Becker Dental Lab Gets On the Ball

Shawn Holmes, a ceramist at Becker Dental Lab in Herculaneum, MO, had been going to physical therapy in an attempt to relieve lower back pain and discomfort, which was only exacerbated by long hours at the bench. So when a co-worker made a novel suggestion—sit on a stability ball during the workday instead of a regular chair—he decided to give it a shot. After three weeks of alternately sitting in his chair and on the ball—which allowed his core muscles to acclimate to the new sitting position—he now uses the exercise ball all day. "It relieved my lower back pain and the fatigue in my upper back, shoulders and neck," says Holmes. "I'm also not as tired at the end of the day as I was when I sat in a chair."

Unlike most chairs which keep your body in a single, static position, stability balls promote what's called "active sitting." The ball's unstable surface forces your body to constantly adjust its position to stay balanced. This helps engage and strengthen...