See our selection of oustanding Ergonomic offce chairs.
We have reviewed several of the top ergonomic office chairs and have some suggestions. See the full list of ergonomic office chairs here. Our top picks are the Humanscale Freedom and the Steelcase Leap chairs.
Ergonomic Chairs are not perfect.
Even though ergonomic chairs can help a great deal, you still have to get up once in a while and move around. There are many different things you can do to keep your blood flowing normally.
Office Chair Excercise
Sitting in your chair you can do isometric exercises. This also works for long plane flights and can help with blood clots. While sitting in your chair, flex your leg muscles in sets of 10. See our video page with a list of other excercises that you can do in your office chair.
Drink lots of water, this will force you to getup and go use the restroom and get out of your chair. Walking is great exercise. This can be a really useful tactic. There are computer programs you can buy that will remind you to take breaks in pre-set time increments.
How to setup Ergonomic Chairs
You should use your chair for as much support as possible. Make sure you have a lumbar support and that it fits comfortably into the curve of your lower back. Make sure your feet are flat on the ground. You can use a footrest if necessary, or even better, a foot machine. You should have at least one inch between your legs and the sides of the chair. Also, make sure your legs are supported, but without applying pressure to the back of your knees.
Adjusting Ergonomic Chairs
If you have an adjustable ergonomic chair, spend some time playing with the adjustments. Start with the chairs height first. Once you are at a comfortable height, begin setting the rest of the ergonomic chairs parts. Remember, you don't want to sit perfectly straight up, you want to recline slightly to ease some weight off your low back.
What can you do If you don't have an Ergonomic Chair?
- If you don't own any ergonomic chairs, you can still obtain a better sitting posture. If your seat pan is too big, or long, this will put pressure on the back of your knees. You could place a back pillow between you and the backrest and push your body forward.
- If you sit too high in your chair, you could use a footrest to bring your legs up and level with the ground.
- Use a soft cushion if you sit too low in your chair.
How to Get Your Company to Buy Ergonomic Chairs
It's tough to explain to your boss why you need an expensive ergonomic chair. Sometimes employees will simply buy their own chair and then if you ever leave the job, you still have your ergonomic chair. Another route you can take is explain to your boss that you will be more productive and happier. There are studies out there that have shown that ergonomic chairs can increase employee productivity. Steelcase, the makers of the Leap chair, have done one such study. According to their year-long study, with over 200 participants, there was an increase of over 17% productivity with their ergonomic chairs.