Is Your Office Chair Hurting You?

Have you ever considered that the chair you’re sitting in right now could be detrimental to your health and you’re just not aware of it? Using a poorly designed office chair can cause harm to our bodies over the long-term, as well as reduce our productivity. It’s not always this dramatic, however – there are plenty of options on the market that are designed with ergonomics in mind.

Here are some key questions to ask yourself to determine whether you’re being harmed everyday at work:

• Does it have lumbar support?

This refers to the features on the chair that aid in the positioning of our lower backs (where the lumbosacral discs are located). Research has shown that these discs endure three times the load when we sit rather than stand, which can make poor posture and damage to our spinal tissue more likely. If you experience lower back pain, your chair could actually be to blame. Lumbar support office chair will have a small hump near the bottom of the backrest that aligns with the natural curve of our spines.

• Does it have adjustable arms?

It would be nearly impossible to find two people in your workplace with arms of exactly the same length. So why shouldn’t our office chairs accommodate these differences? Research has found that our arms should rest comfortably on the armrests at a 90-degree angle. It’s even better, however, if you can find a chair whose armrests can accommodate different tasks – the correct postures for typing at the computer and talking on the phone are different, after all.

• Does it have a headrest?

Every part of our bodies matter when it comes to posture, from your head all the way down to your feet. A headrest can help to ensure that our shoulders are relaxed when sitting, which research has found is vital for good posture. It’s not generally something that we will use all the time, but it will be there when we need it. It’s there for those moments when you feel like relaxing or leaning back, like when you’re on the phone (anytime we recline our chairs, really).

• Does the seat adjust to support our bodies?

We cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach to choosing chairs, which means that the one we ultimately choose must have adjustable features to ensure it fits the curvatures of our bodies and our unique heights. This is important, as everyone has their own unique body shape and because we are prone to changing positions throughout the working day. From talking on the phone to typing at the computer, the chair should support our bodies to avoid discomfort and long-term harm.

So, what’s the verdict? Is your current office chair doing more harm to your body than good? If the answer is yes, the good news is that Topaz Furniture can help you to select new chairs that actually encourage good posture and look after our health in the long-term. From executive to boardroom chairs, rest assured that you’ll find a model that ticks all of your boxes in our extensive range.