The Best Office Chair for Back Pain 2022
Are you still using those wooden office chairs with four legs that are anything but comfortable? Have you returned home with excruciating back pain? Back pain is typical when working or sitting on a chair without back support. If your chair is not ergonomic, you will likely have less strength to work, lose concentration, and thus be less productive during work hours.
Consider investing in an ergonomic office chair if you want a pleasant workspace that helps you to maximize your potential. If you are an employee, you should seek and persuade your supervisor to purchase an ergonomic chair.
How would ergonomic seats reduce back discomfort? Here are the top three causes:
3 Reasons Why Ergonomic Office Chairs Will Improve Your Back Pain:
Support Proper Posture: Ergonomic chairs encourage healthy posture and minimize bodily strain. The standard height for a chair back is between the user’s shoulders and the bottom of the chair. A portion of the chair’s lower back slopes slightly forward to mimic the natural curvature of your lumbar spine. It is sometimes called “lumbar support” because the chair protects the lumbar spine by giving it a place to rest.
You may rest your elbows and forearms on adjustable armrests. This enables you to operate your keyboard and mouse without tiring your arm and shoulder muscles. Adjusting the seat height lets you sit with your knees and hips bent to roughly 90 degrees while maintaining a straight back.To avoid the front edge of the seat from cutting into the knees, several ergonomic chairs include movable backs that may be pushed forward or backward.
Keep Your Posture Upright and Avoid Slouching: There are physiological and environmental reasons why people slouch. Internal causes include obesity, tight hamstrings, limited hip flexion range, and core muscles that are too weak to support the spine against gravity. External influences are those that have nothing to do with your body, such as the limitations imposed by the chair’s design. These include armrests that are too low or too high and seats that are too deep or too shallow.
Although ergonomic seats cannot alter your inherent limitations, they are designed to counteract external factors. The curved seat back and adjustable seat depth provide lumbar support, discourage slouching, and promote upright sitting. Some chairs even allow you to modify the backrest’s angle or tilt. Slouching and hunching the shoulders can be avoided using an ergonomic chair.
Aligning the Hips and Pelvis Properly: People often have low back pain when sitting because their hips and pelvis aren’t in the right place. When seated correctly, the ASIS and PSIS, two bony structures on the pelvic bones, should be parallel. If your pelvis, sacrum, and lumbar spine are all in line, you should have a little arch in your low back, with the convex part of the curve of your back pointing forward. Stress on the low back is minimized when the ASIS and PSIS are aligned.
Sacral sitting, also known as posterior pelvic tilt, is very common among people. In this posture, the PSIS is lower than the ASIS, and our weight is more evenly distributed between the sacrum and the ischial tuberosities. When the pelvis tilts backward, the lumbar spine curves, placing additional strain on the ligaments and muscles of the low back. Ergonomic chairs assist in balancing the ASIS and PSIS to provide maximum comfort while working.
Can office chairs help back pain?
A proper office chair helps prevent lower back problems from starting initially. The degree to which you feel relief from preexisting pain may also be affected by your chosen office chair. An ergonomic office chair is ideal for relieving back muscle tension, which exacerbates back pain. However, ergonomic office chairs for back pain are not the only way to create a comfortable workplace. Other effective methods for preventing back pain include adjustments and good sitting posture.
According to occupational therapists, selecting the proper office chair and organizing your workspace correctly is essential for maximizing back health. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees have had to improvise in temporary home offices, aggravating their back pain. The majority of households lack these ergonomic chairs. However, we recommend investing in one if you work from home frequently.
What’s the best office chair for back pain?
You have a lot of choices when you are buying an ergonomic chair, but here are our top 5 picks:
- Best Overall: Gabrylly Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair: Retailing for $290 on Amazon, this office chair checks all the boxes for being branded and the best overall with 8000+ reviews awarding it 4 stars and above.
- Best Budget: Amazon Basics Ergonomic Office Chair: Only $86 and the most affordable on this list; this has faux leather cushioning and adjustable height. Only downside? It does not have any armrests.
- Best Adjustable: NOUHAUS Ergonomic Office Chair: For $370 on Amazon, this chair has two sections dedicated to back support and should be your number 1 choice if your main concern is back pain.
- Best for Home Offices: FelixKing Ergonomic Desk Chair: This retails for $131 and has an almost 30-degree back tilt. Although it doesn’t offer any armrests, the chair is sturdy and comfortable.
- Best for Lumbar Support: HOMEFUN Ergonomic Office Chair: For only $99.99, this includes a separate extra lumbar pillow with a tall back for added stability. The only disadvantage this chair offers is its absence of a headrest.
What chair features are good for back pain?
-
Adjustable Height:
In terms of long-term ergonomics for relieving back pain, height adjustment may be the most important feature to consider. Your neck and shoulders may be awkwardly positioned if your chair is overly high or low in relation to your desk.
-
Arm Support:
Experts agree that armrests support the upper body, shoulders, and neck. For the best support, find a chair with adjustable armrests that can be raised or lowered.
-
Adjustable Backrest:
According to therapists, those with low back discomfort should prefer an easily adjustable lumber support, whilst those with a tiny frame should emphasize an adjustable seat level. A chair’s back can give support in three ways: positioning of the lumbar support, backrest tilt, and seat depth. People with more general needs may seek a chair with an adjustable angle that permits movement.
-
Firm Cushioning:
Before purchasing a chair, you should look for one that provides a great deal of support, either in how it conforms to your body or in the thickness of its padding. People should purchase a chair that is somewhat firmer than softer because they will be using it for extended periods of time, and the padding will typically wear out more quickly if it is too soft.
What is lumbar support?
The lowest area of your back is known as the lumbar region. The diaphragm and sacrum consist of five vertebrae attached to your pelvis. Lumbar support, usually found in car seats and mostly in office chairs, is meant to take some pressure off our lower backs so that we can sit comfortably.
How do you sit properly in an office chair?
For the lumbar support to work well and keep you from getting back pain, you must keep a steady sitting position. Some people move around on the front of their seats, leaving a lot of space between their lower backs and the chair’s lumbar support. This is not a good idea. When you sit back in a chair, it’s important that your lower back rests on the lumbar support.
Attempt to align your pelvis, shoulders, and head as well. Your back will keep curving inward, and your weight will be spread out evenly.
You should remember to keep your hips and knees at the right angle and take frequent breaks between tasks. To maintain your health, you need to make sure that you walk about, stretch, and flex at least once per hour.
Check out here more about:
Best Back Support For Office Chair Review In 2022
Best Office Chair For Lower Back Pain Review In 2022
Conclusion
Being tied to a chair for an extended period of time, such as in an office setting, can give rise to lower back discomfort or aggravate the symptoms of an existing back condition. When used appropriately, an ergonomic office chair is a tool that may assist an individual in maximizing the amount of back support provided and in maintaining good posture while sitting.