I have sat in and bought quite a variety of high-end chairs over the last couple of years trying to find one that I really like. My problem is lower-back pain, and I need good lumbar support. And now my problem is a dining room full of high-end office chairs that I need to sell.
Here’s my rundown:
Steelcase Rally Best lumbar support but very wide-bodied. Now discontinued.
Steelcase Vecta Good lumbar support but seat not very cushioned. Possibly discontinued.
Steelcase Think Too much like a hammock, with only thin wires supporting both seat and back. I had the model without sliding lumbar support, which I ordered and tried to install, but was never pleased with the results. I now believe this is more of a meeting-room chair than a task chair.
Humanscale Freedom I had high hopes, but eventually concluded that it pitched me too far forward because the back tilt had too much resistance. There didn’t seem to be any way to adjust this.
Steelcase Leap My current favorite at home. Adjustable in almost every respect–except the used model I bought didn’t allow adjustment of back/lumbar height above seat (I think the current model does). I was frustrated for a week, but added a nonslip seat cushion and now am happy.
In most big cities, there are used office furniture places that currently have enormous inventories. Go and spend an afternoon trying out different models.
I can’t use most “ergonomic” equipment, due to non-standard sizing on my part. I’m female, have an extra-deep spinal curve (not scoliosis, it’s got a specific name which I can’t remember and it’s not a “condition” but also not something makers of chairs build for), long torso and extra-short legs. I’ve actually had an ergonomic chair cause me hip pain, because it was built for people with a minimum thigh length about 4’ above mine: changing to a not-particularly ergonomic, completely rigid chair in my size solved the problem.
At home I have several different chairs and I rotate them rather than tweak the settings on the one that’s adaptable. The best kind of chair for me is ladder-backs, but sadly they’re becoming increasingly hard to find (I’ve got dibs on Mom’s set); I’ve also gotten good results with chairs consisting, either entirely or the back only, of mesh over a steel frame.
I have impingements in both right and left hip joints, so sitting in chairs that do not support my whole fundament area and thighs [like small round barstools, or those small round seated office chairs] puts just enough stress on my joints to pretty much cripple me until I can ‘walk it off’ after a fairly short time, about 1 hour will do it. The problems in my sacrum and surrounding areas combined with the lower back spinal problems make lumbar support very important, for pretty much any sort of comfort.
I have a faux aeron that I line with one of those wheelchair liners which works well.
Anybody ever get the urge to get a recaro office chair? I just looked, and don’t seem to see the old style mold your body and make a one off custom seat option any more … hmmmm.
I used a Varier variable balans kneeling chair for a while, I liked it in short stints when I was really busy. The forward lean of the seat is key for its great tasking ability, I alternated between the Hag Capisco. I wanted a kneeling chair that gave me the back support that I needed, and I discovered and purchased the Varier Thatsit kneeling chair. Its just a higher quality kneeling chair with back support. Not cheap, but I am at a desk most of the day so well worth the investment. http://varierusa.com/
Coincidentally, I went through the same thing recently. I looked (and sat in) the Steelcase Leap, various versions of the Herman Miller Aeron, Humanscale Freedom, everything at Design Within Reach, Herman Miller Embody, etc. And the one I saw first was the best, and it’s on order and I can’t wait to get it. I saw it at the Relax the Back store, and it’s the Lifeform Ultimate Executive. It comes in midback and high back – I got the high back. When I first sat down in it I thought Ahhhhh!! This is SO comfortable! But it was the first one I saw and I had to go around and see everything else. Nothing else comes close. It is very configurable – if you have a big butt you can even get a wider seat. It’s expensive but since my back is hurting and I’m going to have this chair FOREVER, it’s well worth the money.
There is also a big trend going in standing desks. I know many who have tried them, and the ones who are enjoying them are those who got a sit-stand device to go along side them. Standing up all day without support isn’t ideal, just think about hair dressers/barbers… they all have varicose veins and bad knees. Standing at a desk is good because of the movement it promotes. If you can get a stool like the Varier MOVE stool http://www.varierfurniture.com/Collections/Human-instruments/Move
(I’m a Varier guy) that will also suggest movement while supporting your knees than the standing desk is great.
Speaking of standing desks, they make adjustable ones so you can either sit or stand. Steelcase makes one but there are others. Just press a button and the desk goes up or down.
Cute, but with the femoral acetabular impingement, sitting perched on a narrow stool causes intense pain after a short time. I need something that is wide and supports me like a hand cupping my entire fundament and not letting my legs or hips pressure down and out. Think I need to be cupped, not perched on something.
I would love a tall stoolish sort of seat so i could be supported while working in my kitchen. As it is, instead of trying to work on canadian crutches, I revert to a set of old armpit/axilary style and sort of suspend myself by the armpits long enough to work in short bursts. If it is a long session of chopping mixing and whatever, I do it seated at a table but it is not as efficient as working at a proper height on a workbench surface.
Basically, going by the tiny round desk chairs that everybody else seems to like, I need something 24 inches across to support my pelvis properly. [more properly the sacral joint and the hip socket on both sides. The spinal stenosis is on its own there]
I just found this thread and hope to restart the discussion about ergonomic office chairs. I use a standing desk because of back and hip problems and can’t find a kneeling chair that is bar height, or tall enough for a standing desk. Sitting is torture for me - I need a kneeling chair or perch, but something that would allow me to shift my weight and position frequently.
Sometimes I get on top of my drafting stool and squat on the seat when I get tired of standing, or I stand on one leg and put with the other foot on top of the chair seat. Or I sit cross-legged for a little while. Or I sit backward on the chair with my legs to the sides, saddle-like.
Is there some time of support device that will do everything for me. I’d like to try a Capsico chair, but it’s still missing the kneeling pad in my opinion.
