Help me not hate my new Aeron chair October 16, 2012   Subscribe October 16, 2012   Subscribe Due to long-standing back/shoulder/neck pain, I received an Aeron chair at work a couple of months ago. It has helped in one way (namely, the armrests can be adjusted lower than any other chair I've had, which has helped my shoulders) but otherwise has completely aggravated my lower and mid-back pain. Help me figure out a hack so that I can actually sit at my desk for longer than 10 minutes at a time without going nuts. I know I'm supposed to love this chair, but I don't (except for the aforementioned super-low armrest feature to accommodate my long arms). I think the problem is a combination of the damn mesh seat (no support for my bony ass) and lack of back support/cushioning (I have the model with the PostureFit -- or, as I like to call it, LackOfPostureFit). No matter how I adjust the height, tilt, tension, etc., my back inevitably winds up feeling extremely tight, and is occasionally in spasm by the time I leave for the day.

I have a small lumbar support cushion attached to the chair right now, which helps a little... but one of my problems (according to my physical therapist) is that I actually tend to overarch my lower back, so too much cushioning in that area exacerbates that. ikea rocking chair nzI have tried a wedge seat cushion, but it absolutely doesn't work for the seat of this chair (it fits fine on my desk chair at home). table and chair rentals holland miDoes anyone have any experience with the Stratta cushion for Aeron chairs? table and chair rentals prince albertAt that price, I want to make sure it's likely to help before I cough up the money (or try to convince work to pay for it).wheelchair accessible vans for rent in michigan

A few other points: I do have an ergonomic keyboard and a keyboard tray that are about as good as I'm going to get, so that's probably not an area that can be further improved at this point. glider chair sale melbourneThere's not anyone at work who's an ergonomic expert to help me; lift chairs hire melbournethe facilities guy who delivered the chair was helpful in terms of showing me how to adjust the seat, but beyond that is not really his area of expertise. chair cover rental syracuse ny(Are there freelance ergonomic consultants who you can hire for an hour to come in and evaluate this sort of thing?)tables and chairs for rent makati city

I would love an entirely different chair (my eye is on the Steelcase Leap), but I have strong doubts that work will cough up for one. chairs for sale in sunderland(Does anyone have experience buying a chair like this from an unauthorized dealer? I see them here at about 50% of the retail price, and at this point I'm half-tempted to buy one myself and bring it in to my office, though part of me doesn't think I should have to do this on my dime.)Apontus Office Chair Mid-Back Mesh Desk Chair, Black and Cream This item is sold through the Groupon Store Dailyselections, operated by Apontus LLC. The merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the fulfillment, delivery, care, quality, and pricing information of the advertised goods and services. This product is new. This is a FINAL SALE; no returns or refunds unless defective. Offer is not eligible for promo codes, but is eligible for Groupon Bucks.

Shipping and handling charges for the order will be Free. Does not ship to Alaska or Hawaii. Does not ship to PO boxes. Orders are typically delivered in 5-10 business days. on purchases of $34.99 or more and Free Standard Shipping on purchases of $34.99 or more applies in the U.S. only. Free Returns in the U.S. and Canada. Large, oversized items and products delivered by special or white glove carriers are not eligible for free shipping or free returns. Free returns are not applicable to final sale/non-returnable items. As always, check the deal's Fine Print for restrictions. The wrong chair = real health problems. (Total read time: 8 minutes) In this post I’ll cover how I identified the best high-end chairs in the world, which I ultimately chose, and the tangible results that followed. In January of 2005, I found myself on a veranda in Panama after the usual afternoon rain, dreaming of the upcoming year and reflecting on lessons learned since leaving the US.

Maria Elena, the matriarch of the Panamanian family that had adopted me, sipped her iced tea and pointed at my bruised feet: “Tim, let me share some advice I was once given. Buy the most comfortable bed and pair of shoes you can afford. If you’re not in one, you’ll be in the other.” I followed her advice upon returning to CA and the results were sudden: Plantar Fasciitis disappeared, as did shoulder impingement after switching from coil-spring to foam-layered mattresses. But what about chairs? On January 4th, 2009, I tweeted out the following: “Is the Aeron chair worth it? http://tr.im/2uxd Do you have any fave chairs for extended sitting and writing?” Even though I’m financially comfortable now, I didn’t grow up spending a lot of money, which I’m thankful for. To this day, I’ve never paid for first-class airfare for myself. Not that it isn’t worth it — I just can’t do it. Similarly, I had trouble believing a chair could possibly be worth $850-$1,200, but my back pain led me to pose the question to the omniscient Interweb.

More than 95% of Aeron users replied with “yes, absolutely”, but it wasn’t the only chair with a cult-like following. Four of the five are manufactured by Herman Miller (HM) and Humanscale (HS). Prices are from Amazon, as are the star reviews, but discounts of $200-400 can be negotiated with dealers. Both eBay and Craiglist offer similar discounts. In descending order of popularity: 1. Aeron (Fully loaded) (HM) – $879 (1 review; average review: 5 stars) Used at NASA mission control and tech start-ups worldwide. 2. Mirra (fully loaded) (HM) – $829 (14 reviews; average review: 4.5 stars) Note: the Herman Miller sales representatives I spoke with preferred the Mirra seat feel for shorter legs vs. the Aeron. Easier to adjust: Mirra is about 9 revolutions from loosest to tightest settings; 3. SwingChair – $495 Recommended by a strong contingent of writers, including one of my favorite visual storytellers, Kathy Sierra. I like the design concept, but I would suggest other forms of “core exercise”.

4. Liberty (HS) – $899 (6 reviews; average review: 3.5 stars) 5. Freedom Task Chair with Headrest (HS) – $999.99 (1 review, average: 4 stars) Used at the FBI and by other governmental agencies with three-letter acronyms. 6. Embody – $1,800 list price (negotiated with dealer: $1,200-1,300): Basis of chair design – sitting is bad; Even in locked position, it still has some backward flex at the top position. No forward tilt option. For personal testing, I also added a Swiss-ball chair (Isokinetics Balance Ball Chair – $75) to the mix, as seen below: Surprisingly, the Isokinetics chair is more comfortable than most fixed chairs I tested, though there is some minor… ahem… testicular compression that isn’t nearly as pleasant as it sounds. If you don’t have jewels to worry about, this chair could well be an ideal cost-effective choice. The chair I most wanted to test was the Mirra, which seems to have the best combination of price point (bought used or via eBay) and multiple 5-star reviews.

Not to mention it’s also the name of one of the best BMXers of all time. In the end, I bought a used C-size (technically a bit too large for me) Aeron for $450 on Craigslist. I’m impatient and didn’t want to wait over the weekend to schedule sittings for other Herman Miller chairs with a certified dealer. Once I have some conclusive comparable data, I want closure.I’m 5′ 8″ and 170 lbs., but the C works with no problem. 1) The lumbar support is — by far — the primary determinant of comfort or pain. I’ve lowered this adjustment and found that maintaining the natural S-curve through pressure on the lower back is what prevents pain most consistently. Comfortable sitting time is now 7-8 hours vs. less than 2 hours, with no ill after-effects. Sliding lumbar support on the Aeron. 2) Seat height (and secondarily, depth) will determine the rest. If the flats of your feet don’t make complete contact with the floor, you will move your hips forward and slouch, eliminating the S-curve in the lower lumbar.

If your seat is too low and your knees are above your hips, you will shorten the habitual range your hip flexors (negative neural adaptation) and end up with severe lower-back pain. Aim to keep your hamstrings parallel to the floor, and if the seat is too long for your femur (thigh bone) — as is mildly the case with my C-size Aeron — just separate your knees a bit. If you’re not wearing a tight skirt, I’ve found a basketball of space between the knees to provide the best lateral stabilization, which reduces torso fatigue. Take off heels when sitting at a desk, lest you end up with hot calves and Quasimodo-like posture. Not good for mating. If you are wearing a tight skirt, I suggest taking up the Japanese tea ceremony and sitting on tatami side saddle. It’ll be more comfortable than crossing your legs all day.True, I’ve thought more about chairs in the last few weeks than anyone should, but I do it to save you the trouble. Benefit from my OCD so you can obsess on other things.

3) Using a 3′ long and 6″ diameter foam roller three times per day for 5 minutes can eliminate persistent middle-back pain from mediocre chair use; conversely, it can extend your comfortable sitting time by 30-40%. Knowledge workers often log more ass-in-seat time than sleep. Coders, in particular, are often subjected to a steady diet of Mountain Dew and hunching for 12+-hour marathons. I don’t put in these hours, but I found myself with severe mid-upper back pain from using a non-adjustable chair and craning over a desk that was too low, even for 30-60 minutes per day. Two doctors suggested various therapies, but a quick experiment (placing a laptop on top of a dresser and writing while standing for two days) proved that posture was the problem. In less than a week following my switch to the Aeron, all upper middle-back (lower trapezius, rhomboid major) pain disappeared completely. The results: better output during work and writing, faster and deeper sleep, and a huge smack on the forehead.