How to choose the right office chair to eliminate your back pain

The right choice of the chair is very important. So, how to choose a good office chair considering healthy and active sitting? After consulting prof. Janko Popovic, PhD- MD.

we picked out four basic criteria to answer this question for you: “Will the chair of my choice help me eliminate my back pain or not?”

For most people, more time is spent on a chair than in their bed. We spend long hours sitting, and therefore don’t exercise or engage in other physical activities enough. Bear in mind that our bodies were not designed for sitting in a single position for a very long time. So, what can be done?

Statistics of chronical disorder reveal the consequences of lengthy sitting. Every second inhabitant of Europe is already facing chronic back pain caused by irreversible spine injuries mostly due to improper sitting. The number of patients, adults and children as well, is growing exponentially.

And this situation demands improvement. If you’ve got back pain – we have some good news for you:  there is a special chair on the market helping you to do away with your troubles. It’s all about the therapeutic chair with its primary task to eliminate the pain in your back.

In the past, there were only office chairs offering passive sitting. The focus was only on the position of the body when sitting. We depended only on the basis of ergonomics, which was founded merely on maintaining the right angle of the elbows and the knees. Up-to-date therapeutic chairs advance active sitting, which is based upon free movement of the body. This is achieved by the movable seat of the office chair.

4 basic criteria for choosing the ideal spine friendly office chair:

1) The seat should be movable in all directions

The seat should be movable in all directions to permit the movement of your pelvis. It’s specifically the pelvis that is the starting point of movement for the whole body. According to prof. Janko Popovic, PhD, M.D., from the medical point of view movement of the body, is the key to prevention.

Even if you are already facing any spine difficulties, they could be eliminated by proper movement and exercise. More facts of the importance of exercise for healthy living will be addressed later on in the text. 

However, please note that at this point we are not dealing with a medical chair, but we’re discussing the benefits of a therapeutic office chair. That is to say, that medical chairs are not furnished with a firm seat and thus do not advance body movement in all directions.

2) Armrests and back support should be firm

Both armrests and back support should be firm and independent from the motion of the seat. This is the only way to get sufficient support and the appropriate position of the spine while sitting. Never choose a chair that provides a movable seat, with movable armrests and movable back support.

If he is the case, we can no longer talk about the movement of the pelvis alone; this would be merely balancing the whole upper part of the body, including the head. Sitting on a previously mentioned chair is not effective. It doesn’t contribute to toning and strengthening the back muscles, as it strengthens only the legs, which results in uneven strain on back muscles, thus causing risk to the spine.

3) Verify the clinical evaluation of the chosen chair

To be certain of the beneficial effects of a medical device, the quality of the chair should be confirmed by at least two independent professional institutions. The chair should come with the certificate of clinical evaluation for a medical device. 

Clinical evaluation is a fully practical procedure: for any product assuring a healing effect, the tests are run for several months. The procedure is carried out solely by physicians with the highest level of expertise – e.g. professors, senior lecturers or head physicians of corresponding department or clinic, respectively. These independent professionals have the expertise and experience to evaluate potential benefits of the chair to the human spine.

Many dealers or shops will claim they’re offering quality ergonomic chairs providing healthy sitting. The truth is, that health effects can be confirmed only by a physician who performs the aforementioned clinical evaluation of the chair. Therapeutic effects claimed only by a manufacturer, or – with no prior tests performed – claimed by a certain physician are nothing but a subjective opinion. Such statements provide no guarantee regarding healing effects for your spine.

 4) The chair should be comfortable

After sitting the whole day long your body tells you if the chosen chair is suitable for you. You may need to choose a different model. People come of course in different sizes, i.e. different heights and weight. Therefore, it is good, if the manufacturer can offer various models of therapeutic chairs with the same effect for at least 5 different types of body figures.

Once you have decided for a really effective therapeutic chair, the salesperson will gladly offer you to test different chair models free of charge or obligation. Thus you can be sure that the company stands for its product and statements regarding the beneficial effects of the chair.