5 Features Your Office Chair Needs to Alleviate Back Pain
Back pain is by far one of the most common issues amongst both men and women, regardless of age, and activity level. Once you have it, its nearly impossible and the interesting thing is, you really don’t even have to do much to get it! According to Dr. Vikas Varma, the best spine surgeon NYC has to offer, while back pain is definitely most common amongst those who have suffered from some type of accident or injury, in many cases, it can occur from something as random as tying your shoes, or swatting at a fly. Back pain truly is one of the biggest mysteries of the body. However, even when these random issues occur, generally there is some diagnosable presence of stress on the back and parts of the spine – this means that while the pain begins from something that seems random, in reality it is a result of long-term stresses on the back and spine. When this occurs, doctors like Vikas Varma, the best spine surgeon NYC has in practice, will generally begin looking for ways in which an individual may be putting undue stress on their back and spine. While most often you find that an individual works some type of labor-intensive job on a construction site or something similar. However, things can get even more interesting when that individual works in an office all day – spending most of their time at a desk, looking at a computer. So you might wonder, what could be the main culprit? 9 our of every 10 times this occurs, the main issue is with the chair the patient sits in. YES, you heard correctly, that chronic back pain? The pain that’s stopped you from playing catch with your kids, or sit properly while driving? Can often be traced right back to your office chair. This is because, often, especially in larger offices, where they may not have a budget for high-priced office furniture, they often look for the cheapest, decently professional chair they can find, and buy 1 for everyone! The fact is, with a bit of research, its actually easy to find a moderately priced chair, that’s got everything you need to make sure your back doesn’t just crap out on you as soon as you turn 40. Dr. Varma offers us these 5 important things to look for in your next office chair.
· Lumbar Support
You’ve definitely hears this term before, on a mattress commercial, one for chairs, even when describing a new luxury car. The lumbar spine naturally curves inwards, and therefore, it needs support otherwise it will cause you to round your back and flatten this curve when you sit for a prolonged period of time – causing the lumbar spine to strain greatly and thus pain. Look for chairs that list this as a feature, and one that is adjustable as we are all different sizes.
· Adjustable Height
Again, we are all different sizes. As the best spine surgeon NYC patients trust for lower back fusions, Dr. Varma believes in good posture, especially if you’re going to be at a desk all day. An important thing is to be able to adjust the height of your chair, as it needs to be in a certain relation to your desk – with your arms at the perfect height of your desk surface. Adjustments are generally in the form of a lever beneath the seat.
· High-Back & Headrests
You definitely want a chair that forms to the natural curve of your spine – which means that there is some form of padding or comfort provided near the top for the upper back and head. This takes a ton of weight of your neck and upper back.
· Adjustable Armrests
This allows you to take some weight off your shoulders and they can move inwards for skinnier people, so that we can all keep our arms close to our body and have them resting even while we type on our keyboard.
· Deep Seat
Generally, for optimum support and comfort – you should be able to sit all the way back on your chair, with your back against the support, while there is about 2 inches of space between the end of the seat and the back of your knees. These are sometimes adjustable as well.
For more information on back pain issues and furniture concerns, or to schedule an appointment contact DR. VARMA today.
