How To Adjust An Office Chair Easily

By Philip Yiga | June 26, 2015

In case you regularly work or study on a computer-desk, then probably need to sit on an office-chair which is correctly adjusted in order to avoid any back-pain and other body problems. In fact, doctors and physiotherapists say that many people today develop seriously, overstretched ligaments in their spines and at times disc problems due to sitting on unfit office-chairs for longer periods of time. However, these problems can be solved by getting the right office-chairs and adjusting these chairs properly for your body. Additionally, adjusting an office-chair is very simple and only takes a few of minutes in case you know how to adapt the chair to your body proportions. Likewise, I have decided to list for you some of the steps to use while adjusting an office-chair and they will be of great to anyone who sits for longer hours while working with a computer.

 

RELATED POST: What Is The Best Office Chair

 

STEPS TO FOLLOW WHILE ADJUSTING AN OFFICE CHAIR:

1. Establish the workstation height: it is recommended to set-up your workstation at an appropriate height but you will actually notice that only few workstations allow adjustment. However, in case the workstation you are having can’t be adjusted, then you need to adjust the height of your office-chair in order to achieve the right sitting posture.

 

2. Check the angle of the elbows with regard to your workstation: try to sit as close to your desk with your upper-arms parallel to the spine. Leave the hands to rest on the surface of the workstation or keyboard but they should be at a 90-degree angle. Additionally, in case the hands are higher than the elbows, just know that your seat is too low and you need to raise this seat until it reaches a desired height and then lock it in place. In case the seat is too high, then just press the adjustment lever to lower it and let go when you reach the desired height.

 

3. Ensure that the feet are placed at the right level: make sure that feet are placed at the right level compared to the seat. In fact, while sitting down with the feet flat onto the ground, slide fingers between your thighs and edge of the office-chair to ensure that there is at least a finger’s width of space between the thighs and office-chair. In case it’s difficult for you to slide the fingers under the thighs, then you actually need to raise your feet in order to attain a 90-dgree angle at the knees. Additionally, you can use an adjustable footrest to generate a higher surface for the feet to rest on.

 

4. Measure the distance between the calf and front of your office-chair: this involves clenching your fist and trying to pass it between the office-chair and back of your calf. In fact, there should always be a fist-sized space which about 5-cm or 2-inches between the calf and the edge of the office-chair. This will also help to determine whether the depth of your office-chair is correct. On the other hand, in case it is tight and difficult to fit the fist in-between the space, then your chair is too deep and you actually need to bring the backrest forward. If the space between the calves and edge of the chair is too wide, then you need to adjust the chair’s backrest backwards. In fact, it’s very important to ensure that the depth of the office-chair is correct in order to avoid any slumping or slouching while working.

 

5. Adjust the backrest height: when sitting properly with the feet down and calves a fist-space away from the edge of the office-chair, adjust the chair’s backrest up and down so that it can fit perfectly into your back. This help to offer the greatest support for your back while working. In fact, you feel firm support over the lumber-curve at your lower-back. However, not all office-chairs will allow the user adjust the backrest height hence you should very careful while purchasing an office-chair.

 

6. Adjust the angle of the chair’s backrest: try to adjust the angle of the backrest so that it can fit your back perfectly. In fact, the backrest should be at an angle which supports your back while sitting in any preferred posture. Most office-chair actually have a knob that locks the backrest angle in place but you can always unlock the backrest angle in order to lean forward and backwards while looking at the monitor. However, not all office-chairs will allow for angle-adjustment and you need to take note while buying an office-chair.

 

7. Adjust the chair’s armrests: try to adjust the armrests of your chair so that they can barely touch the elbows when arms are placed at a 90-degree angle. In fact, the armrests should barely touch the elbows even when resting your hands on the desk-top or keyboard and incase the elbows are too high, then this will force you to position the arms awkwardly which is not good because arms are supposed to swing freely while working. However, resting your arms on armrests while typing will hinder normal arm movement and even cause extra strain on the fingers. Lastly, you need to know that adjustable are not available on all office-chairs and you will need a screwdriver to adjust the armrests. Additionally, in case the armrests on your chair are too high and can’t be adjusted, then just remove them from that chair in order to prevent causing pain to your shoulders and fingers. But for chairs with adjustable armrests, you will simply have to use a knob to adjust the height of the armrests.

 

8. Determine the resting eye-level: your eyes should actually be at the same level with the computer-screen that you’re working with. To assess this, sit on your office-chair while closing your eyes and pointing the head directly forward and slowly opening the eyes. This should be done while looking at the center of the computer-screen and should also be able to read everything on the screen without straining the neck or moving the eyes up and down. In fact, if you have to move the eyes down to reach the computer-screen, then try to place something underneath to raise the monitor-level. Likewise, if you have to move the eyes up to reach computer-screen, then find a way of lowering the monitor that it can directly in-front of you.