How To Choose The Perfect Office Chair

Lauren Rock http://www.officechairsuk.com 2m 604

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

A Brief Guide to Office Chairs: What to Look Out for

If you like to work hard and be productive, then it’s important to ensure that the area in which you work helps rather than hinders you. After all, if you’re forced to work in an uncomfortable, constricting space then you’re hardly going to be at your best – you’ll be too distracted trying to get comfortable.  Choosing the right chair is perhaps the most important choice you’ll have to make. If you invest in a bad one, you’re going to end up with a back-ache or pins and needles if you spend more than a few hours sitting still.  That’s why we’ve put together this guide on how to choose the perfect office chair:

Make sure it’s the right height.  In order to ensure you’re seated properly, make sure that the top of your legs are parallel to the floor, and that your arms are parallel with the desk you’re using.  Almost all modern office chairs are height-adjustable, but ensure that yours is within the right range so that it matches your own height perfectly.

Check out the width and the depth.  Both of these features are an important part of getting the chair right, as if one or the other is incorrect, it will mean you’re either squeezed into the chair, or are simply perched on the end of it!  The two best ways of checking you’ve got this right is to make sure you have between 2 and 4 inches between the back of your knees and the front edge of your seat and that there’s at least an inch or two between you and the arm rests.

Ensure there’s enough lumbar support.  This is perhaps the most important part of choosing any chair, as a lack of lumbar support can lead to a seriously bad back over the course of a few months.   The important thing is to make sure that whichever chair you choose, it doesn’t force you to slouch when in use.  Essentially, it should suit the natural outward curve of your back and allow you to keep your spine straight.  Again, a lot of modern chairs will allow you to adjust the back rest to tailor this, so make sure you get one that can be perfectly adjusted to suit you.

Get the right arm supports.  Whilst we’re not suggesting that everyone sits around at their desk with their arms resting (they wouldn’t get much done if they did!) it’s still important to ensure that your arm rests are the right size, as you’ll still need them every now and then.  Essentially, they should be long enough that they offer support for the whole length of the forearm, as well as ensuring there’s enough space for the wrist joint to be adequately supported: if it isn’t, then the joint can become sore over time due to the pressure of supporting itself.

Remember, all of these features are as important as each other, so you shouldn’t spend money without every box being ticked, otherwise your chair won’t fulfil its full ergonomic purpose, which is why you’re spending the money in the first place!

Featured images:

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• License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=547068

The above article was written by Lauren Rock, an aspiring writer and part-time sales advisor at Office Chairs UK, the leading office chair specialist offering the most comprehensive chair selection in the United Kingdom.

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