Subscribe Feed (RSS)What Exactly Is An Ergonomic Office Chair?
December 2nd, 2010 by admin | Filed under Uncategorized.When we see the label Ergonomic Office Chair what exactly
does it mean and what should we expect from an Ergonomic
Office Chair? Perhaps we can best answer the question by
defining the term Ergonomic. My dictionary defines
Ergonomics as follows:
“The applied science of equipment design, as for the
workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing
operator fatigue and discomfort”
So, as can be seen from the above definition when applied to
an Ergonomic Office Chair the term is open to many
interpretations. It just doesn’t follow that just because an
Office Seat is described as an Ergonomic Office Chair that
the buyer is getting anything specific or properly
specified.
At best, you will indeed get an excellent chair that will be
a pleasure to use and give years of comfortable service. At
worst, you will get a very poor quality Office Chair
possibly having crudely shaped foam in the chair back and
claiming to give the user lumbar support. In reality such a
chair is more likely to give the user lumbago!
So how can we ensure that when we buy an Office Chair
claiming to be an Ergonomic Office Chair that we do in fact
end up with a good quality Office Chair, fit for purpose and
able to give the user lasting comfort and relief from
fatigue?
Well let’s begin by ignoring wild claims from manufacturers
and consider the essential features needed to ensure that
the chair does indeed offer a reduction of fatigue and
discomfort and can truly be considered fit for our purpose.
Here’s a list of essential features an Ergonomic Office
Chair must have.
Gas Lift Height Adjustable Seat
Almost all Office Chairs now come with a gas lift height
adjustable seat. You need to make sure you can adjust the
height so that your feet are firmly on the floor with your
upper legs angled slightly downwards. If you’re not very
tall you may need to buy a footrest too.
If you are a large framed person make sure that the gas lift
rating is suitable, typically they are rated up to 18 - 20
stones. Up rated gas lifts are generally available for
better quality Office Seats.
Sliding Seat Depth Adjustment
This feature is not nearly so common on Office Chairs,
nonetheless I consider it to be vital for an Ergonomic
Office Chair. Humans come in all shapes and sizes and so it
makes obvious good sense that the chair user is able to
adjust the seat depth to suit their leg length.
When correctly set up the seat depth of your Ergonomic
Office Chair should be adjusted so that you are able to
place your clenched fist between the edge of the chair’s
seat pad and the back of your knee.
Height Adjustable Back
An Ergonomic Office Chair should have a height adjustable
back and needs to be set up so that it gives the user good
support in the lower part of their back. It doesn’t need
mountainous inbuilt lumbar foam supports, a slightly curved
foam back shell is ideal provided the user adjusts it to
suit their back. Some Office Chair come with adjustable
lumbar supports and the majority are fine if correctly
adjusted.
Height Adjustable Arms
Although some users, particularly typists, prefer chairs
without arms for the majority of users they are a good thing
to have. Properly used, height adjustable chair arms are
definitely beneficial particularly for minimising or
relieving Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).
The user should set up the chair arm height by ensuring that
their lower arms are level with their desktop. Keyboard and
mouse use should be comfortable and not strained. Visit my
website at officechairinfo.com/?p=25 for more on this
topic.
Tension Adjustable Seat
Cheaper Office Chairs come with a fixed tension setting for
the seat base. Frequently these are combined with a
permanent contact back pad. The way that these Office Chairs
work is that the seat and back move in ratio with each
other. Great, if you are the correct weight for the
mechanism.
However, if you are light framed and move forward in one of
these chairs they feel like they are trying to catapult you
out of the chair. They are also very difficult to lean back
in for those who are light framed. Conversely, if you are
large or heavy framed you could find yourself bouncing
around all over the place.
So, make sure that the tension on your Office Chair can be
adjusted to suit your own weight. I’m not a big fan of
permanent contact back chairs and recommend you select a
chair that has independent seat and back tension adjustment.
So, to summarise here are the key points to consider when
selecting an Ergonomic Office Chair
* Gas lift height adjustable seat to suit your height,
with up rated gas lift if required
* Sliding seat depth adjustment to suit your leg
length
* Height adjustable back to ensure the lower back is
properly supported ” Height adjustable arms to minimise the
chance of RSI and for ease of movement
* Seat tension adjustment to enable the correct
pressure for the individual user
By applying the above checklist when considering a new
Ergonomic Office Chair you will have an excellent chance of
selecting a suitable chair that will give you many years
good service and can rightly be described as an Ergonomic
Office Chair. It’s always a good idea to visit a few office
furniture showrooms or speak with a seating specialist and
ask to try out suitable chairs to find the model most
suitable for you.
Duncan MacIntyre shows you exactly what you should look for when choosing an Office Chair. His 25 years of experience in quality Office Seating will help you get things right first time. Visit OfficeChairInfo.com OfficeChairInfo.com for great help, advice and tips on Office Chairs.
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