It is not healthy to sit for many hours a day. Yet many people sit in the office, at school, or in other environments for most of their day. Furthermore, they sit in chairs that are not specially designed to support their back. It is no wonder that a majority of adults experience acute back problems at some time in their life.1 Additionally, there are any of a host of other common problems associated with prolonged and incorrect sitting. These include neck pain, tailbone discomfort, and carpal tunnel. Fortunately, the negative side effects of sitting can be mitigated by following certain practices about the best way to sit.
Understanding Body Mechanics and Ergonomics
Doing wrong movements, and especially doing them repetitively, can put enormous strain on the body and can lead to injury. This injury can result suddenly or over time.
Moving in a way that prevents injury is known as having good body mechanics.2 There are many good body mechanic practices of which you should be aware. For example, it is good body mechanics to place items at a level where you don’t have to bend your waist. It is also good ergonomic practice to push rather than pull. You might have also heard that your knees should not go beyond your toes when you squat. These are just a few of the many good body mechanic practices of which you should be mindful whether at work, exercising, studying, or doing household chores.
Admittedly, it is sometimes difficult to follow all these good body mechanic practices. Fortunately, ergonomic products exist. These are products that help you practice good body mechanics while reducing the effort on your part. Because they reduce human effort, they make avoiding or minimizing injury more achievable.
Tips to Proper Sitting
The following are some tips on best body mechanic practices you should follow while sitting to reduce injury.3-4, 6-7
- Wrists should be kept straight while typing.
- Keyboard and mouse should be kept at the same level or slightly below the level of your elbows.
- Keyboard and mouse should be close and at your body’s centered.
- The computer monitor should be within about an arm’s length distance from your face.
- Your earlobes are over your shoulders.
- Your chest should be lifted and centered as to maintain a neutral spine. That is, don’t slump or lean to one side or the other.
- Your armrest should allow your arms to rest in a manner that your elbows bend at a 90-degree angle. Ideally, your desk (where the keyboard and mouse are located) should align with your arm rest.
- Elbows should be kept close to the body, so adjust armrest accordingly.
- Make sure that your lumbar area is supported while you seat.
- Make sure to seat deep into chair.
- Your feet should touch the floor and rest at a 90-degree angle, with your hips parallel to the floor. You might need to adjust the dept of the chair to be able to bend your knees.
- Don’t press your shoulders into the back of the chair.
- Sit on a soft surface, preferably one that has a cushion that is zoned as to relieve tailbone pressure
- Keep frequently needed items close by to avoid reaching.
Additional Tips
- The bridge of your nose should be aligned with the top of the screen’s text.
- If using a laptop, you can use a laptop riser to get the screen at the appropriate height. Then use an external mouse and keyboard to interact with the laptop.
- Alternately, if using a laptop, reclining on the chair would allow for proper alignment of bridge of nose and your laptop screen.
- Make sure your workspace area is well lit to minimize glare.
- Make it a priority to stand up and move frequently – at least 5 minutes every hour.
- Periodically perform stretches, even while seated.
- If using to monitors, angle them in slightly towards one another to minimize turning of your head to view either.
- If you need to type while using a phone, use a speaker phone rather than support your phone between your head and neck while you type.
- You may choose to recline your chair to take pressure off the spine. However, you also need to make sure you have adequate headrest and footrest support. You should also be able to abide by the other recommendations. This means you should still be able to have adequate lumbar support and arm rest while recline. Your keyboard and mouse should still be centered and within reach. And your monitor should be at arm’s length distance and with top of text aligned with the bridge of the nose.
Why Sitting on an Ergonomic Chair is the Best Way to Sit
Of course, you can follow best body mechanic practices for sitting without an ergonomic chair. However, it would require many props, and considerable effort on your part. Additionally, the sitting experience would likely not be as comfortable as sitting on an ergonomic chair. Ergonomic office chairs provide comfort to the human body. They assist you in maintaining a good sitting position without much effort on your part. Perhaps most importantly, they prevent injury that comes with sitting down for too long.
Because everyone’s body is different, a good ergonomic chair should allow you to customize it in a way that it will properly feel comfortably for your specific body type. Furthermore, a good ergonomic chair is one that responds to your body movements. It is a chair that works with you rather than against you. Without a doubt, ergonomic chairs provide the best way to sit for prolonged periods.
Newtral Ergonomic Office Chair
With numerous ergonomic office chairs available, selecting one can potentially be a tough choice. However, the Newtral ergonomic office chair has a wealth of practical features that it makes it the obvious choice for anyone. It has many features that, in my opinion, make it the best way to sit for someone with lower back pain.
The Newtral ergonomic office chair is super versatile. Notably, it is the first patented chair to provide support for your back regardless of your sitting position. Its backrest and headrest both move back and forth with you as you move your body.
You can adjust the chair’s back support tension. You can also adjust its elevation, back height, and the seat depth. This means that, whether you are tall or small, the Newton ergonomic office chair can be adjusted to your needs.
Newtral Office Chair
The Newtral office chair was designed with every detail in mind. Even the armrests of the chair are versatile. For example, you can extend them forward or back, up or down, or sideways—inwards or outwards. The sideways angle of the armrests can also be adjusted to one that is most comfortable to you.
The backrest and headrest are made of breathable material, which is also a nice design consideration. The seat of the Newtral ergonomic chair is also remarkably comfortable. It zoned cushion design provides relief to your tailbone as well. This is important, because tailbone discomfort is another common problem of prolonged sitting.
To top it off, the Newtral ergonomic office chair has a footrest that can be stowed away under the seat. Additionally, you can use the separately sold detachable workstation attaches to the arm rest to put your laptop and accessories. The workstation even has a cupholder and a retractable stand.
This means you can comfortably recline on your chair, use its footrest, and comfortably have your material within arm’s reach. With your headrest and lumbar support, you have everything you need to maintain good body mechanics. What an incredibly comfortable set up! You can even lock the angle of your chair in place if you wish.
Why Investing in a Newtral Ergonomic Office Chair is Worth It
The designer of the Newtral chair has dedicated his life to designing ergonomic products. He did this after having developed various ailments, namely carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic lower back pain, that impeded his productivity and employability. His products have won awards, and have received positive reviews amongst physical therapists, chiropractors and ergonomists.5
Of course, there are other ergonomic office chairs besides the Newtral. However, the Newtral stands out because of all the features it has to adjust it to your specific body needs. It has many more than most ergonomic chairs in the market. With all of these features you need to make you stop focusing on your body aches and instead help you be more productive.
Apart from that, it is a very professional looking, high quality office chair. Even though it is worth a few hundred dollars, it definitely not among the most expensive ergonomic office chairs in the market. In fact, it is pretty affordable given all the features and convenience it provides.
Investing in a quality ergonomic equipment as the Newtral ergonomic chair will arguably save you money in the long run. Injuring your back can expensive not just in terms of medical expenses, but also in terms of lost productivity and quality of life. Therefore, by investing in a chair that protects your back health, you will also be making a smart financial decision.
How I Discovered that Sitting on an Ergonomic Office Chair is the Best Way to Sit
Before using ergonomic office chairs, I was skeptical that simply changing the type of chair I used would be of much help for the terrible lower back pain I had started to experience. I was very surprised when I first sat in an ergonomic office chair for the first time and all of a sudden did not feel any discomfort in my lower back. Even if I sat in it for hours, I would not feel the discomfort. Interestingly, sitting on an ergonomic office chair felt very different for my back even though the chair did not look much different than any other office chair.
I feel extremely lucky to have been able to obtain an ergonomic office chair during a time when I most needed it. (I was having a bout of debilitating lower back pain.) Although using an ergonomic office chair was just one of the aspects that improved my back’s health, it did make a significant and immediate difference in my back’s health and comfort. Definitely, I learned pretty quickly that sitting in an ergonomic office chair is the best way to sit for lower back pain. And I will always ensure that my office chair is an ergonomic one. I am now such a firm believer that using an ergonomic office chair is the best way to sit that I decided to write this post about it. The Newtral ergonomic office chair, in particular, will make maintaining back health something both manageable and enjoyable.
Conclusion
Ergonomic office chairs are designed to reduce the injury associated with extended sitting. Sitting in an ergonomic office chair is the best way for anyone to sit, especially if you are struggling with lower back pain. For sure, adopting the use of an ergonomic chair was the single most important change ended my own struggle with lower back pain.
Ergonomic office chairs can be expensive but they are absolutely worth the investment. Back problems can be debilitating and might actually result in your inability to working. At the very least, it might make you less efficient.
Start being kind to your body today by getting yourself a Newtral ergonomic chair and the detachable workstation. The combination will make sitting even for prolonged periods of time feel comfortable. You will soon understand how an ergonomic chair as this one is the best way to sit.
Where You Can Purchase the Newtral Ergonomic Office Chair
You can locate a link to the Newtral ergonomic office chair in the Wellness Tools page. By making your purchase via that link, you will be supporting WellandEmpowered.com at no additional cost to you.
References
1. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/best-sitting-position-for-lower-back-pain#summary
2. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Injury_Prevention_and_Body_Mechanics
3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/office-ergonomics/art-20046169
4. https://www.verywellhealth.com/sitting-positions-8662124
5. https://newtralchair.com/products/newtral-magic-h-ergonomic-office-chair
6. https://newtralchair.com/pages/discover-newtral-health-with-iris-sokol
7. Working From Home: How to Set Up Your Workspace, With Pragmatic Expert Tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_vMwOd97ZQ