Anatomy of an office chair

Posted on 2017-06-26 by Choice Office Furniture.  Tags: Office Chair, Choice Office Furniture

The knobs and levers on office chairs are important features for comfort and ergonomics. Despite all the options, many people simply sit down and forget about any adjustments. Get to know your office chair better so you can remain comfortable throughout the workday.

Office chairs come in all shapes and sizes, but at their most basic they have a seat. Everything from the top-of-the-line ergonomic chairs to exercise balls offer a place to sit. From there, office chairs differ in the types of legs and backs.

The most basic adjustment is raising or lowering the seat. This is most often done with the seat height lever located below the seat.

To properly adjust your chair height, start by looking at your desk or workstation – the height of the chair depends on the height of your desk. The optimal chair height keeps your head around the same height as your monitor and your arms around the same height of your keyboard. Your elbows should be at a 90-degree angle and your head should not be tilted up or down.

If you able to raise or lower your keyboard, then use the monitor height as your guide. Otherwise, use the keyboard height as your guide and raise or lower your monitor. (If you’re unable to adjust the height of your monitor, it may be a good opportunity for a monitor stand or a new desk.)

Most office chairs come with more mechanisms to further adjust the seat. Just like the angle of your elbows, the optimal angle for your knees is 90-degrees. Adjusting the angle of the seat can help get both your elbows and knees to the proper angle.

After you adjust the height of your chair, your feet should be flat on the ground. If they are not, look into getting a foot rest for under the desk.

Many task chairs also have adjustment levers for the arms and back. Raise or lower the height of the arms so your elbows remain at a 90-degree angle when supported by the chair arms. For the back, the optimal height and lumbar adjustment should form the chair to the curve of your back to encourage proper posture.

One of our favourite office chairs that allows for easy adjustments is the Freedom Chair by Humanscale. This sleek chair has simple recline support without tons of lever and knobs.

For more office chairs, come into the Choice Office Furniture showroom to explore new and used office chairs.