Poor seating?

“Are you sitting comfortably? It seems most people aren’t. I can’t think of another situation in modern life where we universally use equipment that was never designed for purpose. We sit for hours at the work-place or home-office, using dining, garden or kitchen chairs or poorly designed, flimsy, and often broken, secretary-style chairs that offer none of the benefits of ergonomic seating.”  Gerry Carter

Having worked for twenty-three years' as an osteopath and lecturer, and having seen thousands of patients with musculoskeletal problems, I recognise the common causes for maintaining ongoing problems that people face with regard all manner of musculoskeletal conditions and often one of the major factors responsible for patients continuing problems is the way they sit or the equipment they use.

Why an ergonomic chair

There are many good reasons to make sure you are using a good chair, whether in your regular work-place or in your home office. Ergonomic chairs have various functions that allow for a change in the position of the chair and your position, while maintaining good support to the back. Some can be set up specifically to suit your particular body size and weight distribution. They maybe a significant help in preventing spinal problems, and they are also designed to improve comfort, enhance good blood supply to the lower limbs and to help maintain concentration and improve performance.

Why so expensive?

Actually, ergonomic chairs are not expensive. I am often asked by my patients and customers why these chairs cost so much money. Unfortunately, in this country, there is a tendency to buy cheap office furniture. The market is flooded with office chairs brought in from Asia and there are many large furniture companies supplying furniture at knock-down prices. This has led people to believe that ergonomic furniture is therefore expensive by comparison.

In attempting to draw a realistic comparison, I always ask the question, "how much did you pay for your last bed?" Most people it seems are willing to pay many hundreds, or even thousands of pounds for a new bed, but when I ask why the customer spent so much money on their bed, I usually get three answers;

• "I want good quality and want it to last a long time";
• "because I spend a third of my life there;"
• "I need good support."

How does this differ from sitting on a work chair all day?

I believe the need to have good supportive seating is just as important than to sleep in a supportive bed, because your spine is weight-bearing when you are sitting and not when you are laying. Often patients ask me why it is that they have more pain on waking in the morning? Spinal inflammation is often worse in the morning, especially in relation to disc injury. What is often missed by the patient is that the condition causing the spinal inflammation is often irritated by poor sitting the previous day!

Where should I buy?

When looking to purchase an ergonomic chair, I believe that it’s extremely important to make sure that you get the right chair for you, and that it meets your personal requirements. Unfortunately, many companies selling ergonomic furniture are based on-line and there is little or no ability to try some chairs out first, to give a comparison of the different types, before you buy. Here at 'Back in Brighton' there is real experience of back care, and knowledge of the way the human spine functions and its anatomy, including a knowledge of the myriad of spinal conditions affecting people and what is necessary for such problems to be addressed through good ergonomic seating.

'Back in Brighton' guarantees that every person buying a chair from us will receive advice from an osteopath first. Why buy from a salesman, when you can get help from an osteopath first and where you can try the chair before you actually purchase it?

Things to consider?

Here are some good reasons why you might want to think carefully about where you purchase your ergonomic chair from:

• Bearing in mind that you are likely to spend hundreds of pounds on a good supportive chair, surely you want the chair to be provided with the very best features, functions and upholstery to suit you. Buying an ergonomic chair is not like purchasing a washing machine or television. Many of these chairs can be custom ordered with just the right functionality provided for you and your requirements. In some cases this will actually reduce the cost to the buyer. Be careful of the promotion of a limited choice, providing, for instance, the cheapest option in fabric - that feels hot and sweaty in the summer, or the least expensive castor - perhaps designed only for carpet use, that maybe totally unsuitable to be used on your beautiful wooden floor!
• Although there are many reputable companies and individuals selling these high specification products, there are also many that are not. Some that are less reputable, get chairs from dubious sources, apparently even selling second hand, sometimes importing from abroad, where specifications maybe different to those in the UK. Some are not registered dealers and do not have permission to sell these chairs. Buying a chair from a non-registered company invalidates the chair's warranty. This is a significant factor to consider; Some of these chairs come with a ten or twelve year warranty.
• Many ergonomic chairs have functions and settings that require advice on setting them up. It is important for the individual to make the most of the ergonomic features that they are paying for. Sometimes, help and advice after delivery is required, in order to help set the chair up for the customer. This service can be arranged through 'Back in Brighton' at no extra cost. Does the company offering to supply you with your chair offer this after-sales service?
• Buying from us, doesn't necessarily mean you'll pay any more either, although once the options are explained, often customers go for something a little more than the 'basic' model. Please remember also, that if you do find a chair that is being offered at a lower price elsewhere, do let us know and we'll do what we can to beat that price!