You Could be Sitting on Your Problem: How to Spot a Bad Chair

 

Is backache spoiling your fun? You are not alone. Chronic back pain can alter your life’s choices for the worse, and all this time you could be sitting on the cause!

 

Nobody truly cared for a chair, provided it was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. This was years ago when most people believed that a chair by any design, style or make was one and the same – until their backs ached. Today, the internet is buzzing with searches about “ergonomics” and “ergonomic chair”. 

ErgonomicsMadeEasy.com has noted these searches have given them more traffic than the past two years, and their cash registers have also showed improvement. Ergonomics has indeed “shaken up” the way people do things, nowadays. And ergonomic chairs have taken the vanguard position on sales charts.

A Sit on Good Health

At any angle, an ergonomic chair looks like an ordinary chair, but it has features that set it apart by thousands of dollars on sick leaves and medical costs. For one, it protects its user from chronic back ache that when left untreated may cause disability or even deformity.

By comparison therefore, and using health as a yardstick, any chair that is not ergonomic is a bad chair for your back, most especially for those who sit for long hours before the PC. But how can you tell?

Features of an Ergonomic Chair

Every ergonomic chair is built upon the objective of “fitting the tool with its user”. This is the principle behind the science of ergonomics. Proponents of ergonomics believe that stress-related injuries, such as back pains, may be avoided if a person sits on an ergonomic chair that is suitably fitted for his particular height, weight and body size, instead of sitting on a chair that is either too low or too small for his body. Long hours on that chair will definitely cause the body more stress, which will eventually lead to chronic disabling symptoms like a back ache.

Here’s how to spot a “bad chair”:

No lumbar support. This feature sets the benchmark for an ergonomic chair, and that not all chairs are created equal.

Lumbar support protects you from back pain as you sit for long hours before your PC as it supports the arch of your lower back that carries the body’s full weight when seated.

No adjustable settings. These settings “customize” the chair depending on your height. Ideally, your feet should be positioned flat on the floor most times while you are seated. Without adjustable settings, and seated on chairs that are too high for your height and therefore elevates the feet off the ground, may cause leg cramps. 

A “Misfit”. Obviously, a chair that is not appropriate for your body size, height and weight may cause you more body aches. Not even the three bears on Goldilocks story sat on chairs not appropriate for their size, remember?

Armrest not included. Most ergonomic chairs come with armrests for more ergonomic benefits.

Online ergonomic stores carry different styles and designs of ergonomic chairs, but you have to select one that is suited for your needs and budget. ErgonomicsMadeEasy.com has budget selections for students and professionals; they also provide free information on how other ergonomic tools, like ergonomic keyboards and mouse, desks and accessories can speed up your work and increase your productivity.

 Photo credit:  adamr/freedigitalphotos.net

Tips on How to Sit for Good Health

The way you sit may be causing you health trouble. Back ache is often the result of poor sitting posture, but lately even the chair you sit on can cause the problem.

For sure you want this monkey off your back, for good – right? Back pain is disabling; it can alter moods easily when it strikes, and it can ruin dates. Now, count that last one as the worst effect of back ache!

Seriously, back ache is something that you should deal with by the horns – immediately. It is a symptom of many ailments, therefore you should consult a medical practitioner BEFORE you attempt on dealing with it by alternative means. 

Deal with the Chair

If you are sitting long hours before your desk, back pain is not your strange bed-fellow; in fact, most back pain sufferers have reported to be working 8-10 hours straight on their PC, daily. This gives you the grim picture of how bad back ache gets for these people, if they sat too long on chairs not suited for them.

Not All Chairs are the same

Ergonomic chair is not everyone’s chair. It has adjustable settings that you can use to “customize” the chair depending on your body height. Your feet should lay flat on the floor when you are seated; “just any chair” does not have settings that will allow you to elevate or lower the chair to meet this criterion.

Ideally, an ergonomic chair should have lumbar support fitted on the arch of your lower back to give your body the support it needs as you sit long hours at work. Non-ergonomic chairs do not have this feature, the main reason why it is too stressful for your back if you were to sit long hours on this type of chair.

With all the benefits that your body, your back most especially, can derive from using an ergonomic chair, there is no reason you should skip from investing in one. The little extra you put in pales in comparison to the expense of pain relievers, doctor’s fees and other related costs that come along when your chronic back ache becomes more disabling as it gets worse.

The following tips may also help you avoid back ache:

1. Sit straight against the back rest of your chair. If necessary to shift weight a little forward, or sideways, make sure that you don’t do this repetitively, as this may cause stress-related injuries. 

2. Avoid reaching out for things that you need frequently by organizing your desk in a manner that limits this repetitive action. 

3. Do not sit on your chair for long hours, save for a few minutes on a bathroom call. You need to walk around, stretch your leg muscles and relieve stress building on your shoulder blades.

4. Avoid crossing one leg over another for long periods as this limits blood flow to your legs and feet. Leg cramps are as bad as back ache.

5. Sit on ergonomic chair. 

Ergonomic tools and equipments, such as ergonomic keyboards, ergonomic mini keyboard, desks and ergonomic chairs are available online. Don’t miss out on budget-friendly options at ErgonomicsMadeEasy.com. This is one store that has all ergonomic tools and equipments, including accessories – in one place.

Photo credit:  akeeris/freedigitalphotos.net