Healthy Sitting
It is simple for anyone to achieve a healthy sitting posture with a well-designed and correctly adjusted operator or task chair.
Ideally the chair size should be chosen to suit the user; which is one of the reasons why we sell so many different ranges. On our chairs all the controls are easy to reach, but it is just as important that the other elements of a workstation are suitable and correctly positioned for the task that is to be undertaken.
The chair must be close to the desk to avoid the need for the operator to lean forward for long periods of time and the desk height must be level with their elbows. The seat height must be set so that the operators hips are slightly higher than the knees, whilst their feet are flat on the floor.
If this cannot be achieved, because the desk is too high, then a footrest should be used. The top of the computer screen should be positioned at eye level.
The key to healthy sitting is to maintain a natural, “S” shaped spinal curve. This will minimise uneven compression of the spinal discs and muscular strain, whilst improving respiration and circulation. The operator should sit back into the chair thereby maintaining contact with the orthopaedically contoured backrest. The height of the backrest should be adjusted so that the lumbar support is positioned adjacent to the inward curve of the lower back.
The provision of a forward tilting seat can also be helpful as it rotates the pelvis forward thereby naturally encouraging the healthy “S” shape curve.
All operator and task chairs have the facility to recline the backrest. This adjustment should be used sparingly as it changes the angle between the seat and back and could result in the pelvis rotating backwards and loss of the “S” shaped spinal curve position. The choice of a synchro mechanism will minimise this effect since the seat moves along with the back to maintain good posture.
