Why use an Ergonomic Chair?
Do you spend long ours sitting at work? Are you complaining back or shoulder pain later hours of the day?
Sitting long hours in one position add stress to the lumbar area and puts pressure on the spine. When we are at work- it involves a lot of time spending sitting on a chair. To avoid those health issues, selection of the right chair is vital to prevent those problems especially for people who work long hours in a sitting position. You need a work friendly chair to be productive and stay away from health issues.
Ergonomic chairs are best and well designed. It allows the user to maintain a balanced position and supports good posture. A chair becomes ergonomic only when it suits with the size of the worker’s body dimension, suit the workstation requirement as well as the activities that is to be performed at the workstation.
How to use an ergonomic chair
Safe Computing Tips’ Top 10 Ergonomic Chairs of 2017 is perfect in case you want to do more research or know which chair to pick up for yourself. Take a look!
When properly used, ergonomic chair can increase improved posture and appropriate back support. Following steps will help you to maximize the benefits of an ergonomic chair.
1. Sit near to your desk and rest your hands on the surface of the workstation.
2. Adjust the seat height so that your upper arms are -parallel to your spine and elbows should be at 90 degree angle.
3. Don’t lean forward or slouch
4. Place your computer screen parallel to your eye level so that you don’t have to strain to look at the screen.
5. The bottom should be placed with a slight arch against the back of the chair.
6. Position your arms rests at a level so that they are little lifted – at the shoulders
While ergonomic chairs are designed to promote good sitting posture and maximize back support but one must be aware – it is important to sit properly. Buying a good ergonomic chair is a good start but there are other elements which contributes to an ideal workstation design including footrest, lighting etc.. It is also necessary to get up at an interval and move around.
Features of a good ergonomic chair:
When looking for an ergonomic chair, there are a number of things to consider including:
- Adjustability – Seat height should be adjustable.
- Seat Height – Seat height ranging between 16-21 inches off the floor, mostly work well. It allows the user to put the feet flat on the ground. Should be adjustable.
- Seat depth and width – It should have sufficient width and depth so that one can sit comfortably. Usual standard of width is 17-20 inches.
- Backrest – Our lumbar spine has an inward curve and without supporting the curve, it leads to slouching and back pain. An ergonomic chair should have lumbar adjustments (depth and height) so that it can support the back.
- Backrest– The backrest should be 12-19 inches wide. Backrest should be adjustable in vertical as well as backward and forward directions.
- Seat Material– It should have enough padding to be comfortable. Cloth fabric- that breathes is preferred for harder surface.
- Armrests– Should be adjustable and allow users comfortably rest their arms and keep shoulder relaxed.
- Swivel – Should be able to rotate easily.
Brought to you by Safe Computing Tips. Enjoy!