|
|
|
| |
Chair Specific Information
|
|
|
About Ergonomic Seating
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home > About Ergonomic Seating
About
Ergonomic Seating - Selecting the Best Chairs
- Adjustable
office chairs are designed to benefit users comfortable
functionality |
|
|
Office workers or others
who spend a great deal of time sitting in chairs
performing tasks (including accountants, writers, game
players, and others), often speak of the comfort (or
discomfort) they experience rather than "chair
ergonomics." Yet it is the ergonomic function and design
of a chair (or lack thereof) that is actually affecting
the physical well-being and comfort of users. This is
because seats that are designed with anatomy in mind
strive for neutral posture positioning which provides
minimum muscle activity and strain for backs, shoulders
and neck, arms, hips, and legs. The effect long-term sitting
has on a body that is sitting with poor posture or
improper seating doesn't become apparent for months or
years, when, eventually pain and restricted movement
become an even greater concern than mere chair comfort.
(Lack of mobility has also been linked to Deep Vein
Thrombosis in office workers.)
There are thousands of
office and task chairs or stools available for various
business and computing requirements. Every body,
however, will evaluate the "best chair" individually.
Selecting an office chair with maximized adjustability
and durability for the particular job you do within your
affordable price range is very important.
-
Seat height, depth
and tilt positioning
-
Backrest height,
depth and tilt positioning
-
Lumbar support
-
Arm rest size, depth
and height positioning
-
Non-slip seat
material and padding comfort
-
360 swivel capability
(for office work)
-
Type of adjustment
levers and where they are placed
-
Ease of lever use
(particularly for those with wrist or arm injuries)
-
Stability of base
-
Easy caster mobility
(when casters are required)
-
Is the seat and
backrest size suitable for the user? (Big and tall
individuals as well as petite individuals, for
example, won't both be comfortable with the same
seating adjustments.)
|
Item # 11-3443BL-3495
Task chair shown
above with
optional adjustable arms
Item # 05-34556 Spine Align™
Chair
The back shape
matches the natural spine curvature and has
a split back.
|
Muscle strain (static load)
can be caused by slouching as well as sitting upright at
90°. Ergonomic chairs offer adjustable supports
beneficial to those who use them properly. |
The lumbar curve in the
human back provides a balancing point for the center of
gravity. Proper posture minimizes the activity and
strain upon our back muscles while standing, for
example. Yet this lumbar curve is also affected by how
we sit, because the center of gravity can be misaligned
by an inappropriate seating position; thus, if there is
poor support creating a spine out of alignment with CG
(center of gravity), the back muscles respond to provide
support. Also, the front of spinal discs can become
pinched if the lumbar spine is flattened.
Sitting in a single position
for long periods causes continual pressure (static load)
which then requires much longer periods of muscle
recovery time. Unfortunately, office and computer
workers typically fail to readjust their sitting
position, stand up to walk around and stretch, though
these are activities advised by experts to occur at
least once per hour, if not every half hour.
When selecting any chair, it is important for the user
to be attentive to their own body posture as well. For
example, slouching when you're seated even in a high-end
ergonomic chair will undercut the many benefits the
chair was designed and purchased to provide. |
|
Item
# 05-34439BG
Even stacking chairs,
such as the one above, or drafting stools, such as the
one shown below, have begun to incorporate ergonomic backrests
or other adjustable features to provide greater seating
comfort and support. |
The back
of human being's lower lumbar support and positioning,
as well as that of our hips and thighs, are affected by
the height and tilt of both the chair's seat and
backrest. Sitting with the chair set low can raise your
knees higher than your hips and can also set you too low
for your arm and wrist to sit efficiently at table
surface height; you're also able to stand with less
exertion in a high position. One way to begin gauging
your correct chair seat height is to stand facing the
chair seat while having the seat itself positioned to
knee level while you're standing. Once that is done,
only very minor adjustments might be required.
Many experts state that
the best chairs are constructed to allow the user to
make the necessary adjustments so that: (a) The
seat is curved slightly downward from the back towards
the front, (b) that your knees are slightly lower than
your hips when your seat height is adjusted so your
weight is carried at the top of the seat's rear
horizontal curve, (c) Your back rest provides lumbar
curve support (this typically requires a height
adjustable chair backrest), and (d) Your seat back can be
tilted slightly back to approximately "a 135 degree
body/thigh posture" (per positional MRI research
reported in Science Daily in November 2006)
rather than a 90° angle to the seat, as the 135°
position was found to be the most advantageous sitting
posture in terms of biomechanics. |
Item # 11-3442BL |
|
|
|
Bear in mind
that no matter what job you perform, your posture and
seating should provide you adjustability. As a user,
however, you can also be mindful of maintaining your
shoulders at ease with your arms. Elbows should be bent
at 90 degrees for typing with your wrists sitting evenly
and relaxed over your desk surface. Your head is bent
forward very slightly though in-line with your torso.
The best chairs help you maintain the good posture you
set rather than work against you. |
|
Here are a few
links for your reference:
|
|
|
|
< back to top
>
© Copyright 2000 to 2008 ~ Ergo In Demand, Inc. ~ 4900 Industry Drive, Central Point, OR 97502 |
|
|
