What Is an Ergonomic Office Chair?
An ergonomic chair is designed with human engineering principles in mind. These chairs are meant to reduce the risk of health issues from prolonged sitting, bad posture, repetitive movements and poor wrist position while using personal computers. The wrong office chair also can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome and other wear-and-tear disorders.
Why Is It Important To Have an Ergonomic Office Chair?
Dr. Rahul Shah, a board certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in complex spine and neck conditions, says sitting in a comfortable chair helps avoid fatigue.
“Specifically, in an uncomfortable chair, often times the head is out of line with the pelvis in terms of the way it sits with gravity,” he says. “As such, the body is always working to bring the head in line with the pelvis to keep one from falling down. When the body is overworking, the muscles will, in turn, fatigue a bit faster.”
According to the American Physical Therapy Association, proper office ergonomics can help maximize your comfort and safety on the job. When shopping for an ergonomic office chair, they suggest features like:
- Adjustable height;
- Adjustable armrests to sit close to the desk;
- Lumbar support;
- A seat base that adjusts to comfortable angles and sits up straight;
- Twists or swivels on its base;
- Wheels. The more it has, the better the mobility.
Working from home has become the new normal. That’s why it’s more important than ever to find a comfortable office chair that will support your lifestyle as well as your lumbar region.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair With Headrest
Sure, it’s important to support your lower back when sitting for long periods of time. But let’s not forget your upper body!
The Glitzhome adjustable high-back office chair is made of supple camel-colored leatherette. It features a plush built-in adjustable headrest (87 to 106 degrees) to keep your neck and shoulders relaxed and pain-free. This sophisticated mid-century-style chair will protect your cervical vertebrae for years to come.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair With Wide Lumbar Support
Great for working, studying or crafting, the Hbada office chair proves someone with a happy back is more productive. Firm not saggy, the S-shaped backrest molds to the curve of your lower back for outstanding lumbar support. Things like a plushy seat cushion and flip-up armrests add to your comfort.
Feel free to adjust the seat height to your liking. It has a round-corner design for rolling and swiveling safely around rambunctious kids.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair for Tall People
Tall people often struggle to find a right-sized chair. Not so with the generously proportioned La-Z-Boy Trafford big and tall executive office chair.
Roominess abounds, thanks to Trafford’s 44-1/2- to 47-1/2-in. height range and 21-3/4-in. seat width. The chair has a reinforced back bar and a memory foam ComfortCore cushion to contour the body. Together these ergonomic features provide longer spines and hefty statures the comfort and range they need. And the chair supports up to 400 pounds.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair for Short People
For the smaller-framed among us, finding a proper fitting office chair also can be frustrating. The Alera Etros Series Petite helps short users keep their feet on the ground and their heads in the right place. This is important for good posture and circulation.
The Alera is designed for petites, yet is adjustable to fit almost anyone. It features a three-lever, multifunction mechanism that allows control over back angle and forward tilt to make sure you maintain a healthy and professional posture.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair Splurge
A perennial favorite that admittedly costs a pretty penny, the Herman Miller Aeron ergonomic chair is one you’ll be proud to show off during Zoom meetings.
Made of recyclable materials in an elegant graphite color, the Aeron helps you create a constructive and sustainable environment. It comes with plenty of fringe benefits, including adjustable PostureFit Sacral/Lumbar support, and two individual pads that flex independently and snugly form to the curve of your spine.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair Less Than $100
A sturdy chair with excellent stability, the Neo Chair office computer desk chair is a quality piece of furniture, especially at its price.
It has many of the functions you’d expect from an ergonomic office chair and a few you might not. The latter include a molded seat cushion covered in velvety cotton fabric (black, gray, pink or blue); two-inch gently rolling dual casters; and an anti-shock mechanism to prevent the backrest from unexpectedly shooting forward.
Best Reclining Ergonomic Office Chair
After a triumphant brainstorming session, you deserve a well-earned cat nap. Kick back and relax in the Devaise ergonomics recliner mesh upper, high-back office chair.
The synchronized tilt mechanism provides smooth, effortless reclining that you can lock into place anywhere along the angle spectrum. Extend the adjustable footrest and stretch out in various positions, including multi-tasking (90 degrees), problem-solving (120 degrees) and chillaxing (160 degrees).
Best Ergonomic Kneeling Office Chair
There’s no reason to slump over your keyboard for hours when you set up the Dragonn ergonomic kneeling chair at your work station. The sleek, low slung design is a posture-promoting seat that offers relief from your existing office chair.
It’s designed to put your back in an upright position, thereby distributing weight evenly so your spine can get back into correct alignment. This chair is also great for performing short-spurt reaching tasks, like drawing and sewing.
Best Ergonomic Drafting Office Chair
Let’s be honest: Drafters, engineers and architects are likely to spend most of the workday hunched over their desks, whether making hand-drawn sketches or designing plans using computer-aided software.
The Eurotech Seating Apollo drafting stool, with sit-to-stand design (up to 36-1/2-in.) and contoured, breathable mesh, provides creatives with functional protection against back, neck and shoulder pain. Other ergonomic features include a supportive chrome foot ring, width-adjustable arms to ensure proper tension and ratchet back height positioning to correctly support the lower lumbar region.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair for Gamers
Gaming enthusiasts are just as prone to occupational hazards as the rest of us — weekend marathons and online tournaments in front of the monitor can take their toll. Thank goodness the GTRACING Gaming Chair with footrest is designed for long-sitting comfort.
Sporting a larger frame than many office chairs, it has built-in Bluetooth speakers to immerse you in a 360-degree sound experience. Reclinable with a headrest pillow for taking a break between sessions, the chair helps you stay healthy and play better.