Ask Lemmy

I have the Haworth Fern chair below and love it. It is expensive, but worth it in my opinion. You don't want to skimp on something you sit in all day- and I could sit in this chair all day without pain.

My only other piece of advice is to schedule breaks to stand and stretch. I had a standing desk for a while and I did not care for it. I never got used to standing and working- maybe I am just not coordinated enough. But taking standing breaks helped with my back pain and improved my focus.

Good luck!

https://store.haworth.com/products/fern-office-chair?sku=SFTE-U0-7S01A6,4H_FT,MB_SL,TR_7,PM_P

Do you tend to sit upright with your feet flat on the floor? I went with a wide flat chair so I could sit cross legged. I’ve tried and disliked the ergonomic chairs that lean slightly forward

It really depends on how tall you are, your body type, and your budget. I'm small, so I hate the older Aerons (which is almost all my office had when I started), but the newer ones are a lot more adjustable so it might be better. I have a Steelcase Amia at home that I liked enough to order for work, too. Both of those chairs are pretty expensive though, so they may not be realistic recommendations.

For mid-tier chairs I can recommend both the Markus from Ikea and the Ergonomic Chair from Branch. The Markus is generally more relaxing and feels really nice to lean back into. Whereas the Ergo feels more like it wants you to sit proper (and it's adjustable). The Ergo def takes an adjustment period do to it's "proper" posture, but after having it for a couple months now I don't even notice

Either should run you ~300 USD

Don't think they used to be called this but I've been using a decent Staples mesh chair for 4 years now and it's AMAZING without having to spend 300 dollars. It's either this one or a slightly more expensive one made out of nicer materials

https://www.staples.com/union-scale-flexfit-hyken-ergonomic-mesh-swivel-task-chair-maroon-un59462/product_2257054

I've lobbied for standing desks since I got mine and not about to stop ! If you're able, consider getting one. Mine changed my life. I alternate between standing and sitting throughout the day. And it's not just a matter of comfort or back pain (which btw is completely gone): I'm generally more awake, active and productive now. Before that I worked standing up for about a year and a half, and while the change was good, that was excessive, and my knees started to hurt after some time. That's when I understood that what really matters for long-term comfort and health at a desk job is movement. All the best,

I have a steelcase chair I like a lot. Not sure of the exact model but it’s got great back support. I paired it with an autonomous standing desk to stretch my legs here and there when I’ve been sitting too long.

I have the aeron, it's nice but a bit uncomfortable if you sit in it in any sort of non standard way, I sit with my legs crossed and my cat in my lap and unless I pad the heck out of the bottom with extra pillow or blanket the hard plastic digs into my feet and legs.

For me a far more comfortable approach is a monitor on a stand and a comfortable easy chair, along with a split ergonomic bluetooth keyboard. Embrace our wall-e future

I have a Hayworth Zody but would also recommend steelcase gesture, knoll generation, and Herman miller aeron. I got mine from the used office furniture store in town for 200. Ordered new arm rest caps to replace the old ones and it is going strong several years later. Also second those that suggest standing desks, used office furniture place again for that, I have a $1200 steelcase that was 200ish but like new.

I have the GABRYLLY Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair from Amazon and I love it.

I have upper back pain due to minor scoliosis. I'm also 6'1" so it's more challenging to find chairs that support my upper back well.

I bought this one because it has a lot of the features of the $1,000+ Herman Miller type chairs, but for less than $300. I bought it during the pandemic and figured if it lasted a year or two it would justify me forking out the money for the real expensive ones. Well 4 years later I'm still loving it.

The only complaint I had was the wheels are kind of crap, but I replaced them with some $30 rubber ones that look like rollerblade wheels. They are smooth fast and don't destroy my laminate floors.

Maybe not for everyone, but I really enjoy my Swopper stool. Mostly because I can't sit still and it allows me to bounce around all day. It takes some time to get used to, but it's great for keeping your core active during the day.

One downside is that I caused sea sickness with a colleague during a conference call due to all the bouncing :)

My HM Aeron is 20 years old. It has seen an embarrassing amount of use, as I've worked from home for over that length of time. It's served me well but it's not without its issues.

What I found at the start, and continue to find, is that it rolls the pelvis and c-curves the spine at the lower back. This loads the lumbar with a lot of force.

What I'm looking for now is a true tilter - not a mere recliner - that keeps the hip angle closed as it tilts. The rolling action on the hips is reduced, and lumbar support won't drift around. This is proving a challenge.

My physio and I disagree on headrests. so I look for one without his blessing or support. The force on the neck due is ideally reduced as well with one.

I have an oversized "gamer chair" with a "footrest" that extends the front of the chair that allows me to sit cross legged on it. I replaced the base with a metal one and got rollerskate wheels. It's now quite sturdy and works well for me the last several years.

I know this might sound stupid but for several years, I was using a regular kitchen chair with a towel to sit on and a cloth blanket to make the back more comfortable to lean against. Even though I have a different, much more expensive gaming chair, I am still using a towel because the leather sticks to my skin.

Whatever chair you end up getting try to swing a standing desk if you can

What is your budget?

Been using a Branch chair for ~2 years after having a cheap ikea chair for 1. Definitely notice the difference. You're going to want some adjustability, especially with lumbar support and arm height/ width.

Otherwise, the biggest thing to feel better is just getting up every hour or so to move around. I try to go for a walk/ run once a day since leaving retail and losing 10k steps of physical activity.

By that same token, sit-stand desks are nice if you have the spare budget. Otherwise, just get a nice chair and exercise.

I stand most of the time. Use the chair when I get tired.

I actually am comfortable enough in a dining room chair at home (I sit forward not back) so no equipment rec but I am going to recommend yoga and, well, not sitting for hours at a time. Get up and get water. Get up and go pee. Get up and get coffee. Get up up and go pee again. Get up and stretch. It's very risky to your health to sit for too long.

I like Hercules office chairs. They're meant to hold 300lb people for 8 hours a day. I'm not that big, and I don't sit that long, but the chair has lasted me a lot longer than cheap or even moderately priced office chairs.

I've never tried those expensive Herman Miller ones though. That's just too outside my budget and mesh doesn't look very comfortable to me. Not too mention my cats would shred that up.