People say that the average American spend more time sitting on his office desk chair than lying down on a mattress. This is partly true, especially for those hard working workaholics who probably look like they’re glued to their seats and their eyes stuck in front of the computer monitor.

This is essentially why office seating should be a big concern for everyone, especially those who often use office desk chairs. Most office desk chairs are already ergonomically designed to fit the average person’s needs. And by ergonomically, I mean it was designed specifically to work in sync with the body as the body does its work, for example the leaning forward and resting back, the changing positions, standing up and sitting down, an ergonomic office desk chair should allow for these movements whilst not putting much pressure on the body, and the end result, comfort and good posture.

So how do you know if you are buying the perfect office desk chair that would help your posture and is ergonomically designed to fit your body? Well here are a few guidelines that I think you should look into to make sure that the chair you are buying is indeed legitimate and comfortable.

Look at the Backrest

The most important part of any office desk chair is its backrest. The human body wasn’t made for the sitting position, the lower back or lumbar area is the area that supports most of the body’s weight while sitting, it is then important that there would be additional support for the lower back so that the extra pressure that it is made to support is held up by the chair’s back rest. The only way to know a good back rest is to try it out; does it fit the curvature of your back? Is it too high? Is it too low? The last two questions might not be very big problems as most of the latest models of office desk chairs have adjustable backrests for slightly shorter or taller people, however, the first question can only be answered by trying the chair out. Sit on the chair for at least 15-30 minutes to see if you develop any unnecessary pain.

Back rests also have features that allow for movement whenever the person is changing positions; the mechanisms of the chair follow the curve of the body as it moves to make sure that there is good back support for every position.

Seat

The next thing you should look at is the seat; make sure that there is a curved, or what they call a waterfall edge to prevent unnecessary pressure on the back of the knees and legs. There should be at least an inch distance between the edge of the seat and your thighs as you sit, or else the chair is either too big or too small.

Adjustment

Look at office desk chair seats with possible height adjustments. Seats are made based on average measurements, and if you’re not really an average person, you should look for a seat that can be adjusted to fit the user.

Fabric

As much as possible look for mesh type office desk chairs, as themes fabric provides air flow through the chair, unlike leather office desk chair, which aren’t suggestible for humid and hot areas.

Arm Rest

When buying office desk chairs, make sure that the armrests are high enough for your elbows to reach them, but also low enough so that they won’t get caught between you and the table that you are using.

Copyright 2005 Nora P. Dyson, office-chair-reviews.com