Most people spend many hours per day in seated position – in home, at work and at home. Many of them doesn’t know how to sit properly in a chair and has problems with good posture or even suffer from back, neck and hip pain.
It’s really important to know how to maintain good posture when sitting in a chair, because it may help to reduce or even eliminate such problems like: lower back pain, leg and hand numbness, pain in sacral area, tension and pain in neck and shoulders.
Here are few tips how to sit correctly in a chair:
- You should be able to lean on the backrest. The backrest of the chair should be supportive, especially for your lower spine.
- Your thighs should be parallel to the floor.
- Your torso and thighs should be set at a 90-degree angle.
- You should be able to keep your feet flat on the floor, while your knees should be at a 90-degree angle (crossing legs is not a proper or healthy position!).
- You should also keep your forearms comfortably on armrests. Proper and supportive position of arms and hands will help you to reduce the wrist fatigue and tension in shoulders.
- Take breaks and stand up from time to time (for example every 50 or 60 minutes) – straighten your legs, take a short walk or do some squats. It will relieve your back, shoulders and neck and improve the blood circulation in legs (reducing the numbness and cramps).
- There are also few features that a chair should have to provide you with comfort and support during long hours at the desk.
- The backrest should suit your back and support you at least up to the shoulder blades. The backrest should be S-shaped, with the bottom rounded part matching your lower spine natural curve.
- The chair should have reclining backrest. No matter what if you’re sitting upright or leaning back your lower spine should be always well supported. Some of the high-end chairs even offer a backrest that follows the user movements and adjust to his changing position.
- Another useful feature are the adjustable armrests. You should be able to adjust the height of armrests to keep your arms and forearms at a 90-degree angle and reduce the shoulder tension and wrist fatigue.
- The chair should also have an adjustable height – you should be able to put your feet comfortably on the ground.
- More expensive chairs also feature adjustable seat depth which is very useful for shorter and taller people. Thanks to this feature the user can adjust the seat depth to his legs’ length. The seat should support your whole thighs (there should be about 0.4-1 inch between the edge of the seat bottom and the back of your knees).
If you will properly choose a chair for your office and/or home and remember to keep good, healthy posture (especially if you spend long hours at the desk) you will avoid backache. Sitting properly in a chair will also help you to reduce neck and shoulder pain, as well as leg numbness and wrist pain.
