Ergonomic office chair for back pain: what to look for and a buying checklist

What should an ergonomic office chair do?

The word “ergonomic” has no legal definition on a product label. The useful test is what a chair lets you adjust. OSHA, the US workplace safety agency, puts it simply: increased adjustability ensures a better fit for the user, and a chair that is shared by several people should be height adjustable.¹

MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, gives a short list for anyone who sits at a computer for work. The chair should have a straight back with an adjustable seat and back, armrests and a swivel seat.⁴

A chair is not a treatment. NIAMS, part of the National Institutes of Health, says that a desk job may play a role in back pain, especially with poor posture or sitting all day in an uncomfortable chair.⁵ A better chair removes one possible factor. It does not replace movement, and it does not make a back problem go away.

This page covers the chair only. For the rest of the workstation see an ergonomic desk setup. For how to sit in the chair once it is adjusted, see correct sitting posture.

Which chair features do the sources ask for?

Read the table as a list of adjustments, not a shopping rank. A chair that has all eight and does not fit your body is worse than a plainer chair that you can set up properly.

How much does lumbar support matter?

OSHA lists lumbar support as one of the main features of a work chair: a support that can move up and down so it sits at your lower back.¹ Its neutral-positions guidance says the back should be fully supported with appropriate lumbar support, whether you sit vertically or lean back slightly.³

If your chair does not have this feature, the sources describe a low-cost fix. OSHA says a rolled-up towel or a removable back support cushion can provide support on a temporary basis.¹ MedlinePlus advises a small pillow or rolled towel behind the lower back when you sit for long periods.⁴

Placement matters more than shape. Whatever you use must sit at the hollow of your lower back, not at your hips and not between your shoulder blades. Cleveland Clinic describes a healthy lower back as having a little inward curve.⁸ For a longer look at cushions, see choosing a lumbar support pillow.

How do you test a chair before buying?

A chair that feels fine for two minutes can feel different after two hours. If you can, test in the store for at least a few minutes, and keep the return policy in mind. Work through the steps below in order.

1. Set the seat height. Lower the seat until the entire sole of each foot rests on the floor.¹ If you cannot reach the floor at any setting, the chair does not fit you without a footrest.
2. Sit all the way back. Your hips should touch the backrest. The backrest should follow the curve of your lower back.¹
3. Check the gap behind the knee. OSHA says the back of the knee should not touch the front edge of the seat.¹ Slide the seat pan if it is adjustable.
4. Raise the lumbar support. Move it until it fills the hollow of the lower back.¹ Check it stays there when you lean.
5. Set the arms. Armrests should be low enough that your shoulders are relaxed.¹ Elbows should stay close to the body and bend between 90 and 120 degrees.³
6. Try the recline. The backrest should lock or hold tension, and recline at least 15 degrees from the vertical.¹
7. Check the base. Count five legs and roll the chair on a surface like your own floor.²

A measuring routine in inches

OSHA's purchasing guide gives one number for seat height: an adjustment range of 15 to 22 inches, a span of 7 inches.² It does not say what height suits you, and it should not, because legs differ in length. The routine below turns the landmarks OSHA uses into numbers you can write down. The values are yours, not a norm.

A worked example shows the use. With a floor to back of knee measure of 17.0 inches and a chair that adjusts from 15 to 22 inches, the low end of the range sits 2.0 inches below your knee measure (17.0 minus 15.0). The chair can go low enough for you. If your knee measure were 14.0 inches, the same chair could not go low enough, and you would need a different chair or a smaller seat range.²

Why a good chair is not enough

NIOSH, the US national institute for occupational safety and health, describes musculoskeletal disorders as disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage or spinal discs, and lists sustained force, repetitive motion and awkward postures among their causes.⁶ A well-fitted chair reduces awkward positions. It does not remove the need to change position.

OSHA's neutral-positions guidance says to change your working position frequently through the day, with small chair or backrest changes and a few minutes of standing and walking now and then.³ NIAMS adds that when sitting for a prolonged period you should get up, move around and switch positions frequently.⁹

The ODPHP prevention guide adds a related tip: sit with your back against the chair and your feet flat, keeping your knees slightly higher than your hips if you can, and switch between sitting and standing.⁷ See the guide to back pain from sitting for the research on long sitting and for signs that call for a clinician.

What this guide does not do

This guide does not rank chairs and does not quote prices. No source we read tests individual chair models, and a ranking built on invented scores would help nobody. Use the checklist above to compare any two chairs side by side, and make the decision on fit.

Mayo Clinic is not cited here because its pages could not be read when this guide was written. The sources we read cover office chairs for computer work. They do not cover gaming chairs, kneeling stools or standing desks as products, so we make no claim about them.

Frequently asked questions