Ergonomically Correct Office Chairs are Important!

People have been talking about ergonomic office chairs like the uber expensive Herman Miller Aeron line for years now, but there's no need to go plop down a bunch of cash just to be comfortable. Nowadays, you can grab much cheaper ergonomic chairs from a place like Staples or even upgrade your old chair with some DIY fixes. Note that some things are DIYable; some are not. Here are the things you need to make sure your chair has:

• A comfortable cushion: One of the most basic and obvious things you need is a comfortable place to sit. A hard chair isn't going to do you any good; a proper office chair with a cushion is going to keep you much more comfortable. After all, you are spending hours at a time in this chair. Breathable fabric is great too, if possible.

 

• Arm rests: Again, this is something you probably can't DIY, but you should have some arm rests on your chair for when you aren't actively typing. They should be low enough that your shoulders stay relaxed and your elbow bends at around a 90 degree angle.

 

• Adjustable seat height: It's a lot easier to adjust your seat height than it is adjust your desk height. You want to be able to adjust your seat so that your thighs are parallel to the floor and your feet are flat on the floor. You also want to have your arms at the height of the desk (or the part of the desk containing your keyboard or mouse).

 

• Adjustable back rest height: This is one of the first things to go in the cheaper office chairs, and it was one of the biggest mistakes I was making in my own setup at home. You should be able to adjust your chair's back rest not only up and down, but its angle as well. Generally, you want the angle to be pretty far forward to keep your posture up—the further back you put it, the more likely you'll be to slouch. You'll also want the back rest of your chair to have...

• Lumbar Support: You have probably heard this term a lot, but may not even know what it means. Essentially, our backs are slightly curved inward, meaning the backs of our chairs shouldn't be directly vertical. Instead, they should support our lower backs by coming forward. The graphic to the right illustrates the idea well: the left half is a chair with no lumbar support, the right image has this $10 support added on. Of course, you could just as easily strap a rolled-up towel or something similar on your chair, but you need that support if you don't want to mess up your spine.
  

  Angel Sales PosturePro Lumbar Support

• The ability to swivel and/or roll around: It's hard to DIY this particular feature, but a chair with wheels and the ability to swivel is actually more of a necessary feature than you may think. When you need to reach for items on your desk, you can put strain on your body—so widening the area you can easily reach (and see without turning your head) can do wonders.