Adjustable Office Chair Important To Reduce Back Pain

Office workers spend a good part of their working day sitting in an office chair. As a result, they quite often find that sitting so long creates unwanted aches and pains. Not only is that bad for their body, but it also slows down productivity which has a direct impact on their employer.

A few years ago researchers began studying body movements and motions to determine the best way to design things people use for many hours a day, such as an office chair or keyboard. They realized that slight differences in alignment could make a huge difference to a users pain and possibly damage to certain parts of their body. Of particular concern is the effect on the workers back, spine and neck.

The study of the human body and how it relates with the equipment it uses repetitively, such as an office chair, was given the name 'ergonomics' in 1949. Recent history gives credit to a psychologist named Hywel Murrell, for coining the use of the word to what he had been studying after World War II.

The scientific principles employed by 'ergonomics' really go back to the days of ancient Greece though. But after World War II and a relative population explosion in the U.S., people were slowly becoming less active at their jobs. Office work slowly became more populous than working outdoors in the fields. And with office work came the office chair.

Theory over what is actually the best positioning for the human body as relates to sitting in an office chair continues to change, however. What was once considered to be the best alignment for a workers' back, at a 90 degree angle to the floor, has now been altered.

Very current thinking is that newer research from Britain shows that a person should be reclining at an angle of 135 degrees. This creates a more relaxed position, taking strain off of the spine. For those with an adjustable office chair, putting it at that degree and also adjusting the height so that the feet rest flat on the floor, is very beneficial.



Another recent finding is that too much sitting isn't good for a person's health. No matter how good your sitting posture is, you still need breaks to exercise throughout the whole day, not just one good workout per day. Even standing is better for a person than sitting because vital functions of the body are helped by muscle contractions which you don't get while you sit in an office chair.

Employers would do well to heed the advice of researchers to adjust the way their employees function so that more of their work hours could be spent standing up. An adjustable office chair is also very important.