Ergonomic Desk Chairs

Archive for the ‘Workstation Ergonomics’ Category

When planning for office seating, you would be well advised to factor in the important aspect of Workstation Ergonomics. This essentially entails the ergonomic office chair and workbenches which can not only greatly enhance working comfort but also productivity as research has proven time and again. The first step towards good workstation ergonomics is to ensure good sitting positions, without which the best office layout would not be conducive to your bottom line.

Ergonomic office chairs are made to alleviate backaches, tired necks and shoulders, headaches which are all symptoms of poor spine health. If you have noticed, you would realize that staff often take medical leave when they are incapacitated by bad headaches and backaches, and this could mean impacting negatively on your bottom line. While ergonomic office chairs can indeed help you and your staff with better overall spine health and reduce back ailments, they are not the miracle pill that is an immediate cure all. It does take time for physiological changes to take place.

Spending eight hours or more at the office in a sitting position can be toil on your back especially when there is lack of back support. Ergonomic office chairs are designed specifically to give added support to the hip, pelvis and lower back region. In addition, it helps to maintain proper alignment of your back and spine, thereby enhancing blood circulation, alertness and concentration.

To enhance your workstation ergonomics, whether at work or at home, you will need ergonomic office chairs with height adjustability for your seat, armrests as well as back rest. Most ergonomic office chairs should have a weight support of 275 pounds. Armrests should be attachable and removable based upon need. It is advisable to use executive ergonomic chairs which are either equipped with high back rest, or added head rest.

The best ergonomic chair need not be branded and expensive but functional with their basic features in place. If you buy ergonomic office chairs by bulk, your workstation ergonomics investment could be much less, in return for an enhanced bottom line.

If you have a job that is 90 percent desk bound, you will need good ergonomic desk chairs. Many people in the profession of draftsmen and architects are very particular about their sitting posture with the main reason being that the ergonomic drafting chair promotes good postural habits and spine health.

Ergonomic Drafting Chair - ChairWorks

The ergonomic drafting chair is one type of ergonomic chair specially designed to fit the needs of architects and draftsmen to help them work more efficiently. In fact, the original of the ergonomic chair dated back to the ergonomic drafting chair. Extensive research have been done to prove that ergonomics, sitting postures and the way drafters work at their desks are important correlated factors that cannot be ignored, especially when it comes to being desk bound and full concentration hovering over their work.

Apart from maintaining good spine health, the ergonomic drafting chair helps to reduce symptoms of backaches, tired neck and shoulders which could easily develop back pains and slipped discs if not managed over time.

It offers more physiological benefits than one can imagine. By alleviating the height of the seat, it provides prevents further spinal problems from developing, and being height adjustable means that it can fit the length of your legs, as the ergonomic drafting chair always comes with a foot ring for you to rest your legs.

They are usually designed with back rests which also offer a higher seat height and with proper back support, you are able to decrease the pressure exerted on the spine. With the appropriate lumbar support pillow attached with the chair, you are enhancing your spine health and more able to avoid back pains with a strong back and better circulation.

Ergonomic Drafting Chair - Office Star

There are a variety of materials used for the chair, from leather, cloth to mesh. Your choice of materials is important as you not only need a comfortable seat, you need to have sufficient support and quality that lasts over time.

Key factors to look out for before you purchase your ergonomic drafting chair are proper lower back support, with a seat of at least the standard 17 inch high and should have a seat tilt of about 5 degrees forward and back. You should choose a drafting chair with adjustable arm rests for better flexibility and mobility.

The cost of an ergonomic drafting chair starts at about 200 dollars with the best ergonomic chair costing about 400 hundred dollars. It is considerably affordable compared to its other counterparts. The popular and dependable brands are ChairWorks and Office Star.

In part 2 of this series we discussed how to have good sitting posture in relation to workstation ergonomics. Today, in part 3, we will discuss tips on how to further improve your sitting position on ergonomic desk chairs to derive the optimum productivity, minimum physical discomfort and maximum spine health.

When at work, you need to adjust the height of your chair to your workstation, pushing it close to the work desk. It is preferable to have ergonomic desk chairs that come with armrests for resting them and relaxing tired muscles. A very common mistake that people make when moving in a swivel chair is that they tend to twist at the waist which could cause injury to it. Instead you should turn with your entire body.

In addition, when you need to stand up from a sitting position, shift your body to the front of portion of your seat before standing up. Use the armrest if necessary. When standing up, take note to straighten your legs and never lock your knees. Do not bend forward at your waist as this could cause undue pressure on the lower back portion of your spine. When standing, try to do some light stretching exercises which are beneficial to spine health.

Besides having the best ergonomic chair to help you with your sitting posture, you will also need to make certain minor sacrifices with regards to your sitting habits. For instance, when you experience lower back pain, often this is due to your lumbar region not being sufficiently supported, thereby exerting undue pressure upon the spinal discs. Apart from that, it is also possible that your dangling feet is not placed flat on the floor and your thigh muscles are pulling back at the spine. A few adjustments can be made to this situation.

Adjusting the height of the chair is the first change you can make. Getting ergonomic desk chairs with backrest helps to tilt the back slightly forward is another. Alternatively, you can purchase separately a lumbar support pillow to be placed at the lower back area of the chair, thereby ensuring that your spine curves in tandem with the shape of the support.

What actually causes tired neck, tensed shoulders and pain in the higher back is probably the fact that your head is overtly tilted forward or backwards, and also the arms are not supported. It is easy to remedy these situations. Get ergonomic desk chairs with adjustable headrests or high backrests, and don’t forget to get them with armrests too. And finally, if you feel pain in your buttocks, you have exerted too much pressure on it. You should sit deeper into the chair seat pan instead, or rather, simply stand up, stretch, take a break.

For more information to help you find the best ergonomic chair, check out this series of Ergonomic Desk Chairs Workstation Ergonomics for Spine Health.

In part 1 of this series we discussed that importance of the workstation ergonomics and the usefulness of ergonomic desk chairs in enhancing spine health. Today, we shall share what makes proper sitting posture.

Sitting is more harmful than standing up, especially over extended long hours over time, the reason being that unlike standing, the pressure is less evenly distributed across the body and is mainly concentrated along the spine, affecting smooth blood circulation. The main cause of the back pain experienced by desk bound workers are often due to the fact that pressure is concentrated at the lumbar region of the spine, or otherwise known as the lower back. When this happens, the blood flow which brings along with it important nutrients are blocked thereby causing the lumbar region to harden. That is what the lay person deems as having a stiff back. And this is exactly what ergonomic desks chairs aim to resolve.

Besides getting the best ergonomic chair to correct your sitting posture, you need to relearn how to sit upright correctly to reduce the compounded damage that has occurred to your spine.

Here is the correct sitting posture. You need to sit up with your back straight, pull your shoulders back with buttocks touching the back of your chair. Distribute your body weight evenly on both hips, keeping knees at 90 degree angles, and slightly higher than your hips. Here is where you might need a foot stool if necessary and keep your feet flat on the floor.

You can easily have good sitting position if you follow this method. Simply sit at the end of your chair and lean backwards. Then bring yourself up, hold for a few minutes and unlock the position at about 10 to 15 degrees.

It is important to note that regardless of whether you are using conventional or the best ergonomic chair, if you wish to have good spine health, never sit in the same position for more than thirty minutes as being in a fixated position for long periods tend to affect blood flow and circulation about your body. Get up and move around, and do some light stretching exercises whenever possible.

Stay tuned for part 3 of this Ergonomic Desk Chairs Workstation Ergonomics series.

Workstation ergonomics is the fusion of science and art in designing the job task, tools and equipment required as well as the favorable workplace environment to fit the worker. It is critical in preventing recurring strain injuries which if ignored, may cause physical disability over time. It is important for both human physical health and productivity. And often, this starts with examining the way you sit or effectively, your sitting posture and corrective measures are made subtly to by using ergonomic desk chairs.

Workstation ergonomics helps you to understand how a desk bound worker who spends at least 85,000 hours of her lifetime in a sitting position manages to prevent back pains and maintain spine health. Up until recently, not many people know that the sudden development of back pains and spine related ailments arise partly and simply from their prolonged incorrect sitting postures. Ergonomic desk chairs are designed to correct this.

To the company management, the key to recouping such investments come in the form of enhanced productivity and better bottom line. And many companies which embrace good workstation ergonomics have proven to achieve above 1000 percent in their 3 year ROI.

Not only have companies realized the importance of this, many homeowners, especially those who have set up home offices are beginning to convinced converts.

It is recognized that seated for long hours can be even more harmful your body than standing. The key reason is that unlike a standing pose, the sitting position puts much more uneven pressure onto the back and spine area, causing uneven blood flow.

Using ergonomic desk chairs subtly correct your sitting posture, without exerting undue pressure or major changes to the neck, back and spine. Some even come with lumber support pillow for added support to the lower back and they have proven to be effective especially for those who have bad back pains.

Stay tuned for the next part of this series on enhancing spine health with the right sitting posture using ergonomic desk chairs.

Up till now, there are still a lot of people who do not know what the ergonomics mean and what kind of benefits it brings to your spine health. In fact, it affects almost every aspect of your everyday life. At work and at the home, there are increasing awareness of the correlation of our physical functionality and output, or what is known as performance at the workplace. The term ergonomics is the concept of converting the conventional workstation for better physical spine health and productivity both at home and at work. Many offices have recognized the correlation between work performance and good ergonomics which starts with the right sitting positions and good posture. Hence, ergonomic desk chairs or more commonly known as the ergonomic computer chair, are often the first to be installed in their move towards an ergonomically designed work environment.

The ergonomic computer chair is designed to prep up your body in the right position by allowing for adjustable chair height, armrests, as well as backrest tilt functions. These are the basic criteria which allow you to fine tune your sitting position for a good posture. The more premium types would also provide added padding at the lower back area in the form of lumbar support pillow, as well as extended protection of the neck with the addition of a head rest.

There are a few varieties, some of which look more like strange contraptions, namely the ergonomic kneeling chair, the ergonomic ball chair, just to name a few. The former is designed for corrective spine treatment for those with little to no history of bad back pains but are showing symptoms in the form of tired necks and shoulders, backaches and headaches etc. The latter works along the concept of exercise balls, helping you build up a strong spine as well as great abdominal muscles. Using the ball chair would require much more balancing skills though.

Interesting as they look however, you may not wish to rush out right this moment and purchase one, not especially if you have already developed a bad back or slipped disc. It is advisable for you to consult your physician before making the investment. Pre existing conditions like back pains and carpal tunnel syndrome should never be trifled with and you should be very clear what types are suitable specifically based on your condition. That said, ergonomic desk chairs in the form of ergonomic computer chair is the safest bet for maintaining spine health especially for those with pre existing bad back ailments.