Your back is aching, and it’s no wonder! You spend three-quarters of your day either sitting at the office or on a couch watching TV. But you don’t have to just grimace and bear chronic lower back pain. Proper posture, a good office chair and some simple lifestyle changes can bring relief... How much time do you spend sitting? If you’re like most desk jockeys, it’s as much as 40 hours a week at work. So if your office chair just isn’t right, your back health will suffer, leaving you with an achy spine, sore shoulders or stiff neck. “When a chair doesn’t support your spine, your muscles have to work harder, and you’ll feel fatigued at the end of the day,” explains Paul Cooke, M.D., a physiatrist (rehabilitation specialist) at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. After a while, the vertebrae in your lower back, known as your lumbar, won’t be able to maintain spinal alignment. That puts more stress on discs and joints, leading to more pain, he says.
Later, when you settle into your couch to watch TV, you may be worsening back pain. That’s because soft cushions offer even less lumbar back support than office chairs do. But your back health doesn’t have to suffer from long hours behind a desk and on spongy sofas. We asked back doctors and physical therapists for tips to finding the best office chair, relieving pain and even preventing varicose veins. Sit RightLumbar back support: The most important function of an office chair is to maintain proper curvature of your lumbar spine, Dr. Cooke says. Go Chair ShoppingIn the market for a new office chair? Luxury office chairs offer good support, says Dr. Cooke. Some also offer woven mesh seats for better air circulation, which helps keep the skin cool, he says. But you don’t have to buy a top-of-the-line chair to get good lumbar back support. Recline: When working at your computer, you probably sit upright. But if you’re reading, talking on the phone or conducting a meeting, you can lean back.
“A slightly reclined position relieves pressure on the spine,” Dr. Cooke says. Adjustable seatback: For upper-back support, the chair should be high and wide enough for your shoulder blades to rest on, Dr. Cooke says. Protecting Your Back at HomeAvoid the sofa. It’s not the best choice for sitting for long periods of time, says Dr. Cooke. “Most sofas don’t offer much lumbar back support, and there’s a tendency to slouch.” Instead, use a recliner or an easy chair with back support.Resist the urge to slump down in your chair during a “Real Housewives” TV marathon. “Have your feet on the ground,” Dr. Cooke says. “And sit far enough back in the chair so your seat makes contact with your thigh muscles.Yep, that La-Z-Boy is actually good for you. There’s less strain on your lumbar discs when you’re in a reclined position, and having your legs slightly elevated can improve blood flow, Dr. Cooke says. Expensive recliners, advertised as “stressless” or “back-friendly,” are fine, he says, but not necessary.
“Any comfortable recliner is good,” he says – just make sure it supplies some lumbar back support. Use pillows as props. Since most easy chairs don’t have lumbar support for your lower back, “use a pillow or lumbar roll to maintain curvature,” Dr. Cooke says.SwingChair is the only complete solution – a chair that moves when you do, making thousands of micro-adjustments that release tension and improve blood flow as you shift positions. SwingChair is the ultimate ergonomic chair for back pain sufferers, computer users, and anyone who spends long periods of time in a chair. It is the only chair in the world with the patented SIT (Simple Intuitive Technology) mechanism that automatically supports natural human motion, and it is backed by more than 20 years of research and tens of thousands of satisfied customers who bear testimony to SwingChair’s incredible effectiveness. SwingChair is the only chair equipped with revolutionary dynamic counterbalancing technology that helps relieve back pain and other injuries associated with the static postures enforced by other ergonomic chairs.
The seat and backrest move independently from a pivot point that matches your body’s center of gravity so SwingChair adjusts to your individual size and body contours to automatically counterbalance your every movement. Whether you are sitting upright, reclining, or leaning forward, and whether you are tall, short, or somewhere in between, SwingChair adjusts to you, following every move you make so your back, hips, and thighs are always supported. Can your chair automatically accommodate these postures without making a single manual adjustment? It just makes sense that a chair that moves with you provides unrivaled support to your back, but we know that it’s impossible for you to truly understand how comfortable SwingChair is and what a difference it can make until you try it for yourself. That’s why your SwingChair comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee: if it doesn’t work for you, just send it back and we will reimburse you the entire original cost of the chair.
We want you to have all the facts, so that you can make an educated decision about which chair is best for you. SwingChair guarantees all-day sitting comfort and relief from neck and back pain, proven by years of research and tens of thousands of satisfied customers. With our money-back guarantee, you can test that claim for yourself, risk-free! So what are you waiting for? Order your new SwingChair right now and start experiencing the amazing difference this chair will make in your life and your work with its unparalleled comfort and support.Appointments at Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations. For back pain relief, is it better to sit on an ergonomic office chair or a fitness ball? Answers from Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. If long periods seated at a desk are giving you a sore back, your office chair may need adjusting to give you better back support — or you may even need a new chair designed to reduce back pain.
Sitting on a fitness ball for office work is not recommended. To stay upright on a fitness ball, you have to make constant, small adjustments in muscle tension and weight distribution. This effort helps you achieve the benefits of core-strengthening exercises performed with a fitness ball. Prolonged balancing on a fitness ball during a full day of work, however, may lead to increased fatigue and discomfort in your back. Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. Tarlov cysts: A cause of low back pain?National Institutes of Health. Accessed Aug. 20, 2015. Kingma I, et al. Static and dynamic postural loadings during computer work in females: Sitting on an office chair versus sitting on an exercise ball. McGill SM, et al. Sitting on a chair or an exercise ball: Various perspectives to guide decision making. U.S. Army Public Health Service. Frequently asked questions: Ergonomics. Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 20, 2015. See more Expert Answers