11 Ergonomic Tips for Synchronizing Your Workstation and Office Chair
Having the best designed and most ergonomically-friendly office equipment may not necessarily mean much for preventing back pain, neck pain and other pain if such equipment is out of sync with your workstation, as confirmed in a recent study that provides a great forum for examining how you can adjust an office chair to your work environment.
Detailed in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a new study found that workers who received not only new ergonomic office furniture but professional set-up by an ergonomist had less symptoms of musculoskeletal pain and eyestrain 18 months later than those workers who had to set up their new furniture on their own based off instructions.
Now what if your employer can't afford to hire a professional ergonomist to visit your office during these tough economic times? Well, there are still many ways to be proactive when setting up your office chair and desk just right to your needs and the principles of ergonomics.
- Understand the Ultimate Goal
Having a special chair is often viewed as the be-all, end-all of correct office ergonomics. While an ergonomically-designed chair can certainly do wonders, remember that the ultimate goal is to achieve balance between finding a work chair that fits you, provides good support and minimizes stress on the back, and using it correctly in relation to your work environment.
Before providing instant analysis of your chair, examine other factors, including your optimal desk level, how you sit, and the height of your computer screen, and strive to improve on these areas.
- Get Suited to Your Work Surface
Rather than just going out and buying a new chair, ask yourself "what type of chair will fit your work station?" Examine how long you sit all day and how you sit at your desk.
Are you semi-seated (similar to sitting on a bar stool) or do you sit straight up? Do you need to adjust your chair? Where is your computer in relation to your body?
Determine your appropriate work surface (which takes into account the position of your arms, elbows and hands in relation to your desk's height and your laptop or desktop computer) and be sure to have a chair that allows you to attain this specific height.
The correct surface level can vary from profession to profession (for example, architects and draftsmen often prefer to sit higher), and the final decision as to what's appropriate is thus determined by each individual.
- Become a Series of Right Angles While Sitting and Typing
Sit down straight and as close and comfortable as possible to your desk, with your upper arms parallel to the spine and your hands rested on the work surface.
At this point, take a step back and examine whether your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. If they are not, adjust your office chair higher or lower as deemed fit.
Also make sure that your legs are bent at the knees at a 90 degree angle. Try to maintain this ideal sitting posture as much as possible, and if you find yourself slacking, give yourself a break by getting up and stretching.
- Don't Sit Too High Unless Necessary
Did you know that all of our ankles swell up anywhere from 6 to 8 percent by the end of the day, but for patients with back, leg or circulation problems, this swelling can jump from 10 to 15 percent, especially if sitting in a chair that is too high and leaves the feet dangling?
Generally speaking, a seat height ranging from 16 to 21 inches off the ground is suitable for most workers. To tell whether your chair is too high or at the right height for the desk surface, slide your finger underneath your thigh at the front end of the chair.
If this proves easy to do, your chair is likely at a good height. However, if this proves difficult, your chair is likely too high, which can put extra pressure on your feet and require you to proceed to the next tip.
- Boost Your Feet in Certain Situations
In situations where you have to lift your feet off the ground because of a chair or even a desk that is too high, or where the chair height is right but you're not that tall, consider using a foot stool to prop and rest your feet as opposed to leaving them hanging all day long.
Such action will reduce both pressure on the feet and the likelihood of foot pain at the end of the day.
- Raise Your Work Surface When Applicable
Standard seats should allow for 2-4 inches between the back of the knees and chair.
However, if you're a taller worker, you may be familiar with this problem: your chair seat is not long enough for your thighs, which have too much space underneath them. In these rarer situations, raising the work surface level may be necessary to ensure circulation at the back of the knee.
- Make a Fist to Your Calf
Ensure that there is enough room between the front edge of your chair and calves by simply making a fist, bringing it to the edge of the chair and pushing it on the calf.
If you can fit your full fist between the front edge and your calf, you likely have enough space for circulation and pressure. If not, your chair is likely too deep.
Adjusting the backrest forward, inserting a cushion, pillow or rolled-up towel to support your lumbar spine (lower back), or purchasing a new office chair are some possible solutions to this problem.
- Have the Support of Your Back
Back support is a main focus of many ergonomic chairs, but what makes a chair good in terms of supporting the back?
Ideally your work chair should do a couple of things: provide back support angling just past 90 degrees or up to 90 degrees, and include cushioning that pushes your back forward when sitting back in the chair.
Such low back support is essential in preventing slouching as you tire and minimizing the load or strain on your back. With this in mind, the backrest of an ideal ergonomic office chair is typically between 12 and 19 inches wide.
- Sit Right
A lot of times, workers have chairs with great back support but don't take advantage of these features because they sit on the edge of the chair.
Make a conscious effort to press your bottom against the back of the chair, and avoid slumping or slouching, which places extra stress on the lumbar discs and other structures of the lower back.
- Apply A Different Kind of Eye Test
Once your chair has been adjusted to the height of the table, your legs have gotten comfortable and your back is supported, close your eyes and take a deep breath.
Casually look forward with your eyes closed, and then open your eyes, which should be aimed at the center of your computer screen. Depending on whether the computer screen is higher or lower than your gaze, you may need to raise or lower the monitor.
If you need to raise your laptop, consider using a stack of books or even a small box, which has personally helped me reduce the likelihood of neck strain at work.
- Adjust Your Armrest
Armrests play an important role in reducing neck and shoulder strain and diminishing the likelihood of slouching forward in your chair.
Adjust the armrest to the point where your arms are slightly lifted at the shoulders. Doing so will allow the armrest to support just the elbow and take weight off the shoulders.
Perhaps after making all these changes, you ultimately decide that you do need a new office chair.
If you find yourself in the market for a new chair, you'll want to consider many factors, including the seat's height, width, depth, materials, armrests, back rest, lumbar support and swivel.
What features should a good ergonomic office chair possess?
In first considering the "conventional" style of office chair, there are a number of things an ergonomic chair should have, including:
- Seat height. Office chair seat height should be easily adjustable. A pneumatic adjustment lever is the easiest way to do this. A seat height that ranges from about 16 to 21 inches off the floor should work for most people. This allows the user to have his or her feet flat on the floor, with thighs horizontal and arms even with the height of the desk.
- Seat width and depth. The seat should have enough width and depth to support any user comfortably. Usually 17-20 inches wide is the standard. The depth (from front to back of the seat) needs to be enough so that the user can sit with his or her back against the backrest of the ergonomic office chair while leaving approximately 2 to 4 inches between the back of the knees and the seat of the chair. The forward or backward tilt of the seat should be adjustable.
- Lumbar support. Lower back support in an ergonomic chair is very important. The lumbar spine has an inward curve, and sitting for long periods without support for this curve tends to lead to slouching (which flattens the natural curve) and strains the structures in the lower spine. An ergonomic chair should have a lumbar adjustment (both height and depth) so each user can get the proper fit to support the inward curve of the lower back.
- Backrest. The backrest of an ergonomic office chair should be 12 to 19 inches wide. If the backrest is separate from the seat, it should be adjustable in height and angle. It should be able to support the natural curve of the spine, again with special attention paid to proper support of the lumbar region. If the office chair has the seat and backrest together as one piece, the backrest should be adjustable in forward and back angles, with a locking mechanism to secure it from going too far backward once the user has determined the appropriate angle.
- Seat material. The material on the office chair seat and back should have enough padding to be comfortable to sit on for extended periods of time. Having a cloth fabric that breathes is preferable to a harder surface.
- Armrests. Office chair armrests should be adjustable. They should allow the user's arms to rest comfortably and shoulders to be relaxed. The elbows and lower arms should rest lightly, and the forearm should not be on the armrest while typing.
- Swivel. Any conventional style or ergonomic chair should easily rotate so the user can reach different areas of his or her desk without straining.
