Office Chair Advice And Tips Blog: Why Good Ergonomics Can Sometimes Work Against You In A Home Office

Do you remember the last time you were caught up in a bad traffic jam? Just crawling along with your body stuck in the same position for an hour or more. Chances are the experience left you feeling stiff and tense. Sometimes it can feel like this in your home office too. Tight office space restricts movement Many home offices are situated in a spare bedroom and usually this is the smallest room in the house. As a result space is often limited with your desk taking up a good chunk of the floor space. So you end up with pretty much everything being near to hand. But isn’t that a good thing? Well yes and no. Good ergonomics suggests having key equipment close to hand In a normal office it's usually recommended you set your workstation up in such a way that the most commonly used equipment falls within a 12 inch radius from your chair. Beyond this you would have less frequently used items located a little further away. Obviously this makes good sense to cut down on twisting and stretching at odd angles to reach things. However, due to the restricted size of the typical home office space many of the compensating activities that keep you on the move don’t happen. There's no photocopier or central print area to walk to. No meetings to get up out of you seat to attend and no rest room or canteen to visit. All this lack of movement can leave your body inactive for long periods and that usually results in tired and aching muscles before too long. How can we tackle this problem? Modifying the way you work to increase movement It is still a good idea to have frequently used items handy to avoid making the awkward twists and turns that can happen even in a confined office space. This means we need to get healthy movement in other ways to replace all those lost trips to the copier and meeting rooms. Begin by getting out of your chair at least every 20-30 minutes, even if it's only to take a few steps around your work area. Increasing this by taking a break to make yourself a cup of coffee or tea is another way of keeping more active. And if the weather is good step outside and get some fresh air. Adding in some simple exercise routines and stretches is a great way to add back some activity into tired muscles. Even lying on your back with knees bent pointing upwards for 6 to 8 minutes will give your back and shoulders a break from carrying your body weight continuously. So, to prevent your body from feeling like it's been caught up in a traffic jam, make a conscious effort to keep moving throughout your working day. Doing so will ensure the limitations of a home office don’t leave you with muscle and posture problems. What's your experience of working in a home office and what ways have you found for relieving aches and pains?

How Desk Chair Height Can Cause Leg Pain For Office Workers

Leg pain for office workers may not be as big a problem as neck and back pain, nonetheless it still affects a lot of people and when you understand the potential causes it can often be resolved. Typically people complain of pain to the underside and tops of their thighs. Or their legs suffer some numbness and feel heavy and dead. A lot of the time the height of the seat can be the cause. For many it will simply be a case of adjusting their working height and yet for certain others it isn’t so simple. Why correct seat height adjustment is important It’s important to make sure you have your seat set at the right height, because when it’s wrong it places a lot of unnecessary pressure on the legs. And historically poor advice on sitting with legs and body at 90° has contributed to the problem. And just in case this applies to you, it’s never a good idea to work at a computer or desk in a fixed chair like a dining or meeting room chair. Even if the height is right this sort of seat still restricts your body movement and can cause other pain and discomfort problems. Let’s take a look at how you should be sitting. How to sit at the right height Begin by standing without shoes on and knees facing your chair seat and align the seat height with your knee caps. From there sit down in your chair making sure your feet are resting squarely on the floor. Then, fine tune the height so that the angle between your body and thighs is open at around 110° or more. This will reduce the constriction on your upper leg muscles and allow better blood circulation. What should you do when you can’t achieve this sitting position? Adapting your chair to fit you Most average built people should be able to get their seat set to the right height. However for short or tall people things may not be so simple. Typically short built people find the seat won’t go low enough to let them rest their feet squarely on the floor. In fact they may not be able to rest their feet on the floor at all. The opposite problem affects tall users. Even with the seat on maximum height they find the angle between body and thighs is very tight as they are forced to sit with knees pointing up in the air. Fortunately some manufacturers offer different sizes of gas lift support struts. Check and see if there is one available to suit you. Start by measuring from floor to knee cap and make sure that dimension is covered by the alternative strut’s height range. This should take of things, but what if it doesn’t? Other seat problems Where pain still persists other causes my include incorrect seat depth for your leg length or cheap seat foams which have degraded and flattened. Here’s a free report which explains the commonest cause of office chair discomfort and how to resolve it. And if you need a new size of gas lift and one isn’t available, a new chair may be your only alternative.