What You Need to Know About Choosing an Ergonomic Chair

Do you work long hours while sitting in an office chair? If yes, then you may be familiar with the discomfort caused by sitting in office chairs the whole day. Poor sitting posture can cause these inconveniences, but your choice of chair is a significant factor, too. 

If you want to experience comfort despite spending a whole day in a chair, consider buying an ergonomic chair.

An ergonomic chair aims to provide the utmost comfort to its users and promotes good posture. This chair is specially engineered to accommodate different body types and sizes.

Benefits of Using an Ergonomic Chair

Still doubtful about buying an ergonomic chair? Perhaps knowing about its benefits can convince you.

Here are the benefits of using an ergonomic chair:

Improved Posture

Ergonomic chairs provide proper support to your spine by ensuring that the backrest fits or follows the natural curvature of your back. This ensures that you maintain good posture when sitting, resulting in less stress on your muscles and joints. Hence, using an ergonomic chair minimizes the instances of pain in your neck, shoulder, and lower back.

Increased Comfort

Ergonomic chairs aim to provide their users with utmost comfort. Their designs usually feature adjustable seat heights, backrest angles, and armrests. Quality ergonomic chair manufacturers also use high-quality padding, foam, and frame materials, ensuring your comfort despite prolonged sitting.

Enhanced Productivity

When you are comfortable, you can focus more on your tasks without being distracted by any discomfort or body pains. Moreover, when you are comfortable and in the correct sitting position, you can avoid physical fatigue and strains. As a result, you can sustain better energy levels throughout the day.

Differences Between an Ergonomic Chair and a Regular Office Chair

When you search for office chairs online or in stores, you’ll find a wide variety of designs and features. While ergonomic chairs may look like regular office chairs, they are still different in various ways.

An ergonomic chair and a regular office chair differ when it comes to their design and functionality.

Here are some key differences between a regular office chair and an ergonomic chair:

Design

The design of ergonomic chairs aims to provide proper support to the spine and promote good posture. Ergonomic chairs feature adjustability, often having adjustable lumbar support, backrest angle, seat depth, armrest height, and seat tilt mechanisms. Hence, you can customize the chair to fit the needs of your body and to maintain a neutral sitting position.

The design of regular office chairs tends to be more generic. Most of them have fixed components and limited adjustability. Hence, there isn’t much room for customization to fit your needs and preferences. When you use a regular office chair, your body adjusts to its shape and design. This makes achieving a comfortable sitting position quite challenging. 

Comfort

With features like contoured backrests and high-quality cushioning and padding, it’s no doubt that ergonomic chairs prioritize your comfort. They also use higher-quality materials, ensuring your utmost comfort even when you’re sitting for a prolonged period of time. 

Meanwhile, regular office chairs may not offer the same level of quality and support. With generic designs and mediocre material quality, you may not achieve the same level of comfort that an ergonomic chair may offer.

Focus on Your Well-Being

Manufacturers and designers design ergonomic chairs with your health and well-being in mind. These chairs aim to provide comfort, improve posture, and reduce the risks of physical strain. 

Meanwhile, regular office chairs may prioritize cost-effectiveness and basic functionality over ergonomic considerations. These features, while still good, may not offer the utmost comfort and holistic support to their users.

To summarize, regular office chairs may serve their purpose of providing comfort to their users for occasional use. However, ergonomic chairs provide optimal support and comfort for people with work that entail sitting for a prolonged period.

What Makes a Good Ergonomic Chair?

Adjustability

Ergonomic chairs have multiple adjustable features to support proper posture and accommodate different body types and sizes. You’ll know that you are about to buy a good ergonomic chair when you can adjust its seat depth, backrest angle, and armrest height. 

You can adjust the seat depth and width to fit your height and body proportions. This ensures that your thighs and the back of your knees won’t hurt when you’re sitting. 

Furthermore, ensure that your arms don’t ache when you’re using your keyboard or computer or simply resting your arms.

Backrest Design

A backrest that’s too reclined or too upright may not be comfortable for your back. Ergonomic chairs have backrests that are adjustable in both height and angle. With adjustable backrests, you can find the most comfortable sitting position for your back.

Lumbar support

Ergonomic chairs have good lumbar support, meaning they can support your lower back. Adequate lumbar support is essential for maintaining the natural curve of your lower spine. Your ergonomic chair should also have lumbar pads that can be adjusted and positioned to fit the curve of your lower back.

Swivel and Casters

Ergonomic chairs should have an efficient swivel mechanism that allows for easy rotation and movement. It should not take much effort from your end to rotate your chair and slide it across the floor. Additionally, your chair should also have high-quality casters or wheels that allow you to slide the chair on various types of flooring.

High-Quality Materials

Ergonomic chairs should be made of high-quality materials. This includes sufficient padding on the seats and backrests to ensure comfort when sitting. Most of these chairs also use breathable and durable upholstery, allowing air circulation and preventing discomfort caused by body heat and sweat. The frame of the chair should also be able to withstand regular wear and tear.

Conclusion

Whether you’re working from home or in the office, inconveniences caused by chairs should be the least of your worries. This is why buying an ergonomic chair is very beneficial if your work requires you to sit down for long hours.

Here at MyDesk.SG, we have an extensive range of carefully engineered and designed ergonomic chairs that can help working feel like a breeze. Browse our catalog of chairs from full mesh, reclining to executive and more to find one that suits you best.