Correct Sitting Position on Office Chair
Here are the methods for sitting correctly on an office chair:
Adjusting the seat height is a fundamental and crucial step. Your feet should be completely flat on the ground, with the angle between your thighs and calves maintained between 95 and 100 degrees to avoid having your feetๆฌ็ฉบ (hanging in the air) or being too low, which can compress your thighs. If the chair is too high and your feet cannot touch the ground, you can use a footrest for assistance. If the chair is too low, it will increase the pressure on your knee joints, and you need to adjust it to an appropriate height.
Maintaining the natural physiological curvature of the spine is of utmost importance. When sitting down, try to sit back fully on the seat, allowing your lower back to fit snugly against the backrest, especially ensuring that your lower back is supported to maintain the four physiological curves of the spine: the cervical curve, thoracic curve, lumbar curve, and sacral curve. Leaning back slightly to an angle of 100 to 110 degrees can effectively reduce lumbar pressure. If the chair is equipped with a lumbar support, adjust it to the position that supports the natural curve of your lumbar spine. If there is no lumbar support, you can use a lumbar cushion to fill the gap between your waist and the backrest.
Adjusting arm support can reduce shoulder and neck fatigue. The height of the armrests should allow your forearms to rest comfortably on the armrests or desktop when your elbows are naturally hanging down, with the angle between your upper arms and forearms close to 100 degrees. When your arms are placed flat, your forearms should be parallel to the ground, and your elbow joints should be bent at about 90 degrees to avoid having your armsๆฌ็ฉบ (hanging in the air) or being raised too high.
Adjusting the desk height needs to be coordinated with the seat. The height of the desk should be level with your forearms, allowing your forearms to be basically parallel to the desktop when typing or writing, with your elbow joints at 90 degrees or slightly more than 90 degrees to avoid overreaching or raising your arms excessively.
Adjusting the computer position can protect your eyesight and reduce neck pressure. Your eyes should be level with or slightly lower than the top of the computer monitor, maintaining a distance of at least one arm's length. The top edge of the monitor should be at or slightly below the height of your horizontal gaze, and your line of sight should naturally look down about 15 - 20 degrees to the center of the screen to avoid looking up or down for long periods.
Maintaining the correct sitting posture angle requires attention to the coordination between your upper and lower body. Keep the angle between your upper and lower body between 80 and 90 degrees, avoid slouching or leaning forward excessively, and keep your body's central axis perpendicular to the ground.
Getting up and moving regularly is the key to preventing the harm caused by prolonged sitting. You should get up and move every 30 - 45 minutes, and every 30 to 60 minutes of sitting, you need to get up for 5 to 10 minutes to do simple stretching exercises, such as stretching your neck, shrugging your shoulders, rotating your waist, and stretching your legs, to promote blood circulation and relieve muscle tension.
