Ergonomic Office Chairs
A User’s Guide to Ergonomic Chair Features and Adjustments
Ergonomics, or ‘the science of work’, can increase your health, efficiency, and productivity by tailoring your work environment to suit you. A key component of any ergonomic office is the ergonomic office chair.
Viola Mesh Back Task Chair by ADI
An ergonomic office chair is a must for anyone who spends a significant amount of work time seated. These chairs offer contoured, highly adjustable components designed to support healthy posture and good sitting habits. Many ergonomic office chairs offer a range of features to accommodate a wide number of users.
So how do you know which features you should focus on? How should they be adjusted? To help you search for your new ergonomic office chair, we’ve compiled the following breakdown of common features and adjustments.
SEAT HEIGHT
The seat height should allow you to rest both feet flat on the ground in front of you. Your knees should remain slightly higher than the seat and roughly in line with your hips. Too low a seat height may place undue pressure on your hips and lower back. Too high a seat height can put pressure between the seat edge and the backs of your legs. Both cases may interfere with circulation and cause fatigue.
SEAT WIDTH
Your chair seat should be at least as wide as the measurement of your hips and thighs while seated. An inch wider on either side is preferable for ease of movement. Narrow seats can hamper movement and distribute your weight unevenly. The majority of office chairs have a static seat width.
SEAT DEPTH
The seat depth should allow you to sit with your lower back firmly supported against the backrest. At the same time, you should have a few inches of space between the backs of your knees and the front edge of the seat. This will help you avoid cutting off circulation and causing pain. Seat depth adjustments are achieved with either a sliding chair seat or a sliding chair back, and are a must for any chair shared between users of different heights.
SEAT ANGLE
The seat angle adjustment allows you to fix your seat at a desired angle with the chair back. Users preferring a more reclined position may wish to angle their seat back so they won’t slip forward and cause themselves to slump. A forward seat angle allows an easier transition to a standing position and greater control for those who heavily utilize their chair’s rolling and swivel functions.
Take care not to tilt your seat too far forward or backward. Forward tilted seats may cause you to slide forward, leaving your lower back unsupported. Backward tilted seats may place too much pressure on the lower back, hips, and buttocks, and become uncomfortable.
BACKREST
In a normal seated working position, your lower back, or lumbar region, takes a lot of punishment. A good ergonomic backrest will work wonders to alleviate pressure and fatigue. Many backrests are ergonomically contoured to match the natural s-curve shape of your spine. Some are high and offer additional neck and shoulder support, and some are low and focus on your lumbar region.
Low backrests are better for people who use their upper bodies very actively while sitting. Higher backrests may inhibit movement somewhat, but are best for anyone who reclines regularly. With a low backrest, you may put strain on your neck and shoulders when reclining. If you select a chair with a high backrest, it must also fully support your lower back.
BACK ANGLE
Some people have a more exaggerated natural curvature of the spine; some tend to be straighter. No matter your shape, your body needs support. A back angle adjustment feature allows you to angle the chair’s backrest to conform to the contours of the back, allowing you to sit upright securely and with less fatigue. This feature is useful to anyone who often changes positions or is prone to back problems.
TILT LOCK
Tilt lock is especially useful when your chair’s back angle and seat angle are just the way you like them, but you’d like to sit in a more forward or reclined position for a while. This feature lets you tilt the chair back to your desired sitting angle and lock the chair into place. If a reclined position raises your feet off the floor, a foot rest can keep your legs in a comfortable alignment.
TILT TENSION CONTROL
This feature controls the resistance you feel while tilting your chair. Loosen the tilt tension if your chair is too stiff. If your chair tilts you back too quickly, tighten the control. Your chair should have enough tension to tilt smoothly with a minimum amount of pressure.
ARMRESTS
Armrests should be high enough to lightly support your forearms without requiring you to either slump or raise your shoulders to use them. They should be placed about as far apart as your arms naturally fall. Armrests that are too close can restrict your normal movement and leave you feeling pinned; armrests too far apart may cause you to lean and sit in an uncomfortable posture. Bulky or awkwardly placed armrests can also interfere with moving the chair in close to the keyboard or work surface, causing you to stretch or reach. Removable, adjustable armrests with light padding are the most ergonomic choice.
MANEUVERABILITY
A solid, stable ergonomic office chair will have at least a five-pronged base with good quality casters. You should be able to easily roll and swivel within your workspace. This saves you having to stretch and twist whenever you need something out of reach. If your casters won’t roll well over your floor, a chair mat may enhance your workspace.
EASE OF ADJUSTABILITY
Ease of adjustability is perhaps the most important and most overlooked feature on any ergonomic office chair. If the adjustments are too confusing or complicated, chances are they won’t be fully utilized. The average person changes positions many times over the course of the work day. It is important to have a chair that will work with you.
Examine the adjustment controls. Can they be used from a sitting position in the chair? Are they meant to be set once and altered only very occasionally, or can they be used repeatedly throughout the day? User-friendly adjustment controls include pneumatic levers and trigger mechanisms. Knob adjustments are often designed to be inconspicuous: make sure they are also easy to locate and manipulate.
