How to Create an Ergonomic Office Setup: Chair, Lumbar Support, Keyboard, and Laptop Guidelines
If you’ve been experiencing neck or back pain, headaches, numbness, tingling, or wrist pain after sitting for hours…then you probably have an ergonomics problem!
Here are some signs that you have an improper desk set-up that is causing you pain:
Your pain points increase in intensity after only a few minutes of sitting
You feel strain in your fingers, forearms or elbows
You begin to slump in your seat to try and shift the pain
Your energy level decreases throughout the day
You find it progressively hard to focus and concentrate
You feel tension and discomfort accumulating at your neck and shoulders
You felt fine before you sat down. Or at least ok. But as soon as you settle down to work to the familiar symptoms appear: headaches, neck pain and so on.
After being on the keyboard for a while, you feel the familiar burning in your fingers or forearms- a sign that the positioning of your hands and wrists needs to be changed.
You begin to slump and shift in your seat to get comfortable. The slumping puts pressure on your diaphragm and your breathing gets shallow. With less oxygen you begin to feel tired and irritable.
So, what can you do to improve your workspace and create a more ergonomic setup?
The Chair: Basic Ergonomic Features
Everybody thinks the chair is the secret to sitting well and being comfortable at work. But that’s not always the case! It’s still possible to slump or sit with poor alignment in a nice chair, which is why it’s important to understand the fundamentals of sitting alignment.
But, although a chair is not a total solution, a nice chair will go a long way towards your office comfort. When shopping for an ergonomic office chair, you need to look for the following basic features:
Adjustable seat height. When the chair is at the correct height for your body, your hips and knees will be at a 90-100 degree angle and your feet will be flat on the floor. As everyone is at a different height, you will need an adjustable seat height to ensure you can sit properly.
Adjustable seat depth. When your hips are positioned all the way to the back of the chair, there should be at least a 3-4 finger gap between the edge of the seat and the back of your knee. So you’ll need to be able to slide the back of your chair forward or back to create the right seat depth.
Adjustable seat tilt: The seat of the chair should be flat or slightly tilted so that the knees are even or slightly lower than the hips. This will promote a neutral position of the hip and spine.
Adjustable back. The back should be able to be locked into an upright position, as well as a range of reclines positions.
Adjustable/removable armrests. You should be able to lower or remove the armrests so that they aren’t too high to slide under the desk—which will prevent you from getting close enough to your keyboard.
Comfortable seat padding. A firm, high-quality seat cushion is important if you will be sitting for many hours at a time. I recommend a flat cushion without cutouts or indentations, unless you have issues that might require a special cushion. A soft or doughnut cushion is not good, because it will cause your thighs to roll inward, which can cause strain on the hips and lower back.
Optional: lumbar support. A built-in lumbar support is nice but not necessary, as you can easily add one yourself. Sometimes I dining room chair or even a folding chair can work if the chair fits your body proportions and the rest of your setup is good.
Not recommended:
Kneeling chair. Your knees were not designed to support all of your body weight!
Exercise ball. This is ok for 1-2 hours a day, but not all day. It’s too much work for your body to sit without support and stabilize on a ball all day.
The Lumbar Support
The purpose of a lumbar support is to bring the chair back closer to you, instead of you having to learn back to rest against the chair. It will help you stay upright and supported while still being relaxed.
The spine has a gentle inward curve at the lower back. This curved area is the lumbar region, and a lumbar support will help you rest while maintaining the natural curve of your spine.
How to use a lumbar support
The bottom of the lumbar support should be placed at the curve in your lower back. To find the right spot, but your hands on your hips as if standing indignantly. Place your thumbs around your back, until they meet at the center of your back. The place where your thumbs meet is where the bottom of the lumbar support should go.
Another way to find the ideal position is to place the bottom of the lumbar support opposite of your navel, or slightly lower.
The lumbar cushion should not be down by your pelvis or hips. In other words, it should not be at the bottom of the chair.
A strap to hold the cushion to the back of the chair is important. Two straps work even better. You may have to adjust the position a few times until it is comfortable for you.
While some ergonomic office chairs have a built-in lumbar support, it’s often more handy to have the support be separate. That way you can take it with you traveling, use it in your car, strap it to your couch, or put in anywhere else where you may be sitting for long periods.
Lumbar support substitutions
Depending on the size and shape of your chair, as well as the shape of your back, a small cushion or folded towel might be enough to provide support. You can use a regular cord or bathroom tie to fix the cushion to the chair, so that it doesn’t fall down every time you move. When traveling, a folded sweater or scarf at the curve of your back can be a huge help. In addition to supporting your back, using a lumbar support will ease the tension on your neck as well.
Laptop & Keyboard: Finding the Ideal Positions
Laptops have a built-in postural problem. If the laptop is low enough to put the keyboard in a comfortable position, then the screen is inevitably too low. You will be looking down all the time, which can eventually lead to headaches and neck strain.
Likewise, if the laptop is lifted so that screen is at an ideal height…then the keyboard becomes uncomfortably high. You’ll be stuck typing with your hands elevated, leading to wrist tendinitis and shoulder strain.
The solution is to separate the keyboard.
Keyboards are inexpensive and easy to add to your workstation. Having an additional keyboard at your desk will prevent a multitude of chronic pains later on.
Ideal keyboard position
Your keyboard should be at elbow height for maximum comfort. To find the best keyboard position, sit in your desk chair pushed away from your desk, with your arms hanging straight by your side. Without bringing your arms forward, bend your elbows. Keep your elbows directly under your shoulders, and bend them until your forearms are parallel with the floor.
You want your keyboard to be where your hands would naturally fall. This position is much lower and closer to the body than people think.
The advantage of finding this position is that you are not holding your arms up—leaving your neck and shoulders relaxed all day. Depending on your desk setup, you may need an under-the-desk keyboard tray to achieve the ideal keyboard position.