Choosing a chair that promotes good posture

Office workers frequently complain of neck aches and bad backs. Most may feel their ailments are caused by over-work and the stress of unrealistic deadlines. In fact, the cause is more likely to be poor posture due to a badly-fitted chair.

In looking at the ergonomic criteria for the design of the Aeron® chair, Herman Miller designers put the promotion of natural spinal alignment, even in upright postures, at the top of their list.

Their research had shown that people who use computers are more likely to sit in upright or forward-leaning postures (about 75%) Before PCs, desk-based workers had generally sat in a reclined position, even when performing routine VDU work. Chair designers had therefore focused their efforts on creating backrests that provide appropriately placed support and tilt mechanisms to maintain that support as the sitter moves through various postures. However, the Herman Miller design team found that Lumbar support alone cannot naturally restore spinal curvatures in a body that is seated in an upright position. The pelvis serves as the body’s center of mass and the primary attachment location for muscles that move the upper and lower body. When the pelvis rotates in a rearward position, the body works to restore balance at the cost of muscle fatigue and discomfort.

The Aeron chair provides an adjustable, contoured fit and support for the sacral-pelvic region. This provides a controlled forward pelvic tilt that restores spinal curvatures and muscle balance comfortably and naturally.

Herman Miller chairs that promote good posture, including the Aeron, Milla and Celle ranges, may be purchased through www.aeronchairs.co.uk
Source: The Benefits of Pelvic Stabilization
Ergonomic criteria for the design of the Aeron® chair by Bill Stumpf, Brock Walker, and Bill Dowell.