Creating a Healthier Environment for the Spine: Ergonomic Kneeling Chair
Anyone who has sat in front of the computer for long periods of time know what aches and pains can occur in the back, shoulders and neck due to remaining constantly in that position. Part of the reason for this pain is that the chair does not help to support the spine, instead, allows the person to hunch over or to try and keep a straight spine purely by using the back muscles. Either way, the back gets tired and the spine gets pulled out of position, creating a sore back from the hip area clear up to the head. One solution that researchers and scientists have come up with is the ergonomic kneeling chair which helps to place the back into its natural position so that the muscles are not strained and it is not pinched or stretched unnaturally.
Keeping a Good Posture
The ergonomic kneeling posture chair is called that because it helps to place the individual into a kneeling position of sorts which helps to align the back in the proper way. Unlike traditional office chairs, the ergonomic kneeling chair does not have a back, which seems like it would provide less support than a typical office chair with a back. However, since it forces the person into a modified kneeling position, the ergonomic kneeling chair causes the hips to shift forward that the back to remain straight without the typical discomfort to the muscles that are normally required to keep that straight back position.
Instead of the back of the chair being the only place that an individual might get some sort of support, the ergonomic kneeling chair gives support through the tilted seat, which aligns the hips and puts the back, shoulders and neck into the proper position, but it also let the shins do some support work through where they are placed under the person in the modified kneeling position. That way the support is purely on the hips and knees, relieving the back of the work.
One down side to the ergonomic kneeling chair is that it does take some time to get used to it since it is not a 'normal' seated position. However, because the chair does not have a backrest, and also keeps the user's feet off of the floor in the kneeling position, the individual is automatically seated ergonomically rather than having to focus on the typical ergonomic considerations of feet flat on the floor, seat adjusted properly, etc. This makes the ergonomic kneeling chair easy to use and very comfortable in the long run.
