How to Adjust your Office Chair to get the Correct Sitting Posture
Your sitting posture has a significant effect on your health, so it pays to invest in a chair which will give correct support while being comfortable.
The seat should match and support your entire body. Follow these steps to find the maximum health benefits from your office chair.
These steps will improve your posture and prevent lower back pain resulting in the perfect posture.
1. Adjust the chair height
The lever for this is usually on the right with up and down arrows. Set the chair height so that the underside of your elbows are at desk height. If you are using an adjustable standing desk, set the chair to the most comfortable height then adjust the desk to elbow height.
2. Ensure your feet are firmly on the floor
Sit well back into the seat & check your feet are firmly on the floor. The Appropriate foot support is essential for low back comfort and maintaining a good posture. If your feet aren’t firmly flat on the floor, a footrest will be needed to improve your posture.
A footrest will help in attaining the right foot elevation, leg and knee position.
3. Adjust the Chair angle
An ergonomic office chair allows the seat to be adjusted horizontally or slightly angled. Usually, the lever for this is on the right toward the back.
Sitting with the seat horizontal or sloping backward provides a comfortable, relaxing sitting position while maintaining good posture. It can nevertheless tilt you slightly away from your desk. Sitting on a slight angle in a forward position toward the desk relieves pressure under the thighs, provides a more open hip angle and improves the back posture.
4. Adjust the backrest angle
The lever for adjusting the backrest angle is usually on the right, showing backward and forwards arrows. When working in an ergonomic workstation a fairly upright sitting posture is best. When talking, at meetings or reading off the screen reclining the backrest is relaxing and provides a nice change for the back.
5. Adjust the backrest height
A comfortable computer chair has a well-shaped backrest cushioning. The most protruding part of this cushioning should fit into the low back – about waist level.
The Backrest height adjustments are all different. You may need to loosen a lever or knob at the base of the backrest. If there is no knob or lever you must have a ratchet style adjustment. These allow adjustments simply by pulling upwards one click at a time. Once the backrest reaches the top position it will drop to the bottom starting position again.
6. Adjust the armrest height
Armrests create poor posture if they stop an individual from sitting as close to the desk as they would like. If the armrests can adjust, position them so that they fit under the desk. This ensures nothing stops you from sitting close and working with arms relaxed.
Some chairs have more adjustability than the adjustments above and some have less.
If you have a chair with adjustable lumbar cushioning in the backrest the shape of the lumbar cushioning can be adjusted to be more or less pronounced. This allows a better match between the low back curve and the chair’s low back support preventing lower back pain.
If you have a chair with a ‘synchro’ mechanism, you can lock or unlock the backrest recline. Make sure you tighten the tension knob (sometimes underneath the seat), to prevent that feeling of the backrest giving way and falling backward.
Needing more support at your workstation? Struggling with poor posture?
Book in an Ergonomic Assessment today to improve your posture.