This activity has six descriptors. The activity is described as "sitting in an upright chair with a back but no arms".
The figures in brackets indicate the relevant number of points.
- Cannot sit comfortably; (15)
- Cannot sit comfortably for more than ten minutes without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to
continue sitting; (15)
- Cannot sit comfortably for more than thirty minutes without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to
continue sitting; (7)
- Cannot sit comfortably for more than one hour without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to
continue sitting; (3)
- Cannot sit comfortably for more than two hours without having to move from the chair because the degree of discomfort makes it impossible to
continue sitting; (0)
- No problem with sitting. (0)
Medical examiners are advised to consider the claimant's ability to-
- watch television (duration and in what type of chair)
- listen to the radio
- use a computer
- sit in a friend's house, pub or restaurant
- sit in cars and buses
The handbook points out that this activity is about the claimant's ability to maintain the position of the trunk without support from the arms of a chair or
from another person.
The guidance also emphasisies that sitting need not be entirely comfortable and that the descriptors refer to a degree of discomfort which
makes it impossible to continue sitting. Medical examiners are also told to treat with care any problems with sitting that are not
associated with problems involving the lumbar spine, hip joints and "related musculature".
