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Chairs that Won't Wreck Your Back?
texatut asks: "I'm sure many of you are familiar with this secenario. You spend 10-12 hours a day in a crappy chair, and your back pays the price. I know there are chairs there that cost in excess of $1000 that alleviate the problem, but that's a lot of money to pay for a chair. I wanted to ask you all to give recommendations and opinions on chairs that are in a slightly lower price range, say, below $600. My back thanks you in advance."
Having said that, I'd get one with lower back support - makes it a lot easier to sit for a stretch and still be productive. Check out a few ergonomics diagrams available on the net and set up your work space accordingly - your entire body will thank you.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
many ppl slouch, pull in their shoulders and bring their faces closer to the screen when using a desktop computer so.. stop doing that (where applicable)
to get a girl to sit on your lap while you sit on a cheap chair. You won't even think about your back(or work)!
Monstar L
One of these!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Get an Aeron. and you back will love you forever for it. You can get new ones for just over $600 and probably less if you can find one used (try craigslist).
I have one at work and at home. They're terrific. Once you use them, you'll never want to go back.
HTH,
-Bill
SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
Don't always sit on a chair.
Sit on an excercise ball for a while.
Sit on a kneeling chair for a while.
Shift positions a lot.
Get a headset so you don't have to hold a phone to your head.
Do back exercises every morning and every night. Sit ups, "superman"s (extensions).
And of course, get up and walk around every hour.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Dude,
Get off your butt and go to a store and try sitting in some different chairs!
There are hundreds of chair designs out there and I've sat in a variety of crappy chairs. If you want a good one, you are going to pay for it. The reason office chairs cost so much is because they are built to last a long time. We've got chairs that are over 20 years old from Steel Case. Generally, I am not pleased with the newer chairs and actually prefer the old ones. But they don't work for fat people because you can't sit down if you can't get your ass past the arm rests. Heck some fat folks ordered these chairs with arm rests the slide to the sides to accommodate their fat assess.
Want to save money? Look for used office furniture shops, you could get a great chair for a whole lot less then what they cost new.
Get to OfficeMax or wherever and sit in the chairs. I know people who have loved those expensive Aeron chairs and people who have hated them and you won't know until you try. Check their website and find a dealer near you.
Also pay attention to posture and computer/monitor/keyboard position, and take regular breaks (with and without stretching) from the chair.
I walked into a Discovery Channel store not too long ago while traveling. They had a removeable lumbar support that you can attach to any chair. Didn't try it and YMMV, but it was about $60.
Oh and you might be able to find a $1000 chair on Ebay or Craig's List, or a local used furniture place for $600 or less. Businesses that go belly-up can have many expensive chairs on the cheap.
Alex.
at work we have desks that are adjustable in height. if i find myself uncomfortable at some point in the day, i'll just lift the desk (we have spring-loaded and motorized versions, both almost effortless to operate) and work standing for a while.
does wonders.
Your back will hurt a lot for the first 2 weeks as the muscles develop strength, persevere and take a break when it becomes too much. After a little while like this your back will be strong and posture good.
The important thing with a swiss ball is the height of it, when you sit on it your knees should be slightly below your ass.
Make sure you get a good strong ball, the cheap ones simply do NOT work.
I have a mediball pro 65cm which is good for my height (186cm), and haven't had any complaints in the couple of years that I've been using it.
Take your wallet out of your back pocket when working. it makes quite the difference..
But still a lot less than the price of wrecking your back in 5 years. Really, if you are sitting 10-12 hours a *day* in the same chair, then you are spending a tremendous amount of time in front of your computer and you better get the best ergonomics you can.
Really, if you are willing to spend $600, then you are already considering some high end chairs. Find the one that feels the best and dont worry so much about the price (assuming it doesnt cost $10K or something crazy). They are built to last and will serve you well for years to come.
I used to have back pain at work, and I got sick of fiddling with the settings of poorly made office chairs trying to get them to relieve my back pain. (Also, I asked for the same office chair I bought for myself at home, which was only $100, but my work was too cheap to buy it for me.) I started using what I would call a guest chair. Basically it is a solid chair: no wheels, no adjustments. Just a solid wooden frame with cloth coverings, a wide and deep (front to back) seat and armrests with a low back. I think the key here is solidity. It doesn't give way to weight or creak at all. You know how when you sit in a cheap office chair something gives way, and it creaks when you shift positions? Not in this chair. Since then, no back complaints. I think that in most chairs you tense various muscles to compensate for the lack of support. I suppose it depends on the exact chair, so at least try something beside "computer" chairs.
I was born with a (minor) case of scoliosis, so my back is VERY sensitive. Here's what I found --
1. Back problems (aches) due to fatigue are helped most by strengthening the abdominal muscles, which are what keeps the back aligned.
2. A straight back chair is best, but only if you put your feet FLAT on the floor. Otherwise, they are a pain (literally.)
3. Soft padding is a no-no. Maybe gel is good, I haven't tried it.
4. The backrest and seat should be adjustable for angle and height/reach. Change positions often.
5. I made my own perfect-for-me seat from a wrecked Thunderbird with the inflatable seatback option. I took the passenger seat (it was less worn) to a welding shop and had some straight pieces added for legs. It is adjustable, inflatable, durable, comfortable and cheap.
6. But most of the time, I compute on a yoga mat on the floor with the keyboard in my lap. Half Lotus works for me.
Try the Sum chair from All Steel Office http://www.allsteeloffice.com/sum/launch.html/ (flash warning). I have one myself. Very comfortable and adjustable, and comes with a lifetime warranty to boot.
I've got a Steelcase Leap chair. First the office bought one for me, and then I would up buying one for home. Cost me $700, which may be more than you were looking to spend. Comes with a lifetime warranty on the mechanics (pneumatic cylinder, etc) and the cushions are user-replaceable.
It is very adjustable...arm height, arm width, arm angle, chair height, seat depth, and seat edge. Plan on spending at least a week (took me 2) to get it set right for you. And then don't let other people muck with your settings.
The best part is how the back of the seat is connected. Most chairs are kinda like a capital 'L' in profile, where the chair pivots on the lower left corner of the 'L.' On the Leap, the angle between the back and the seat increases as you recline. And the coolest part is that the seat - while remaining parallel to the floor - moves forward slightly while you recline. That lets me continue typing with an ergonomically correct arm position (and your elbows still on the armrests) as you change your degree of recline.
Really, if you think about it, you probably only spend one or two hours a day in your car, but you probably paid an obscene amount of money for it. Spending $1000 on something you spend half your life sitting in seems cheap to me.
In any case, I was going to pick up an Aeron, but I came across a Herman Miller Ergon made in 1975 for $40. It's pimpin' 70's orange, and it's super comfy. I've heard that they have lifetime warranties and will actually send someone out to fix it if it breaks, but I haven't had to use that yet.
Recently I've been seeing some Aeron knockoffs. I'm not sure who makes them, but they seem fairly good. Not nearly as well built, but the one or two hours I sat in one, it was decent. All of the chairs they sell at Office Max/etc are crap. Don't waste your money.
I'm still probably going to buy an Aeron. The mesh on them is great for keeping you cool if your office/room is warm. Plus, no one can do that Tabasco trick on you if you have the mesh (where you put tabasco on their chair, and it wicks up when their ass sweats and gives them an ass rash).
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Although it's a joke, that's not a bad idea. Sitting on the floor is actually very comfortable. It could draw a few stares at the office, but if you're trying to construct some sort of ergonomic home setup, you should give it a try. Works well for me anyway. It's also cheaper than a chair.
I'd recommend that you just take a break now and then, uncurl whenever you notice you're doing it, and make an effort to curl in slighty different ways each time you curl. Curl to the left one time, and the right next time. As long as you don't stay scrunched up for a long time, I'd say that the frequent movement will do you good. I do this occasionally as well, but not often enough for me to worry about it.
I have a cheap $30 chair I bought at one of those office liquidation (or whatever) places. Was a nice chair, for the price. Unfortunatly, the arms were just a bit too high to fit more than a bit under the desk. Eventually I decided to just take the arms off in order to get that extra inch closer to everything (I'm the type who uses every corner of the desk and needs to be able to reach it all without moving)
Of course, within the month the back had fallen off. It wasnt designed for use without arms. I figured I'd use it through the week and buy another one during the weekend. (I'd just drill through the arms to reposition them lower).
Turns out the place I bought the chair from is closed on weekends. It kept slipping my mind during the week, eventually a month had passed and I realized that I now found every other chair horribly uncomfortable. Chairs with backs just invite you to lean in them, and it just didnt feel right anymore. Within two months I didnt like chairs with arms, either. It has become much more comfortable to sit with my legs crossed.
Several years have passed now, and the chair seems almost ready to seperate itself into its component peices (moreso than merely back, arms, and base)
For a chair which wont wreck your back, I reccomend one which doesnt do anything to your back at all- let your back hold itself up, the way the human body was meant to work. Sitting without relying on leaning all the time will build up atrophied muscles and make your back feel better in non-sitting related situations as well.
But then, I also sleep directly on the floor, so I assume that disqualifies me from any comfort-related discussions.
Still, if anyone knows where I can buy a comfortable backless chair, please let me know. I havent seen any, and it was a bit of a hassle to remove the arms, the remainder of the back, and the painful metal spikes of death which the arms were attached to.
My back feels great, and I have no self esteem! Yay me!
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
.... if you do nothing to take care of your back.
-Do some pilates or yoga. I know, rubish new ageism, but try to do a couple of exercises for begineers and then tell me if youa re on shape or not.
-Exercise. Any exercise will do.
-Don't sit that many hours in front of a computer. Takes brakes often and regularly.
Ultimately any chair that is adjustable will work, even cheap crappy ones.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
And for the 95% of us who don't wear a jacket...
Stuff it inside your pants. That way, if a theif goes for it, you're getting your money's worth.
While I love my Aeron, it's not the secret to eliminating back pain. If your back muscles are weak, sitting up for 12+ hours will hurt in any chair that doesn't fasten around the torso and hold your spine straight for you.
Do some excercises. If you have to spend most of your day sitting, you can reduce the time you spend on it by slowly adding weight. The things you should be doing are sit-ups (with a weight held cross armed on your chest if you only want to do 25 reps instead of 100), deadlifts (get a weight for each hand, or a bar, bend your knees only slightly and then bend at your lower back lifting with your lower back muscles. Keep your upper back straight or you'll hurt yourself), and some upper back work depending on equipment availablity. If you have access to some gym equipment, do some pulldowns with a bar that lets your hands face inward. If you don't, get some dumbells, lie on your chest, and with your arms out lift them 3 or four inches off the floor and hold them up for a few seconds. When you're not really weak anymore you can try some pullups. If you're to the point where you have upper back pain from sitting, and there's nothing physically injured about your back though, it'll probably be a while before you can do even one pull-up.
Spend 10-15 minutes a day staying in shape a bit and you won't have any back pain. (Except for the first few days after you start... You'll hurt like you've never hurt before those first few days...)
In addition to the chair, consider the rest of your workspace.
Get a screen that's large and bright enough so you can see it when sitting in the proper position in your chair. A $1000 chair isn't going to do any good if you have to lean forward all day just to see your monitor.
Consider moving your keyboard and mouse off of your desk onto a keyboard tray. When sitting in the proper position with proper posture in your chair, your forearms should be level or pointing ever-so-slightly downward.
Learn to use your keyboard. Don't rest your wrists on the desk or one of those wrist wrests (unless it's really, really thick); this causes your wrists to bend backwards, pinching and fatiguing the nerves therein. Likewise, avoid bending your wrists down or to the side. Hang your arms down at your sides totally relaxed, ape-like. Look at your hand position relative to your forearm: this is the ideal position.
Adjust your chair's armrests to support your forearms above your keyboard, so your back muscles are relaxed. A wireless, ergonomic keyboard placed in your lap with properly adjusted armrests can be very comfortable for long sessions, though you might need a bean bag to get it at the proper angle and elevation.
Learn to use keyboard shortcuts and menu hotkeys. (Microsoft Word be used mouselessly to a large degree; WP can be used entirely with the keyboard.) When you are always taking your hand away from your keyboard to use the mouse, you add stress to your arms and back and lose productivity. If you can find a wireless keyboard with a built-in trackball, touch pad, or trackpoint, so much the better. Look for one where you don't have to remove your hand from the home position to operate it.
Make sure your lighting is such that it doesn't glare in your eyes or on the screen.
Move your mouse to the opposite hand you write with. This will increase your productivity because you won't have to set down your pen to scroll; you'll be able to write as you are scrolling. It'll seem awkward at first, but with practice it will begin to feel more natural.
Have you considered a barkolounger and a flat panel on an arm?
Do situps. Seriously. The abdominal muscles help support your back. My brother started doing situps every day and now rarely has back problems. He's not an office worker; he's a farmer and a forester.
Look around frequently. Stretch. Throw things at your cubiclemate.
Lastly, I am not an ergonomist and your mileage may vary.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.