Chair?

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Sundancer

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Sundog
I bet some of you have already done this recon? I write. I sit on my ass while I write. I sit on my ass for hours. I have mid-back discs that hurt - and my chair is crap. Guidance from similar sufferers on an office chair would be gold. . . .yes, my monitor is (finally) at eye level and I don;t tuck my feet under the chair anymore.
 
We've got a ton of mesh covered chairs at work in the offices and training rooms. I'll have to look and see who makes them. They have up/down and tilt capability and with the mesh, you don't get hot or sweaty in them and they don't seem to put any real pressure on any point of contact. I like them well enough that I bought one for the office here at the house. My wheelchair bound oldest stole it for his desk when he's not in his wheelchair. I'll go look and see what the brand is when I get a minute later this morning.
 
My wife really likes the Branch Ergonomic Chair I bought for her (so much that she bought a second one for her office). There are approximately 1 million adjustment points on the thing it seems.
 
Most major towns and cities have outlets for used office furniture at HUGE discounts. The ones in Knoxville, near me, have a wide assortment of office chairs of all descriptions to try out.
 
Bell206 said:
FWIW: my orthopedic told me years ago to modify my workstations to allow for standing and sitting and never looked back.
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It was probably all that looking back that got you out of whack.
Now you’re (in my best Brian Johnson voice)
Ba-aa-aa-aa-ack, Ba-aa-aa-ack, Back in whack. Yes, you’re back in whack!

Sorry. You may return to your regularly scheduled programming.
 
My back used to hurt when I was sitting and working in CAD all day. Once I realized my posture sucked and made a conscious effort to improve it the back felt better.

Also, have learned from a physical therapist friend that when we complain about lower back issues, we usually have weak posterior muscles. The same is true for mid back, except we typically have weak lats and traps
 
Racerx said:
Also, have learned from a physical therapist friend that when we complain about lower back issues, we usually have weak posterior muscles. The same is true for mid back, except we typically have weak lats and traps
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Bingo. Build strong back muscles (deadlifts are my favorite) and you could sit on a milk crate all day with no back pain.
 
To really find the best chair for you, you almost need to sit in a bunch and decide which fits you best. I have done new product development work for Steelcase (mentioned above) for the past 20 years. Some of that work has been on seating projects. There is a lot of research that goes into the design of a chair to create support and adjustability for a large percentage of the population. In general, most individuals will find the high end task chairs offer the greatest amount of adjustability which will allow them to find a combination of settings that provide them the most total comfort. That isn't true 100% of the time though. If you can go to a dealer showroom and sit in a bunch of different chairs you're most likely to find what is best for you. If going to a showroom to "test drive" chairs isn't practical choosing a high-end chair like Gesture or Leap will give you the greatest chance of ending up with a chair you'll love without doing a "test drive". Chairs like Gesture and Leap do come with a ridiculous price tag though. I did a quick Google search for "refurbished Steelcase chairs" and found a company called Maddison Seating. I have no personal knowledge of them or the quality of their refurbishments, but the price tag for a high end chair is suppstantially less than buying new from Steelcase. I'll put a few links below to some marketing literature for Gesutre and Leap chairs and also a comparison chart of that shows some details of many of Steelcase's office chairs.


https://www.steelcase.com/content/uploads/2025/03/Steelcase_CutSheets_Leap_DIGITAL.pdf

 
I rocked the Aeron for a few decades. They still work for me, understand they come in 3 sizes and a few features are optional -- particularly if you buy them for $400 from a liquidation. I switched to an Embody recently and while I like it, it doesn't have the "all day" ness of the Aeron. I know "all day" sitting now is akin to chain-smoking 4 packs of unfiltered marlboro reds, but... here I sit anyway.

I've had companies that used the Steelcase Leap and people love them, but I could never find the all-day settings for myself, despite a few Ergo "fittings". If you're in the >$1000 MSRP space, you'll want to test-sit all of these or pay a little extra and buy from a place with a generous return policy.

I'm big+tall and anything less than a quality chair is grist to my ass's mill and will be trash in 6 months. :D

$0.02
 
Sundancer said:
… I have mid-back discs that hurt ….
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Have you had any imaging done to determine if you have structural issues with the spine?

You may need some physical therapy to improve core strength and posture, which may be the best change needed.

Chairs with adjustable arms and lumbar support can be helpful. We have Herman Miller Aeron chairs which can he found in office furniture resale stores for a reasonable price.
 
schmookeeg said:
I rocked the Aeron for a few decades. They still work for me, understand they come in 3 sizes and a few features are optional -- particularly if you buy them for $400 from a liquidation. I switched to an Embody recently and while I like it, it doesn't have the "all day" ness of the Aeron. I know "all day" sitting now is akin to chain-smoking 4 packs of unfiltered marlboro reds, but... here I sit anyway.

I've had companies that used the Steelcase Leap and people love them, but I could never find the all-day settings for myself, despite a few Ergo "fittings". If you're in the >$1000 MSRP space, you'll want to test-sit all of these or pay a little extra and buy from a place with a generous return policy.

I'm big+tall and anything less than a quality chair is grist to my ass's mill and will be trash in 6 months. :D

$0.02
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I also use Herman Miller office chairs at home and work. The Aeron is the chair. You can custom order it for just your size. Worth it.
 
Hey what’s the name of your book again? I’m running out of reading material and was going to go on Amazon to order something new.
 
We've got some crazy high-dollar chairs at work. They've held up amazingly well over many years and are still very comfortable. I'll try to remember to bounce back in tomorrow with what they are.
That said, when I was having back issues I got them to install one of these keyboard trays that slide out and raise and lower. I have my keyboard in my lap while seated or I can stand. I think that those desks that raise to standing height would be better so that the writing surface and monitors would be at the proper relative height, but the keyboard tray helps
 
Brad W said:
We've got some crazy high-dollar chairs at work. They've held up amazingly well over many years and are still very comfortable. I'll try to remember to bounce back in tomorrow with what they are.
That said, when I was having back issues I got them to install one of these keyboard trays that slide out and raise and lower. I have my keyboard in my lap while seated or I can stand. I think that those desks that raise to standing height would be better so that the writing surface and monitors would be at the proper relative height, but the keyboard tray helps
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Piperonca said:
Had two Aerons, sold them. Tried Steelcase, wound up with Haworth Fern with forward tilt https://store.haworth.com/products/fern-office-chair?sku=SFTE-UU-7S01A6,LW_J,XQ2_EM,TR_7,PM_P (don't need additional lumbar support- it's already built in). Very pleased after several months.
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THAT is exactly the one I have at work...well, the brand/series anyway!!!

Mine is called Fern Task/Executive chair has a leather seat and a mesh backrest. It looks a little different than the current offerings, but it's very close
I've been sitting on my rear in this thing pretty much all day long, 5 days a week less vacation time and sick days for >18 years and it still looks and sits great!
scratch that.... the same model of chair, maybe not the same exact chair. I just noticed the manufacturing date for mine was April 2019. I'm puzzled. I do recall maybe about that timeframe that they had someone come in and repair something that had gotten a little loose in the backrest. I know that they didn't replace it then, but maybe with the new part I got a fresh date.?. Either that or one of those times they redid the carpet they played musical chairs and I ended up with someone else's. That's probably more likely. I do recall a time or two taking a week or so to readjust and get used to my chair after someone else "screwed around with it"

I looked up the price a few years ago and just about choked, but honestly, I think it's worth the investment long term. My wife is beyond frugal and buys the cheapest office chairs for her business that she can find. I was trying to talk her into investing in better quality....maybe not this good, but at least better. But there's no way would she spend a Grand or more for a chair!
 
Brad W said:
THAT is exactly the one I have at work...well, the brand/series anyway!!!

Mine is called Fern Task/Executive chair has a leather seat and a mesh backrest. It looks a little different than the current offerings, but it's very close
I've been sitting on my rear in this thing pretty much all day long, 5 days a week less vacation time and sick days for >18 years and it still looks and sits great!
scratch that.... the same model of chair, maybe not the same exact chair. I just noticed the manufacturing date for mine was April 2019. I'm puzzled. I do recall maybe about that timeframe that they had someone come in and repair something that had gotten a little loose in the backrest. I know that they didn't replace it then, but maybe with the new part I got a fresh date.?. Either that or one of those times they redid the carpet they played musical chairs and I ended up with someone else's. That's probably more likely. I do recall a time or two taking a week or so to readjust and get used to my chair after someone else "screwed around with it"

I looked up the price a few years ago and just about choked, but honestly, I think it's worth the investment long term. My wife is beyond frugal and buys the cheapest office chairs for her business that she can find. I was trying to talk her into investing in better quality....maybe not this good, but at least better. But there's no way would she spend a Grand or more for a chair!
Click to expand...
I've been in pain for years...I figured a high quality chair was not much different in cost from a set of tires, so what the heck. What set Haworth apart was their remarkable customer service, and generous try-out period. They even pay shipping if you don't like the chair. Luckily, there is a Haworth dealer near me and I tried out all their chairs. None compared to the Fern. Odd looking thing but is damn near perfect.
 
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