Chairs that Won't Wreck Your Back? 118
texatut asks: "I'm sure many of you are familiar with this secenario. You spend 10-12 hours a day in a crappy chair, and your back pays the price. I know there are chairs there that cost in excess of $1000 that alleviate the problem, but that's a lot of money to pay for a chair. I wanted to ask you all to give recommendations and opinions on chairs that are in a slightly lower price range, say, below $600. My back thanks you in advance."
Herman Miller Aeron (Score:5, Informative)
I have one at work and at home. They're terrific. Once you use them, you'll never want to go back.
HTH,
-Bill
Change often (Score:5, Informative)
Sit on an excercise ball [fitter1.com] for a while.
Sit on a kneeling chair [sitincomfort.com] for a while.
Shift positions a lot.
Get a headset [hellodirect.com] so you don't have to hold a phone to your head.
Do back exercises every morning and every night. Sit ups, "superman"s (extensions).
And of course, get up and walk around every hour.
Test them out (Score:3, Informative)
Also pay attention to posture and computer/monitor/keyboard position, and take regular breaks (with and without stretching) from the chair.
I walked into a Discovery Channel store not too long ago while traveling. They had a removeable lumbar support that you can attach to any chair. Didn't try it and YMMV, but it was about $60.
Oh and you might be able to find a $1000 chair on Ebay or Craig's List, or a local used furniture place for $600 or less. Businesses that go belly-up can have many expensive chairs on the cheap.
Alex.
Just a simple tip.. (Score:4, Informative)
From experience (Score:3, Informative)
1. Back problems (aches) due to fatigue are helped most by strengthening the abdominal muscles, which are what keeps the back aligned.
2. A straight back chair is best, but only if you put your feet FLAT on the floor. Otherwise, they are a pain (literally.)
3. Soft padding is a no-no. Maybe gel is good, I haven't tried it.
4. The backrest and seat should be adjustable for angle and height/reach. Change positions often.
5. I made my own perfect-for-me seat from a wrecked Thunderbird with the inflatable seatback option. I took the passenger seat (it was less worn) to a welding shop and had some straight pieces added for legs. It is adjustable, inflatable, durable, comfortable and cheap.
6. But most of the time, I compute on a yoga mat on the floor with the keyboard in my lap. Half Lotus works for me.
a great chair (Score:3, Informative)
Steelcase Leap (Score:2, Informative)
It is very adjustable...arm height, arm width, arm angle, chair height, seat depth, and seat edge. Plan on spending at least a week (took me 2) to get it set right for you. And then don't let other people muck with your settings.
The best part is how the back of the seat is connected. Most chairs are kinda like a capital 'L' in profile, where the chair pivots on the lower left corner of the 'L.' On the Leap, the angle between the back and the seat increases as you recline. And the coolest part is that the seat - while remaining parallel to the floor - moves forward slightly while you recline. That lets me continue typing with an ergonomically correct arm position (and your elbows still on the armrests) as you change your degree of recline.
Re:Ahem, 10-12 hours? (Score:3, Informative)
Get the VERKSAM or NOMINELL models.
Re:justify the cost (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Regardless of chair I use... (Score:2, Informative)
Best chair I've ever owned (Score:2, Informative)
Of course, within the month the back had fallen off. It wasnt designed for use without arms. I figured I'd use it through the week and buy another one during the weekend. (I'd just drill through the arms to reposition them lower).
Turns out the place I bought the chair from is closed on weekends. It kept slipping my mind during the week, eventually a month had passed and I realized that I now found every other chair horribly uncomfortable. Chairs with backs just invite you to lean in them, and it just didnt feel right anymore. Within two months I didnt like chairs with arms, either. It has become much more comfortable to sit with my legs crossed.
Several years have passed now, and the chair seems almost ready to seperate itself into its component peices (moreso than merely back, arms, and base)
For a chair which wont wreck your back, I reccomend one which doesnt do anything to your back at all- let your back hold itself up, the way the human body was meant to work. Sitting without relying on leaning all the time will build up atrophied muscles and make your back feel better in non-sitting related situations as well.
But then, I also sleep directly on the floor, so I assume that disqualifies me from any comfort-related discussions.
Still, if anyone knows where I can buy a comfortable backless chair, please let me know. I havent seen any, and it was a bit of a hassle to remove the arms, the remainder of the back, and the painful metal spikes of death which the arms were attached to.
My back feels great, and I have no self esteem! Yay me!
THe chair is unimportant.... (Score:4, Informative)
-Do some pilates or yoga. I know, rubish new ageism, but try to do a couple of exercises for begineers and then tell me if youa re on shape or not.
-Exercise. Any exercise will do.
-Don't sit that many hours in front of a computer. Takes brakes often and regularly.
Ultimately any chair that is adjustable will work, even cheap crappy ones.
Re:THe chair is unimportant.... (Score:3, Informative)
The place I worked before my current employer had Aeron chairs. My back would occasionally get sore, but nothing horrible. My current job has generic office chairs that are in bad shape. After about a month, I was seeing a massage therapist every other week.
That's a bit expensive, so I decided to make some changes. I found the best chair I could at the office, which helped a little. I also started doing yoga. This helped a great deal.
Some exercises that really helped my back are:
If you're interested in yoga but don't want to buy a video, there is a show on Oxygen every morning at 6:00 a.m. (at least in my market). It's fairly intense, but you can at least watch it to get an idea of the various poses and positions.