About Chairs and Sitting
There are good chairs and bad chairs. Badly designed chairs are bad for backs, and over long periods of time can permanently damage the spine. Bad chairs can also lead to aching arms, shoulders, and legs and can reduce the circulation of the blood. Unstable chairs can cause accidents and injuries. Obviously such chairs don't fulfill the employer's obligation under Occupational Health and Safety law to provide a safe workplace.
Fineseat chairs are properly designed by our design team. They take into account ergonomics, strength and stability as well as the aesthetic requirements of the user and the relevant chair standards.
Besides having a Fineseat chair, knowing the few basics about good sitting will ensure you get the most benefit from it. Fineseat chairs are shaped to accommodate the natural shape of the back so you sit comfortably, with sufficient lumbar support. That's the support, which you feel pressing on the lower or lumbar part of your back. When you sit, make sure you can feel that lumbar support
Don't slump so that your pelvis is forward towards the edge of your seat. While working, relax upright in your chair, leaning backwards slightly, the shoulders loose, not hunched forward. Bend the head to write rather than the thoracic spine (the part of the spine below your neck). Don't crouch forward to write or type at your keyboard, as this often causes upper backache.
Make sure your computer screen is neither too high nor too low. You should not have to look upwards at the screen, but straight ahead. Some people find a screen slightly below eye level most comfortable.
If you wear progressive or bifocal spectacles, beware of bending the head back so you can see the screen through the close-up section of your spectacle lenses. Many people find the best solution is a pair of reading glasses of approximately arm's length focus, i.e. the usual distance to your screen.
If you are typing, your elbows should be a bit lower than your forearms, and when you type you should not rest your hands on the keyboard. Correctly taught touch-typing skills should be the goal of all computer users - ask any touch typists!
If you are constantly using a keyboard, you may find a chair without armrests is better for your posture. Or try the Fineseat height adjustable armrests.
Adjust your chair to suit your posture, not to suit the height of your desk. If you find yourself resting your feet on the base of your chair it may be too high for you. Put a phone book under your feet and try it for an hour. Your knee joints should be approximately at right angles. If necessary, get a footrest to raise your feet.
A good chair is one with lumbar support, a backrest that is adjustable both up and down and that moves backwards and forwards, as well as a seat that tilts to allow comfortable and correct sitting with the different back positions. A synchro chair automatically tilts the seat to correspond with the back position. The chair will allow for proper sitting in the forward working position as well as in a leaning back, relaxed position.
