Top Features to Look for in a Chair to Improve Posture

As more studies of chronic pain come to light, there seems to be more connections between pain and poor posture. Unfortunately, many of our day to day careers encourage poor posture habits. Especially if you work in an office environment, sitting hunched in front of a computer for the majority of five days a week may not be the best position for your back.

With this in mind, there has been a trend of more ergonomic office chairs being released, selling themselves on the idea that they will encourage better posture. If you want to change your office habits, but don’t want to go so far as buying a standing desk, what should you look for in a chair to improve posture?

• Weight – specifically, the weight of the chair. A nice, lightweight chair gives you the advantage of allowing you to switch between it and your regular office chair. When you are getting used to a new chair that is supposed to improve posture, ease of movement – or if you have to switch seats with co-workers – can be a big help.
• Height Adjustable – This may be a no brainer, but all of us have different preferences when it comes to height. As well designed as a chair may be, the designers can’t account for every height without being able to adjust the chair itself. Otherwise, improper height can force your body into an unnatural position, which may make your posture worse. Most posture improving office chairs should have this feature available, but keep an eye out.
• Comfy Seat – Some may think that our posture has become worse because life has become too comfortable. Whether that’s true or not, having a completely barren, hard surface to sit on isn’t going to help either. You don’t want to feel like you’re shifting around on a church pew all day. A nice, cushioned seat won’t get in the way of improving your posture and seating habits.

The goal of an office chair that improves posture is to keep muscles in your body active that normally wouldn’t be in a less ergonomic chair. This can be achieved without having unnecessary design decisions like being too heavy or rigid. The idea is to either alleviate cases of back pain, or avoiding cases of pain altogether – not make pain worse. If you are in the New Jersey area and are experiencing pain that can’t seem to go away, contact us at Garden State Pain Control Center. We aim to provide you with the best quality healthcare and we will do our best to ease your pain.