I also spoke with John Gallucci, a licensed physical therapist and sports coach who specializes in the symptoms of poor office posture, and he confirmed most of what Egbert said. Closed case, right? Well, of course it’s not just marketing speeches, so the office chair manufacturer can charge you an extra fee. But there are some important factors to consider.
Not all waist support is equal
Galuchi quickly pointed out the benefits of waist support, but he also issued some warnings on how to proceed. It turns out that not all lumbar support is equal. “The most important thing to look for in a chair is ergonomic adjustability,” he said. “A good chair should support your position for a long time without causing discomfort or fatigue. This means you should be able to adjust the seat height, seat depth, armrests, waist, lumbar support and tilt.”
A chair with fixed lumbar support means it cannot adjust your body. Today, lumbar support and adjustments appear in different forms. For example, some chairs have lumbar height adjustment but no depth, also known as “two-way” adjustment. Some use dials for adjustments, others use ratchets or lever systems. Other chairs allow you to adjust the entire backrest to find the right position, and then some cheap chairs turn to simple cushions that can be moved manually. In theory, these can be good solutions as long as you can find the right place.
“That curve has to adjust its position,” Egerbert said. “My ass is probably lower than your ass, and you want it to match where your lower back curve is. You want to be able to slide it up and down.”
A good example of an ergonomic chair with a “two-way” waist adjustment is Pro, Chairman of Branch Ergonomics. We’ve tested dozens of chairs, and this excellent waist support is one of the reasons why Wired’s office chair critic Julian Chokkattu. It also won’t cost more than a thousand dollars like many high-end office chairs.
If you aren’t ready to spend $500 on an ergonomic chair, that doesn’t mean you have to be doomed to have lower back pain. Some DIY solutions are even better than chairs with insufficient waist. We even tested some additional waist pads that we like, e.g. This LoveHome model You can find it on Amazon.
However, waist support is not the first thing to solve when it comes to it When setting up a workspace. If you are sitting on an old table Works from a laptop onlywaist support will never solve your posture problem. First use a laptop stand or adjustable height adjustment Monitor.
After that, yes, waist support is a good thing. It needs to be adjustable and can be done in time, but here’s what you want to make sure to be on the next office chair. If you sit for eight hours a day, your back should get it.
