Tips to Avoid Problems from the Common Office ChairTips to Avoid Problems from the Common Office Cha

An office chair is obviously something most people are intimately acquainted with, they are a central fixture in most of our lives. For better or worse, they are something that is here to stay for a very long time. When it comes to office furniture, the chair is not above reproach. In fact, many physical problems could be avoided if people spent much less time sitting at a desk. Think about this for just a minute and you will have to agree that in many instances, time spent in an office chair staring at a monitor is not conducive to a healthy back, hips, and neck.

A few years ago I discovered that the body can only take so many years of office chair abuse before it literally breaks down and becomes debilitated. When I developed chronic upper back and neck pain, I had to really take a close look at the way my posture had degraded. Sure enough, the many hours I spent hunched in a chair were indeed taking a toll. With a perpetually slouched posture, my upper back and neck had developed some real problems. Once I identified this problem, I was able to take steps to correct my posture. This went a long way to solving a very real problem.

Sometimes it takes a lot of years for postural problems to manifest, and sometimes it takes a long time to correct them as well; thankfully, not as long though. I found that over the last few months I've been able to successfully manage, and even partially correct problems that took years to develop. I tell you this so that you will consider some aspects to the way you do your office work that you may not have thought of.

First of all, just sitting taller in your office chair and keeping your shoulders back and relaxed will align your body. I once had a chiropractor tell me that the way I should visualize my posture is as if my weight were hanging from a rope coming out of the top of my head. Okay, that's weird, but it is actually a good way to visualize alignment.

Second, an office chair is not for everyone. Yep, that's right. Not all people do their best sitting down. Many people are actually finding that working at a standup desk makes them more productive, and much healthier. This may seem odd at first, but if you think about it, standing at a desk, and being able to work and move freely is a pretty good combination. Usually, it's repetitive movements or the lack of movement that results in chronic tension and pain. Increasing flexibility and mobility is always a good thing.

An office chair can be a good thing, but only if you pay close attention to your posture while you are using it. Lots of breaks and moving around will help, but if you start to develop troubles, don't be afraid to opt for a completely different style of working, like standing. Standing at a desk works for many people and is a viable option to the traditional office chair.