Why Your Office Chair Should Have Lumbar Support

I also spoke to John Gallucci, an approved physiotherapist and sports coach specializing in the treatment of symptoms of poor office posture, and he confirmed a large part of what Egbert said. Closed case, right? Well, it is certainly not only the marketing that speaks so that the manufacturers of office chair can charge you more. But there are certain important factors to consider.

All the lumbar support is not equal

Gallucci quickly underlined the advantages of lumbar support, but he also issued warnings about how to proceed. It turns out that all the lumbar medium is not equal. “The most important thing to look for on a chair is ergonomic adjustment,” he said, referring to the need for adjustable lumbar support. “A good chair should support your posture for long periods without causing discomfort or fatigue.

The chairs with fixed lumbar support mean that it is not adjustable to your body. Lumbar support and adjustments are in different forms these days. For example, some chairs have a lumbar height adjustment but not depth, also called “bidirectional” adjustment. Some use a dial for adjustment and others use a ratchet or lever system. Other chairs allow you to adjust the entire folder to find the right position, and some cheaper chairs use a simple cushion that can be moved manually. These can, in theory, all good solutions, as long as you can find the right position.

“This curve must be adjustable as to the place it is,” explains Egbert. “My buttocks can be lower than your buttocks, and you want it to correspond to what this curve in the lower back is. You want to be able to slide it from top to bottom.”

A good example of an ergonomic chair with a “bidirectional” lumbar adjustment is the Ergonomic Chair Pro branch. We have tested dozens of chairs, and this excellent lumbar support is one of the reasons why Julian Chokkattu, Wired office chair, found it so comfortable. It also costs a thousand dollars like so many high -end office chairs.

If you are not ready to spend $ 500 on an ergonomic chair, this does not mean that you must be sentenced to the drop in the back. Some DIY solutions may even be better than a chair with an inadequate lumbar adjustment. We have even tested complementary lumbar cushions that we love, like this LoveHome model that you can find on Amazon.

In the end, lumbar support is not the first thing to approach when configuring your workspace. If you are sitting at an old office working from a laptop, the lumbar support will never solve your posture problems. First correct, with a laptop support or a monitor adjusted in height.

After that, yes, lumbar support is a good thing. It must be adjustable and well implemented, but this is something you want to make sure you are available on your next office chair. If you sit for eight hours a day, your back does it.