If you’ve searched for the best ergonomic office chairs, or even tried a few in the past few years but still haven’t found one that perfectly meets your needs, we’re here to help. With lots of people still working from home permanently or following a hybrid approach, many have found time to carve out home offices. From standing desks to seat cushions to storage drawers, there is no shortage of office furniture options to consider. The most important part of your WFH set-up, though, from a health perspective, is finding the right chair. Because it really is in your best interest to invest in an ergonomic office chair that can help you prevent prolonged neck and back pain. Thankfully, there are many affordable options out there that can check all of your boxes, helping you to be more comfortable while working from home.
What should you look for when buying ergonomic office chairs?
“You want a chair that definitely has an adjustable seat height; the ability to move up and down to accommodate people of different heights as well as different heights of desks,” Theresa Marko, PT, DPT, MS, a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy in New York City tells SELF.
The back of the chair should also be firm with lumbar support, Marko says, and the bottom cushion flat. Some chair cushions are tilted upward in the front, which is not ideal, she says, because they can make you tilt your pelvis backward and put pressure on your lumbar spine. Gaming chairs are popular options, but their upholstery and padding are often not built to last—and they take up a decent amount of real estate.
Visually, home office chairs tend to look very similar: Rolling, covered in mesh, made with faux leather or fabric upholstery, you get the idea. This part is based on your habits and preferences. Faux leather is easy to wipe clean, but fabric might feel warmer or more comfortable. The seat itself should have padding made with high-density foam so that it continues to feel comfortable even after years of use.
How should you adjust your office chair to fit your body?
As for your posture in the chair, Marko says the goal is always to be sitting upright with a straight back, instead of semi-reclining with the backrest tilted backward, or leaning forward, as both of these would put pressure on your shoulders and neck. She also notes that you should be pushed all the way up to your desk to prevent you from hunching forward, with your computer and mouse close by so that your elbows are bent to 90 degrees, right next to your torso.
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Ideally, Weyrauch says, you want the top third of the computer monitor at or slightly below eye level, a position that she says reduces eye and neck strain.
Scooting your bottom all the way to the back of the chair against the backrest is also key, Marko says. “Otherwise you will be sitting on your sacrum and stressing your back.” The Cleveland Clinic also recommends keeping your feet flat on the floor, with your knees bent at right angles and even with or slightly higher than your hips. You may need to troubleshoot this if you’re tall and leggy and your knees are hitting the underside of your desk, but try your best to make this work. Ultimately, sitting upright, with your feet on the floor, hips squared, and no forward tilt means everything is in alignment.
And if your chair’s still a bit too high for your feet to lay flat on the floor, Stephanie Weyrauch, PT, DPT, MSCI, a physical therapist in Orange, Connecticut, and president of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Connecticut chapter, also recommends placing a stool under the feet to “decrease strain in the legs and improve posture.”
The best ergonomic office chairs
To help you refine your search for the best ergonomic office chair for your body (and workspace), we used the above recommendations to guide our shopping, asked team SELF, and had a crew of four physical therapists (including Marko and Weyrauch) share some of their top picks to encourage good posture, reduce tension in the lower back, and keep you comfortable as you sit for long hours at your desk.
Source: SELF
