Did you know that a person can spend an average of 80,000 hours sitting on an office chair until such time that that person retires? If you didn’t then its time to see that ever loyal office companion of yours—the office chair—in a totally new light.

Let’s go back in time when office chairs first came into being. According to Wikipedia:

“…in the mid-1800s, businesses began to expand beyond the traditional model of a family business with little emphasis on administration. Additional administrative staff was required to keep up with orders, bookkeeping, and correspondence as businesses expanded their service areas. While office work was expanding, an awareness of office environments, technology, and equipment became part of the cultural focus on increasing productivity. This awareness gave rise to chairs designed specifically for these new administrative employees: office chairs.

The office chair was strategically designed to increase the productivity of clerical employees by making it possible for them to remain sitting at their desks for long periods of time….”

In order to fulfil this need, ergonomics is being applied to office chair design. Ergonomics is defined as the application of scientific principles that will increase productivity in the workplace while keeping work-related injuries to the body at a minimum.

Sitting on a chair for long periods of time can have serious effects on our body and health. Areas in our body affected by this are our lower backs, the spine, and legs. The wrong kind of chair can put unnecessary pressure on our lower backs, lead to impaired blood circulation of the body, and contribute to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Let me share some tips in making sure that you choose the right kind of office chair:

1. Make sure that your chair is height adjustable. The ideal chair height should be one that allows you to comfortably rest your arms on your desks. If your shoulders are hunching up that means your chair is too low and can cause your shoulder muscles to cramp. If your forearms are hanging and you cannot rest them on your desk that is because your chair is too high.

2. Your chair should have a firm, contoured back that can adjust when you lean back on them. It should also allow it to rest your neck against it when you need to. It is important that the backrest provides enough support for the neck and upper back otherwise it can lead to muscle soreness, cramps and even migraine.

3. Make sure that the chair has ample space so that your hips and thighs are not cramped in. If the space does not allow for movement it may lead to impaired blood circulation.

4. There should also be ample cushioning in the butt and thigh area. The preferred cushion design is one that is rounded in the front because it allows good blood circulation in the legs.

5. Last but not the least, good ergonomic chairs have a 5-point base that prevents whoever is sitting on them from tipping over when they lean back to rest their bodies.

Source: http://howidid.com/177/the-perfect-office-companion-is-the-perfect-office-chair/