Different Types of Office Chairs and their Ergonomics

You’ve probably heard of the term ergonomic chairs, but did you know that there are actually many different types of ergonomic chair? The word ergonomic simply refers to the science of ergonomics, the study of how to improve objects to make them safer and better suited for human use. ergonomic chairs are each designed and adapted to benefit the human body in one way or another. There are different chairs for different professions or different body types, all unique and created for a special purpose. In order to decide which one is best for you you need to know what types of chairs are available to you.

Ergonomic Chairs
Let’s start with the basic one which you’re probably already aware of.

Ergonomic chairs were developed to encourage your body to improve its posture by providing support to your spine and neck. They’re often adjustable in many ways including height of the seat, headrest and backrest, tilt of the seat and so much more. They have lumbar support, arm rests, are able to spin and have a padded seat and backrest.

They aim to reduce back, neck and shoulder pain while sitting down for hours on end.

Drafting Chairs
These chairs tend to be more common for people who work as architects, artists or who have standing desks because they prefer them. They’re designed as a brief seat to those who spend their time at their desks, and as such they will usually have the ability to change their height and they have a foot ring to rest your feet on, while the chair is higher up and you may not be able to touch the ground. They also have the ability to spin and are very light so can be moved easily. However they don’t always have a back since they’re not usually used as a constant seat which requires more support.

Balance Ball Chairs
Their chairs consist mostly of a large inflatable yoga ball on a solid base with wheels. They occasionally come with a backrest although this isn’t too common. They’re considered an exercise chair and the main aim is to improve circulation, core and leg strength and burn calories while improving concentration. This sounds like an ideal for many people, but you should know that they do encourage bad posture when used for too long, so should be alternated with another office chair.

Saddle Chairs
As the name suggests these chairs encourage the individual to sit in them like they’re riding a horse. This is supposed to improve core and back muscles which then provides the spine with more support which decreases back pain over time. They come in two forms, divided (seat is in 2 pieces) and one piece (seat is in one piece). You can usually edit their height and even their tilt.

Active Sitting Chair
This term refers to the general group of chairs which promote movement while you’re sitting down. Usually they have the ability to adjust the height and potentially the angle of the seat and did I mention the moving seat. The whole point of these chairs is that the seat is unstable and can move easily so that you can go this way, that way, forwards and backwards while sitting at your desk. This promotes core strength and also helps you to burn calories while sitting at your desk but once again this is another chair which should be alternated with another regular office chair.

Leaning Sit Stand Chairs
These have become very common with users of standing desks as they allow you to half sit and half stand. This allows you to take some weight of your feet so they don’t ache quite as much at the end of the day, and they also allow you to remain stood so you can still move around the office and see all of your work easily the way you would with the standing desk but without the huge negative of the pain in your feet. Energy is still used up and you’re still encouraged to exercise and there’s still an increase in productivity. These chairs combine both although if you remain sit-standing in them for too long you could cause back problems over time.

All of these options for chairs are great in their own ways and there are many more that you can get in different shapes sizes, with different materials and different levels of support or padding. Some for large people and some for small. It’s all up to you to decide on your chair. Just make sure to try out some different models before you buy something. There are so many options out there and since you’ll probably be spending a lot of time sitting/standing in them then it’s all the more important to make the right decision for you. We prefer to buy ergonomic chair for office work due to its benefits but of course different people will have different preferences.