Are you in pain using an office chair? Do you know how to adjust an office chair for your needs? 

chair-75562_1920 (2)Review the following tips to see if you can resolve pain using an office chair.

  1. Get to know all of the levers/cogs on the chair by trying them out. If you have an instruction leaflet attached to the chair, read it. Or find a label, identify the chair make and model and look up the instructions on the internet. Many are downloadable documents.
  2. Some chairs have a seat slide adjustment. Keep the seat depth as long as possible, but still a 2-3 fingers clearance behind the knee. This will provide suitable sitting support.
  3. Some chairs have arm rests. Ideally they should be height adjustable so you can position them to support your forearms during use and breaks. They should be close enough to your build to be useful for resting your arms. Check if the arm rests can be moved in or out from under the seat pad. Also if the arm rest tops can be rotated inwards, outwards or moved forwards and backwards. Arm rests can help to provide forearm support if you have neck or shoulder pain. They can support the weight of your arms comfortably if they are positioned suitably.
  4. When sitting at the desk, raise the chair gas stem (seat height) so that your forearms are horizontal with the middle row of keys. Check if your chair gas stem can go high enough for your personal dimensions! Usually this may mean that the chair arm rests will be horizontal with the front edge of the keyboard or desk. Most chair arm rests do not restrict access to the desk. You can move items closer to you rather than having to move yourself further under the desk. If you cannot touch the floor, you will need a footrest (fixed height desks in the UK are most often around 72cm high).
  5. The chair back rest usually will have some lumbar support, which can be height adjustable. This may be the ability to raise the whole back rest on a series of notches, ratchet style adjustment (or a cog system). Try raising the back rest to the top, allow it to drop to the bottom of the ratchet, and then slowly raise it by one notch at a time. See if it can achieve lumbar support at the right height for your lumbar curve. Some chairs have an air pump option, so that you can inflate the lumbar support if needed. Others may have alternative lumbar adjustment methods. If you are adding a lumbar cushion to the chair, this could lead to the rest of your back not being in contact with the chair back rest. It could also reduce the seat depth as a result, which would not be ideal. A small lumbar ‘D’ roll may be sufficient.
  6. All chairs usually have a lever which allows you to unlock the chair and gain some movement whilst sitting. This can ease discomfort and stiffness. Some will move the seat pad and back rest together (synchro), others may move the chair parts separately. You can then usually leave the chair unlocked whilst you are sitting on it to allow variety, as you wish. If you experience back pain or hip pain, having a chair with ‘open’ angles can help. (E.g. back rest movement and forward seat tilt).
  7. Some chairs have a tension wheel. This is a side lever or a nondescript large knob/lever under the seat of the chair. It may have a + and – marked on it. Adjust the tensioner to make the chair movement more comfortable (looser or tighter movement).

We hope this information is useful and practical advice to ease pain using an office chair and adjust it for your personal needs.

If your chair does not suit you, is causing discomfort or pain, you may need an assessment and advice about your seating needs. Eg. Taller people may need a longer seat depth OR a longer back rest with higher arm rests and lumbar support. Your build, dimensions and health needs can be reviewed so you know what your seating requirements are. This can prevent issues in the future or resolve issues you are currently experiencing.

See our Services related to this topic:

A DSE Risk Assessment may be beneficial to ensure the whole set up is correct, according to the DSE Regulations 1992 for prevention of minor aches and pains.

If discomfort is ongoing, requiring medical input, or there is a diagnosed medical condition, a more in-depth Ergonomic Workstation Assessment is required.

See our Case Studies:

DSE Risk Assessment Case Study

Ergonomic Assessment in an Office Role Case Study

Ergonomic Assessment of a Teacher Case Study

Ergonomic Assessment & Return-to-Work Case Study

See our blog articles related to this topic:

Contact Us for further advice and a quotation.

See our Useful Links page which includes diagnosis specific advice from organisations which can help.

DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. The purpose of this website is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and it is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regime, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

Healthywork Ltd does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions or other information that may be mentioned on this website. Reliance on any information appearing on this website is solely at your own risk.

Pain using an Office Chair: 7 Top Tips

2 thoughts on “Pain using an Office Chair: 7 Top Tips

Comments are closed.

Interested in working together?

If you would like to work with us, or find out more about what we do, get in touch!

Contact Us

Recent Posts

Testimonials

UNUM

Healthywork Clients - Unum

Alison is professional at all times, she is easy to work with, adaptable and open to discussing how, through the reports she produces she can meet the changing needs of her clients.

Elaine Cook

ARK Schools

Healthywork Clients - Capital Group

Ergonomic Assessments at ARK in London and at one of the Academies in Elephant and Castle, South london, assessing the ergonomic needs of teachers.

ARK Schools, based in Central london

CRF Institute/Britains Top Employers

Our visit from Alison was an eye-opener. We thought that we knew what we were doing but every single team member learned something new. We learned how to use our equipment properly, we learned how to sit properly and we have all made adjustments to how we work since her visit. Everyone in the team has given feedback since that they are more comfortable in their daily work, and one person who has been in pain for months has changed her position and is now pain-free. Alison is friendly, easy to work with and great value for money. As manager, I thought that I would have to invest in a lot of new equipment but the reality is simply that we weren’t using what we had properly. I would definitely use Alison again and will write a workstation assessment into our on-boarding process for any new employees joining our team.

Eleanor Nickerson, Manager CRF Institute/Britains Top Employers

Ergonomic Assessment testimonial by Capita

Ergonomic Assessment testimonial by Capita

Ergonomic Assessment testimonial by Capita

I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Alison Biggs from Healthywork Ltd. The reason is simple: she will provide the service that you require.

Healthywork delivered approx 750 Ergonomic Assessment to the customer Royal Bank of Scotland, and other companies in the RBS group such as Direct Line, NIG Insurance, Churchill Insurance, Coutts & Drummonds. Assessments were conducted all over the UK as bank branch and regional office assessments were required.

Fiona Colegrave

Enable Therapy Services Ltd

Healthywork Clients - Enable Therapy Services

Enable Therapy Services Ltd has used the services of Healthywork Ltd on many occasions over the last 18 months.

We have found their services efficient and their reports excellent.

They continue to be our first choice when requiring vocational related assessments/reports.

Ergonomic Assessments, Functional Capacity Assessments and Vocational Assessments provided in Glocester, Kent, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, West Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Shropshire and Avon.

Julie Kendall, Wetherby

KMG Health Partners Ltd

Healthywork Clients - KMG

Alison Biggs has been a Specialised Assessor on KMG Health Partners roster since its UK inception in 2004. We highly recommend her based on her knowledge, skills, diversity, quality and client / customer care. She has also been extremely flexible with scheduling and geographic locations. You can expect positive outcomes from accessing her service.

Ergonomic Assessments, Functional Capacity Evaluations and Job Demands Analysis for clients over the UK: including, Devon, Bristol, Kent, London, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland.

Gail Kovacs

Sensory Dimensions

Ergonomic Assessment Functional Capacity Assessment Evaluation DSE Assessment Workstation Milton Keynes Cambridge Oxford North London - sensory

Many thanks indeed for the report.  Very thorough and a lot for us to do to help our member of staff.

I really appreciate the quick turn around.  (May 2017)

Simon Hails
Sensory Dimensions

Axminster Carpets

Healthywork Clients - Axminster Carpets

Our HR advisor has read your report and said it was the best she has read in 35 years!

Worksite Assessment performed in Axminster, Devon.

Adam Clark

HEFCE

logo

Healthywork Ltd have been extremely helpful over the last year and provided us with a very good service at very short notice.

The quality of their work place assessment reports and recommendations are extremely high. In addition, the employees involved have commented on the extremely helpful knowledge and support provided by the work place assessor.

(Assessments provided in Bristol and Central London).

Sarah de Vere, HR Manager, Higher Education Funding Council for England, based in Bristol
HEFCE

Avantek Computer Ltd

Healthywork Clients - Avantek

Alison @healthywork provided a very comprehensive report with recommendations to suit our clients needs. A very professional service.

Ergonomic Assessments provided in Bath, Oxford and Leicestershire.

Tony Lees, Avantek Computer Ltd, Leicestershire