Ergonomic Chairs Explained
If you’re one of the many people in the UK who have fallen victim to a back complaint, perhaps it’s time to invest in one of our ergonomic office chairs. Whatever your shape, size or budget, our supportive and adjustable ergonomic chairs have been constructed with you and your comfort in mind.
Be spoilt for choice by our extensive range, from our ergonomic kneeling chairs to our ever-popular Cobham ergonomic mesh office chair. Or why not go that extra step further and turn business into pleasure by indulging in a Chiro Plus Fabric Ergonomic Office Chair. With fast delivery throughout the UK, make working in an office a painless and productive experience with ChairOffice.
Ergonomic Chairs Offer Great Back Support
“Ergonomics” is a scientific discipline about understanding the interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and in our case, that is office chairs.
The science-based discipline brings together knowledge from lots of other subjects such as physiology, psychology, engineering and statistics. When put together, we can then build the ultimate office chair that benefits you in more ways than you can think of.
Every aspect of the human body is taken into consideration when building an ergonomic office chair, with the main aspects being posture, comfort, lumbar & neck support and health.
Not every human body is the same and this is reflected in the design process of all our ergonomic chairs. We have a vast range of office chairs to suit every body shape and size. And to top all that off, each chair offers a number of customizable features to fully tailor your chair to the correct support you need.
Let’s drill down into the specifics when it comes to ergonomic office chair features.
Seat Height - It’s become the norm that an office chair has seat height adjustment - and for good reason too. We’re all different in height and it’s very important that our office chair can be adjusted to meet our needs. The optimal seat height should allow our feet to be placed flat on the floor. All our ergonomic chairs feature an easy to use gas-lift strut and you should consult the chair’s description for weight tolerances.
Seat Pan Depth - Not normally a feature that’s thought of but seat pan depth is very useful in ergonomic chairs. Adjusting the depth of your chair’s seat will determine how much support your thighs receive. Typically, 2-4 inches should be between the back of your knees and the edge of the seat. If your seat is too far forward, it may put too much pressure on the back of your knees.
Backrest Height - The backrest height is used to help match the natural curve of your spine. We’re all different, and so is the natural curve of our spines. Adjust to suit your own comfort.
Swivel Base - The swivel base is a basic feature, but one that shouldn’t be ignored in terms of importance. An easy to manoeuvre swivel enables us to reach different points of our desks without having to strain excessively.
Back Angle - The backrest recline is a great feature that should be used throughout the day to help relieve some pressure from our upper body. Sitting all day puts a lot of pressure on our spinal discs and back muscles. Using the recline feature helps the body not become so fatigued.
Seat Tilt - Correct positioning of the seat is of great importance and a seat tilt can go a long way to achieving this. Keep in mind of maintaining a neutral position when sitting with a 90-degree angle at the ankles, knees and hips.
Arm Support - Armrests are very useful in helping reduce the tension in the upper body and enabling the shoulders to relax. Adjust the width and height of your armrests to your own personal preference and try to avoid using the armrests while typing to help reduce the impact on your wrists. Static arms while moving will inevitably result in more unwanted movement in your wrists which can lead to a repetitive strain injury (RSI).
Lumbar Support - Adequate lumbar support helps reduce stress on the spine and pelvis and ultimately helps prevent us from slumping. Lumbar support is essential to ergonomic office chairs and many come with either a pump or rotating cog that can be used to move the support to suit you specifically.
Headrest - Not every ergonomic chair has a headrest as it’s down to personal preference, but they do help support the back of the head and upper neck, reducing tension in the shoulders and even the upper torso. Many headrests can be adjusted in height and tilt to suit you.
How to choose an ergonomic office chair
Find your perfect fit: the product card on every chair lists its adjustments, so look for these.
- Seat depth - look for "Seat-Slide" or "Seat Depth" on the card.
- Backrest height - look for "Ratchet Height Adjustable Backrest", so the backrest and its lumbar support line up with your back.
- Seat and back angle - some chairs adjust the seat and back angles independently.
- Arms - height, depth or angle-adjustable arms let you set the armrests to suit your desk.
Lumbar support options
The right lumbar support is what makes an ergonomic chair feel made for you. Our chairs offer it in several ways, and each product card names the type:
Not sure which suits you? Call us on 01234 834693 and we'll help you choose.
Ergonomic office chair FAQs
What makes an office chair ergonomic?
An ergonomic chair adjusts to fit you, not the other way round. Look for seat height, seat depth (a seat slide), backrest height, back angle, seat tilt, adjustable arms and lumbar support. The more of these a chair has, the more closely you can set it up for your body and your desk.
Which chairs have adjustable lumbar support?
Our top picks are the Ergo Lumbar Support Office Chair ("Inflatable Lumbar Support"), Stratus Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair ("Height & Depth Adjustable Lumbar"), Positive Posture Ergonomic Office Chair ("Height Adjustable Backrest With Inflatable Lumbar") and Ergo Fix Posture ("Inflatable Pump Lumbar"), and you'll find more options in the lumbar section above.
Which chairs are suitable for 24-hour use?
We have chairs built for round-the-clock use, including the Stratus Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair, Ergo Adjust High Back Office Chair, Ergo Body Balance Office Chair, Saturn Ergonomic Padded Office Chair and Chiro Operator Chair.
Additional Resources
Learn more about our ergonomic office chairs from the resources on our blog.
