Tag Archives: back pain

Body Pain And Your Office Chair Life

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Work from home has transformed the business world. More and more companies are realizing that working remotely can produce more productivity. This has many workers sitting at their desks longer than they may typically do so at the office. Also, workers may feel more comfortable and relax a bit more while working. As great as these aspects look on the surface, more than ever, we’re losing focus of what’s important – our health. By this, we mean just typical posture and sitting techniques we should follow to avoid any sort of body pain. To make this easier, we’ve come up with a list of things to pay attention to while sitting in your at-home office chair for hours on end. 

Don’t Crumble Into A Ball

It may seem like a no-brainer, but stand up, and stand up as often as possible. We all tend to zone into our work and start leaning forward or slouching. Standing up just to move around a bit can help you do small stretches and keep your muscles from stiffening up. YOu also may encounter back pain before anything else. This occurs because the disks in your back contain water and a series of chemicals called glycosaminoglycans. These chemicals resist compressive forces, but water will get pushed out of your disc when you sit for an extended period of time. This will lead your discs to bulge and place pressure along your spinal nerve.  

Chair Adjustments 

Your chair, no matter how expensive and fancy as it may be, needs some adjusting to keep you from hurting yourself after a long period. Start with your chair’s height and make sure it lifts just enough to keep your feet flat on the floor. Your fingers should have enough space to slide between the curve of your knees near your calves and the chair. If they can’t, then find a small footrest to help elevate your feet a bit. Even something as simple as a pillow can help. 

Make sure you’re close enough to your desk that you’re not overreaching out. Your keyboard should sit within an easy reach, and your elbows should sit at a 90-degree angle. This also may require you to adjust your armrests so that they don’t push your shoulders too high or leave them too low. 

Finally, your monitor should sit at an arm’s length’s distance, and your eyes should line up with the center of your screen or ⅓ from the bottom of your monitor. Your screen placed improperly can lead to neck pain from leaning forward to move around too much. If you tuck your chin to your chest and slowly reverse the movement to relieve tension in your neck. To help your neck and shoulders, then tilt your head from side to side with your ears staying aligned with your shoulders. Do these movements slowly but often to keep some flexibility and relieve tension. 

Back Pain and Your Chair

So, everything feels lined up, and you should be good to go, right? Well, also make sure that your bottom can tuck to the back of your chair. This will then line your back up with the chair. Your lumbar support should line up with your arch right above your waist. By placing proper lumbar support, it will prevent you from slouching or leaning forward. 

Lumbar Support Cheat 

Many chairs don’t have this support built-in or just don’t fit all body types. Placing a throw pillow against the back of your chair can provide you with the support you need. It’s a simple and easy way to fix the problems that many chairs have. 

Wrist Pain From Strains

Wrist strain maintains as one of the most overlooked injuries you can do to yourself. When you’re using a mouse or bashing away at your keyboard, the tendons in your wrists move back and forth. As this happens, microtrauma from friction can happen, which will lead to fatigue and possible inflammation. 

Your shoulders leaning forward will also contribute to wrist strain. When your shoulders lean forward, then your bloodstream to your hands and arms will decrease. You will feel a form of numbness, soreness, or a tingling sensation. 

If you perform a few basic exercises such as placing your hands together in a prayer position, lift your elbows out and lower your wrists until you feel a good stretch.  

You can also avoid all of this by holding your wrists horizontally above your desk when you type. Not higher than your hands or resting on your desk. Getting a wrist rest can help with this as well. 

Indoff Office Chairs And Furniture 

We have some of the best products out there to keep you healthy while you work at your desk. Let us know how we can supply your office and your team to keep everyone healthy and productive! 

Office Chairs: Is Yours Causing Back Pain?

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On average, how much time do you spend at your desk? For many, it’s somewhere between 40 to 50 hours a week or 7 to 8 hours a day. Now out of those hours, how many do you spend sitting? Even if it’s somewhere around three or five hours, the combined amount of time spent sitting on an uncomfortable chair can hurt your body, specifically your back and lead to other longer-term complications.

Now before we put all of the blame on your chair, let’s access your own habits when it comes to your posture.

How do you sit at work?

When you sit at work, you want to feel comfortable and supported. It’s easy to lean back into a chair and slouch and immediately think yes, this feels good! While it may feel good for a couple of minutes, you’ll eventually find that your neck will begin to ache and your shoulders might also feel a bit tense. And your arms, they might struggle to reach the keyboard. Here’s how your body should be while sitting on a chair:

  1. Your eyes should be leveled with your computer monitor and approximately 18 to 24 inches away from your eyes.
  2. Your back should be supported by the natural curvature of the backrest.
  3. Your arms should create a 90-degree angle with your wrists resting on a pad or the top of the desk.
  4. Your buttocks should be fully situated on the chair as far back as possible so that your back is touching the back support of the chair.  
  5. Your feet should be flat on the floor or resting comfortably on a footrest.

In general, you want to make sure that things feel right for your body. Even the best chair can cause pain if we’re not using it correctly.

Office Chairs to Consider

Like we mentioned earlier, even if you’re only at your desk for a couple of hours, you need a chair that will give you ultimate comfort and ultimate support. We recommend one that is padded with memory foam—yes, memory foam—like the material inside beds. It will feel good on your back and your behind. Additionally, you want a chair with armrests. Even if you’re not resting your arms on them because let’s face it, you’re typing all day, you’ll feel more supported.

Here are other things to look for:

  • Find a backrest that curves to the natural shape of your back.
  • Adjust the seat so that your legs are touching the floor.
  • Make sure the cushion isn’t too stiff or too soft but is firm and supports you.
  • If your back pain persists, consider the care of a chiropractor as there could be other underlying issues.     

Find Yours at Indoff Commercial Interiors

Ready to swap out your current chair for a much more comfortable one? At Indoff Commercial Interiors, we’ll help you find office chairs that suit your needs and the those of your team. We’re committed to ensuring your office has chairs that are both functional and pleasing to the eye.

Connect with us today to learn more!