Any chair manufacturer can say their product is an ergonomic chair, and any product can be named ergonomic. So, there are as many agencies as there are ergonomics, and even the same company and the same category of ergonomic products have different designs.
The hand of evolution probably never anticipated that humans would spend thousands of years standing up and then finally choose to sit down. Perhaps running bare-assed across the African savannah is the state to which our bodies are best adapted.
According to Matthias Hartwig, an ergonomist from the Federal Agency for the Protection of Occupational Injuries and Diseases, “Our bodies are not designed to remain stationary for long periods of time, whether we are sitting, standing or lying down. Prolonged sitting can lead not only to cardiovascular problems, but also to muscular and skeletal disorders. To prevent this, a good office chair is essential, and it has to be adapted to the user.
Source: Schreibtischstühle: Fünf Modelle überzeugen im Test – Stiftung Warentest
The human spine is naturally curved S-shaped, in which the lumbar spine is slightly convex, and it is difficult to maintain the normal curvature of the waist once people sit down. The spine is a whole, and when the lumbar vertebrae are convex backwards, the whole spine will follow, and over time, various problems will naturally arise.
Spinal morphology in standing and sitting positions, source: Human Factors in Engineering and Design – Mark S. Sanders et al.
An “ergonomic” chair can reduce the harm caused by sedentary? Perhaps, but more important is the time and posture of sitting.
If you usually sit like below, then thousands of chairs can not save you.
What is the correct sitting posture?
What is the right posture? Unfortunately, I can’t give you a precise answer. Correct posture is a range, not a settled standard.
There are many recommendations for work posture, although they are expressed in different ways, they generally introduce reference sitting posture and sometimes dynamic sitting posture.
Reference of sitting posture, sometimes called basic sitting posture, static sitting posture, refers to the general situation of the recommended sitting posture.
Dynamic sitting posture, which refers to small adjustments in sitting posture within the reference range from time to time, it can be regarded as a set of reference sitting posture.
Our common sitting recommendations are below sitting, such as the IEA and Microsoft office ergonomics schematics.
IEA(left)和Microsoft(right) ergonomic referrence in office environment, source: Ergonomic checkpoint – IEA,Healthy Computing Guide – Microsoft
OSHA’s (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) recommendations is
*Minor adjustments of seat and backrest.
*Stretch your fingers, wrists, arms and body.
*Stand up and walk for a few minutes at regular intervals.
Source: OSHA
In addition to sitting, you can also try working in a standing position. Among the reference postures of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in the United States and CCOHS (Center for Occupational Safety and Health) in Canada, there is the standing posture.
We also need to remind you of one thing: even it is the correct posture, but it can not replace the regular rest.
You can arrange your work pattern according to your situation, as suggested by Cornell University as follows.
You can switch between sitting, standing and stretching/walking in 30 minute cycles, source: Cornell University Ergonomics Web
What is suitable seating chair?
There is no perfect seatiing, there is no seating satisfied for everyone, and it is difficult to find seats that are very ergonomic because:
From the 1940s and 1950s to the present, ergonomic ideas and products have proliferated, but standards are not uniform and manufacturers define their own way. In addition, research is one thing and business is another. Although the big manufacturers have R&D teams, the ideas of the researchers are often simplified to vary degrees in manufacturing.
The historical variety of seats that claim to be ergonomic(in some cases, defined by someone later years).
So what is a good seating? We can refer to the recommendations of the occupational safety and health departments in each country/region.
| Suggestion | OSHA, United States | CCOHS, Canada | Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Council |
| Seat/Cushiion | *Height adjustment *Depth adjustment *Round shape of cushion edge *Width fit for most people’s hip | *Height adjustment *Depth adjustment *Seat pad can be adjustable for gradient that would be better *Adjustable range to fit the size of the user *Front egde should be curved down *Use of non-slip & breathable fabric | *Adjustable seat height(40~50cm) *Round shape of cushion edge *swivel chair *Breathable molded foam, the surface is little sunk |
| Backrest/ Lumbar support | *Conforms to the natural curvature of the spine, to support your wrist enough *Lumbar support height adjustment *Reclining angel can be 15 degree at least , and lockable angle *Tension of backrest is adjustable *Lumbar support can be adjusted in forth or backward | *Height adjustment *Reclining angel adjustment *The shape of lumbar support is nice and support your back well | *Adjustable height and angle |
| Armrest | *Soft material, round edge *Suitable gap bewteen 2 armrests *Suitable height *Suitable size *Suitable space to body | *Suitable (height) armrests | *If necessary, height adjustable armrests |
| Base | *Five star base *Suitalble castors for floor | *Five star base | *Stable base(five star base is better) *If necessary, please add castors *Suitalble castors for floor |
What is the suggestion of ergonomic chair product?
We recommend you to check out our HARRIS chair, this is following ergonomic chair standards. For example, it has seat depth adjustment, armrest height adjustment, seat height adjustment and it’s surely swivel chair.
Except for that, the seat pad is made by high density and elasticity molded foam, you could see how it support perfectly and it’s breathable.
3 position locking mechanism makes you have nice rest on chair, reclining under your required angle. Adjustable lumbar support is also ready for you. You could enjoy your seating when you working at desk.
If you feel interested, please click contact us to know more.
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