We have conducted an interview with Haruyuki Asada, a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), as well as Executive Researcher from Okamura Corporation, to share some tips on how to choose a suitable ergonomic chair and what features help us maintain a healthy sitting posture.
1. Seat Height
Seat height is a basic feature of an task chair. A good position for the seat height is to have the knees at an angle close to a right angle. At this point, the heel should be grounded enough to prevent it raising from the floor when you move your feet back and forth.
If the heel raises from the floor when your knee is in the correct position, there are countermeasures such as using a footrest to raise the heel position.
2. Headrest
A headrest can support the position of the neck and is highly effective when the user is reclining and leaning backwards a lot. Okamura designed headrests that allow adjustments such as movable up and down, forward and backward, etc.
3. Lumbar Support
Most of the Okamura’s chairs come with lumbar support option, a part that supports the lower back. The lumbar support is said to be preferred by people with back pain, and is a little firm, making it feel as if your lower back is being pushed gently from behind. Basically, it fills the gap between the backrest and the curve of your waist, and you adjust the top of the lumbar support so that it fits optimally into the curve of your back.
