM DOWNLOAD
The form package “Benefits for participation in working life” can be downloaded from the German pension insurance homepage:
(Services -> Forms & Applications -> Rehabilitation -> Benefits for participation in working life).
The current “Appendix to the application” form can be downloaded from the German Pension Insurance website:
(Services → Forms & Applications → Rehabilitation → Appendix to the application)
Contact
POST
German Federal Pension Insurance, 10704 Berlin.
meinefrage@drv-bund.de (requests)
FREE INFORMATION TELEPHONE
0800 1000 48070 (Mon-Thurs, 7.30 a.m. - 7.30 p.m., Friday until 3.30 p.m.)
INTERNET
www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de
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