More than 80 percent of us will suffer from a bad back at one time or another in our life. This is caused by the way that we adjust our bodies to the lifestyles that we lead. For those of us who spend much of our working lives on a computer, a bad back can arise from the way that we sit when we work.
In this hub I shall give you 7 Cool reasons to use a proper ergonomic chair when you work at a computer – even if you are working from home.
Why Use a Proper Office Chair at Home
- Your Body Was Not Made To Sit Still:
Many things about the way we live today are unnatural. For example many of us work at a desk on a computer, and we spend much of that time sat in one position with only our eyes and our hands moving. But the human body was not made to sit still for very long. When we sit still too long we get stiff joints and back pains. A proper ergonomic chair will encourage your body to move: it sits on a swivel base, has a reclining backrest and maybe a reclining seat. - Not All Humans Are Built The Same Size:
We come in different sizes and shapes – fat, slim, tall, short, and everything in between. A good office chair or computer chair is adjustable so that you can set it to your own individual body dimensions. The range of adjustments available on a proper ergonomic office chair include a height-adjustable backrest, a sliding seat for seat-depth adjustment, height-adjustable (and sometimes width-adjustable) arms, a height-adjustable seat, and sometimes a flexible headrest or neckrest. - Maintain The Natural Curve Of Your Back:
When we work on a computer or on paperwork at our desk, the natural urge is to lean forwards into the desk. But unless our back is properly supported as we do so, this causes our backs to form an unnatural ‘concave’ shape. Sitting like this for even short periods of time each day will very quickly have a bad cummulative effect: leads to aches and pains in the lower back. The solution is to be sure to buy an ergonomic office chair or computer chair whose backrest will support you even as you lean forwards into your desk. You also need to make sure that your desk is the right height and that your work is arranged such that everything you need is within easy reach of your arms. - Maintain The Blood Flow To Your Legs:
Do not overlook the effect that prolonged hours of sitting can have on your knees and lower legs. Your feet need to touch the floor without straining. And your legs should be at a right-angle to your thighs. You should also avoid undue pressure to the back of your knees, because such pressure could gradualy cut off the blood supply to your lower legs. A proper ergonomic chair will have a ‘waterfall’ edge to the front of the seat so that the seat is not pressing into the back of your thighs. - Ever Considered A Gentle Back Massage As You Work:
This sounds really cool. But it can also be very essential, especially if you already suffer some back pain already. There are several office chairs on the market with inbuilt massagers. But at the very least you should consider an office chair or computer chair with an adjustable lumbar support or lumbar air pump. A lumbar pump or adjustable lumbar support will allow you to adjust the chair’s pressure on your back while you sit. Alternatively tighten and loosen the pressure from the lumbar support in your chair’s backrest to relieve tiredness in your lower back as you work. As I said, cool and yet highly essential. - Who Else Uses Your Chair?:
I have already mentioned above that we are not all built the same way and we therefore need to use a computer chair that can be adjusted to our individual needs. If other people in your household – such as your partner and child – share your desk with you and you only have one desk chair, then you want to make sure that the chair can be adjusted to sit each person comfortably. - Are The Armrests Supporting You Or Getting In The Way?:
These days you can often choose to buy your computer chair with or without arms. And you can choose to buy a computer chair with height-adjustable arms. The choice should generally be based on whether your require the armrests to support your fore-arms and elbows as you work, or whether you feel that they might get in the way especially if your home-office is very small. Why not also consider the option of fold-away adjustable arms? These are armrests that are height-adjustable to support different sizes of user, and that can also be folded neatly out of the way when they are not in use or when you need to park the chair away very snuggly up against the desk.
Save Your Back
Many people that use computers for work complain their office computer chairs are not comfortable. Using a cheap chair that does not promote good posture could cause a lot of unnecessary back pain and leg pain. There are so many benefits to buying good office computer chairs for both the employer and the employees. Employees will be much happier when they are comfortable and in turn will provide much better work to their employers without having to worry about being uncomfortable or having to worry about what their bad posture may cost them in years to come.
If you spend more than an hour in your computer chair, you should seriously consider an ergonomic computer chair. If you sit at your computer for 8 hours a day you absolutely need to be using an ergonomic computer chair. An ergonomic office chair promotes good posture, and reduces fatigue caused by sitting the same way for an extended period of time. Ergonomic chairs are proven to reduce the chances of developing Carpal Tunnel which is important to anyone that uses a computer on a daily basis. Most repetitive stress related hand and wrist injuries originate from poor posture while working on a computer. These chairs are highly adjustable in both the back tilt and the height of the arm rests. They also provide excellent lumbar support and are padded which will support your body without the chair losing its shape. Ergonomic chairs are proven to help stop posture related injuries from sitting at a computer for any period time. Real ergonomic chairs can cost hundreds of dollars but they will be sure to save you lots of money and hassle in the long run.