Active Chair exceeds even inventor's expectations

Like many people who lead sedentary lifestyles, László Papp was suffering from spinal problems, which doctors said were down to age. To help alleviate his pain, the mechanical engineer set about creating a versatile chair to help him reach the positions and strengthen the muscles other exercise machines could not reach. Since the Active Chair was invented in 1995, a host of new applications have been found for his machine.

Papp (left) had been an active sportsman in his youth and used the knowledge he gained about the human body in tandem with his design experience to build the Active Chair. Unlike similar products on the market, the chair's uses are almost unlimited. Although he created it specifically with back problems in mind, Papp says that each customer finds new uses for the product, including work, rest, sleep, and even child-bearing and love-making. "Ladies can move with minimal effort. Some men find it difficult to move. In this chair, they don't have to, they can just stand," he explains.

The special design of the chair also makes it suitable for a wide variety of medical applications. The elderly and patients weakened by illness can stand up or lie down with minimal effort, saving carers from the effort of lifting and moving patients. It has also successfully been applied to the treatment of children with attention and learning difficulties, movement problems, underdeveloped nervous systems and autism. The Active Chair can also be employed as an exercise machine to strengthen all muscle groups, helping people treat muscle problems, keep fit and lose weight. Papp once cured a patient with a severe case of lumbago in just two sessions of upside-down stretching. And because it is almost indestructible, the Active Chair even serves as an extremely durable children's toy.

The product has been approved by medical experts and introduced in 42 countries. "There is no other multifunctional chair in the world that can do more than this," Papp says of his multiple award-winning invention, which was presented at the "Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions" in 2004 and won the special award for "creativity in improving quality of life."

The chair is made in three different sizes with a choice of three finishes. The cheapest model, costing Ft 99,000 (excluding sales tax), is upholstered in cloth, while the most expensive is made of stainless steel, covered in leather and costs Ft 275,000. If required, the manufacturer, Swingring Kft, also offers a selection of colors, materials, sizes and reinforcements to support patients weighing up to 160 kilograms. The chair can be ordered via the manufacturer's website from almost anywhere in the world. The company is currently looking for distributors interested in selling the product outside Hungary.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle