Top Four Ergonomic Chair Benefits

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that sitting down for long periods of time wreaks havoc on the body. It just takes a grueling night hunched over a laptop at the kitchen table, and the pain in your back and neck will be screaming it. While we can’t always avoid the long night in front of a laptop, we can mitigate some of that neck and back pain. To no surprise, it starts with the chair you’re spending all that time sitting in. Thankfully, someone sat down, no pun intended, and invented the ergonomic chair. The ergonomic chair benefits are countless, but here are the top four reasons we thinks it’s wise to invest in one.

Ergonomic Chairs Reduce Neck, Back, and Hip Pain

Historically, chairs were not built with human anatomy in mind. The chair was simply invented as the restful in between of standing up and laying down. Lumbar support, hip pressure, and optimal blood circulation were likely not considerations. Which is what lead to the invention of the ergonomic chair. The ergonomic chair reduces neck, back and hip pain through a number of key features. Notably, the reclining and lumbar support features.

Neck, back, and hip pain largely occurs when muscles, ligaments, and bones endure extended periods of stress. K. Daniel Riew, M.D., director of cervical spine surgery and co-director of spine surgery in the department of orthopedic surgery at Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian says that “when you’re working on a computer or looking down at your phone, the muscles in the back of the neck have to contract to hold your head up. The more you look down, the more the muscles have to work to keep your head up. These muscles can get overly tired and sore.”

Thus, positioning your computer higher and investing in an ergonomic chair with full lumbar support and recline allows you to position yourself at a 25 – 30 degree angle. As a result you are looking up at your computer screen. This angle, according to Dr. Riew, is optimal for limiting stress on your neck, back and hips, and the lumbar support provides additional comfort.

An Ergonomic Chair Benefits Posture

The University of St. Augustine for Health and Sciences says that “many of us spend our entire workday in a relatively static position, so it’s important that our bodies are positioned correctly.” Proper spinal alignment promotes numerous benefits like increased confidence, more energy, reduced neck and increased productivity. An ergonomic chair benefits posture through the extended back support.

Traditional chair-back supports typically don’t go up the full length of the spine, which causes people to lean forward. Consequently, leaning forward creates a curvature in the spine. This curvature, if occurring routinely, can lead to serious spinal misalignment. This can result in pain, discomfort, and even more serious conditions. Research has even shown that the complications of poor posture include spinal dysfunction and joint degeneration.

Reduces Joint Stress

While the pain from sitting usually manifests in the neck and back, the cause may actually be rooted in the hips and knees. Sitting in an ill supporting chair results in undue stress on the knee joints and hip joints. An ergonomic chair benefits the hips and knees by promoting a 90 degree bend in the knee and a parallel alignment between the hips and knees. Additionally, these features ensure that the hip and knee joints are fully supported and not enduring long periods of stress that can cause joint degeneration.

You spend more time sitting than you do sleeping. Yet, many people are not aware of just how much stress sitting puts on your joints. Especially while sitting in chairs that don’t provide adequate support. Thus, investing in an ergonomic chair like this stylish mesh chair ensures that you are not putting unnecessary stress on your joints. Who knows? It may even save you a knee replacement down the road!

An Ergonomic Chair Benefits Productivity

Productivity is impacted by a number of factors. Work environment, mental health, and personal life all play a role in work productivity. However, enduring chronic neck and back pain is a huge and unnecessary distraction. Distractions lead to poor work performance. The ergonomic chair benefits productivity by decreasing the likelihood of chronic pain occurring. This in turn increases overall comfort and creates an environment for optimal work performance. Some research has shown that using an ergonomic chair benefits productivity up to 17.5%.

In a world of growing distractions, eliminating one has a huge impact. Especially if it’s a distraction that carries into your personal life as well. No one wants to deal with chronic pain whether it be at work or at home. Thankfully, an ergonomic chair limits the likelihood of either occurring.