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	Shape Matters - BackShape versus Other back supports
		Here is a sketch of various common shapes of back support. They are... The circular shape is the McKenzie Roll, sold in 4" and 5" diameters, and also in a D shape of similar size. The larger D shape is an inexpensive product from one of the biggest manufacturers. The rectangular shape is one of the biggest-selling office products. They are drawn projecting into the user's body to convey by how much they are too thick and the wrong shape.
		These photographs show how the shapes work in practice. The rolled-up towel is equivalent to the roll and D-roll, and is often recommended. It is well worth trying before you spend any money on a commercial back support product, because it is a free and easy way of finding out that it is extremely uncomfortable! You can try it in the small of your back, or a bit lower behind the pelvis, where advocates of "pelvic support" say it should be used. In that position you will find it gradually slides your pelvis and legs along the cushion, leaving your lumbar spine to drop unsupported into the resulting gap. The small shaped support is too thick and hard, lifting the rest of the user's back off the seat back. The concentration of pressure over a small area quickly becomes uncomfortable.
		The office product has wings which hide the support profile from the camera. In fact it is almost a rectangular section, producing an edge at the top and bottom, with too little support on the flat area in between. It is hard. See that, like the others, this back support lifts the user completely off the seat-back.
		The nearer photograph shows the back in the ideal correct posture in the standing position, with the shoulder blades and buttocks lightly touching a wall. In this shape, your spine is under minimum stress. The far photograph shows a prototype BackShape inserted into the gap. The size and shape were developed from anthropometry data to fit a very wide range of body sizes, and so it is a perfect fit. You can try this yourself, and see how big the gap is for you. Then when you sit down, the gap should roughly be half of what it is standing correctly like this.
		When sitting, the position of the BackShape moves up a little, but because it is fundamentally the correct organic shape, it fits. It is impossible for most people to sit with the same shape of spine as when standing erect, so the special skinless foam we use compresses to roughly half its thickness, to allow for this.