If there is any one factor that you can change to make spending eight hours a day in an office easier, it’s your chair. There is no shortage of evidence proving that being stuck in a chair for too long can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and worsen back pain. In fact, sitting too much is even called worse than smoking. Many people who have office jobs develop problems like numbness, spinal misalignment, joint pain, neck pain, and herniated discs — usually from sitting too long on a poor quality chair without support. While you probably do not want to spend a lot of money on a chair, a high-quality ergonomic chair is an investment in your health, comfort and productivity.
Two separate studies, published in 1990 and 2003, found productivity goes up more than 17% when individuals work in an ergonomic setting with an adjustable chair. The right chair combined with ergonomic training can also reduce workplace injuries. Even if you do not already have wrist or back problems, an ergonomic chair can help you maintain the right posture to avoid strain, carpel tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, and spinal disc injury.
The National Institute of Health recommends choosing a chair with all of the necessary adjustments to support proper posture. This includes a chair with casters and a five-point base; a seat pan with dense, small-cell foam padding or coils; a backrest that is either curved or small enough to fit the small of the back; soft armrests with an adjustable height and width; a hydraulic seat heat adjustment feature; and a tilt adjustment to transfer some body weight to the chair’s backrest.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair
Embody Chair by Herman Miller
If you’re not working with a budget, why not get the very best? The Embody Chair by Herman Miller is the first chair made with a health-positive design. It was designed by Bill Stumpf, who created the original Aeron chair, and Jeff Weber with a goal of supporting healthy circulation and making sitting for hours a day easier on the back and spine.
Physicians and engineers were also consulted to create the specifications for the Embody, which features a unique exposed exoskeleton made to mimic the human spine. The chair’s back moves with you throughout the day, keeping your spine in alignment and supporting the lower back, all without any adjustments on your part.
This chair is so amazing, in fact, that it has won several awards, including the prestigious Silver award from NeoCon and a Best of Tech award. Watch this video to learn more about how the Embody is good for your health.
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If you are looking for an ergonomic chair that will fit in your budget, here are our picks for the 10 best ergonomic office chairs for your work space to counteract neck and lower back pain and help you stay comfortable and productive.
Best Ergonomic Office Chairs for Lower Back Pain
An ergonomic office chair can do wonders to alleviate lower back pain that can affect you long after you leave work for the day. If you already suffer from back pain, it’s important to understand that long hours in a chair compress the discs in your lower back, which eventually begin to wear down and cause sharp or chronic pain. This pain can be severe enough to affect your mobility for the rest of your life. The good news? It’s never too late to treat the problem and give your aching back the support it needs.
The following chairs are the highest-rated options for every budget to free you from long days of an aching back and help you concentrate on work — then forget about the day at the office when it’s time to go home.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $1000
Herman Miller Aeron Chair
The Herman Miller Aeron Chair has developed quite a following over the years as the chair that started the ergonomic craze. The chair was designed for Herman Miller by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf and it was the very first to feature a woven seat and back without foam cushions.
The Aeron is based on the biomorphic principles of the body for ultimate comfort. It also helps combat lower back pain in particular with a high back and a head cushion that allows you to rest your head while still maintaining correct posture. The Aeron chair is available in sizes A, B, and C, each of which is created to give you the most adjustable and comfortable experience.
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Haworth Zody chair
As popular as the Aeron chair is, it does have competition with the Haworth Zody chair. The Zody chair is the only chair to ever get an endorsement from the American Physical Therapy Association. As you may expect, this chair puts function over form. The chair isn’t unattractive — in fact, Haworth commisioned the German design company Ito design for assistance — but its focus on science and ergonomics is what sets it apart.
The Zody chair features a unique asymmetrical adjustment system designed with the University of Michigan’s Human Performance Institute, which allows you to target problem areas like the lower back and make the chair conform to your body. This chair also gets high praise for its passive pelvic support that helps you maintain corrrect spinal alignment. This simple pad helps you maintain the natural curvature at the small of your back to make lower back pain a thing of the past.
If you prefer to recline, an optional headrest is available. While the chair’s main selling features are its passive pelvic support and ability to adjust the lumbar for the left and right side of the back independently, you also have the standard chair adjustments. This includes adjusting tilt, arm rest width and height, seat height, and tension. This video gives you a full introduction to the Zody chair.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $500
Sayl Chair by Herman Miller
Herman Miller is responsible for the first ergonomic chair, and this high-end brand is known for producing some of the best chairs in the world.
The Herman Miller Sayl Chair is the brand’s most affordable office chair, which already puts it a cut above most chairs in this price range. Designed by Yves Behar, the Sayl chair comes in many colors and it’s made in the United States from recyclable materials.
This beautiful “life unframed” chair combines ergonomics with design and superior engineering with two unique innovations: the Y-Tower and ArcSpan. Behar was inspired by the Golden Gate bridge and its ability to carry massive loads. This inspiration is clear in the design.
The Y-Tower feature is the backbone of the chair, stretching the fabric while offering support. The ArcSpan provides shape to the back while anchoring the unique suspension fabric in place.
As it’s the most budget-friendly Herman Miller chair available, it doesn’t have many of the adjustaments and other features you get from most models with this brand, but it will still impress.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $300
Serta Mid-Back Office Chair
While best known for their mattresses, Serta has moved into ergonomics with the Serta Back in Motion Health and Wellness office chair. This reasonably priced chair has the look and feel of a high-end brand with deep, ergo-layered body pillows that offer the perfect combination of comfort and support.
The chair is made from eco-friendly bonded leather with a BIM Active lumbar that pivots as you move for continuous lumbar support. Adjust the height of the padded armrests with the push of a button, and use the convenient cable actuated levers to control the lift and lock-out features.
The Serta Back in Motion chair also offers unique posture-correcting tilt technology that actually tilts your pelvis forward when you lean. This keeps your back in a beneficial neutral position to avoid pressure on your discs and promote spinal movement. After a few days, you’ll start to feel the benefits of a comfortable and supportive seat that can get you through your long work day.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $200
Alera Elusion Swivel Chair
Welcome to comfort with the Alera Elusion swivel chair. This is the most well-reviewed chair in this price range with an ergonomic design and a breathable mesh back to keep you cool and comfortable all day long. Unlike many chairs at this price, the Alera chair offers a contoured seat cushion with a waterfall edge and premium upholestery that helps take pressure off your legs, while the supportive back encourages proper posture to alleviate lower back pain.
The Alera chair lacks many of the adjustment features of more expensive chairs, but you can adjust the tilt tension, seat height, and arm height and width to adjust the chair to your body. This chair was designed to give you a professional, efficient working environment at a good price, and it certainly delivers. This video walks you through the features of the Elusion series office chairs.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $100
Mid-Back Mesh Chair by Flash Furniture
The Flash Furniture Mid-Back Mesh Chair is a rare find: a well-reviewed, comfortable chair that fits any budget. This chair features a sturdy five-wheel base with a mesh ergonomically contoured back that gives you the support you need to get through a full day of work. One of the most surprising things about this chair is the fact that it’s actually sized well for larger people taller than six feet, which is a rare find in an office chair priced under $100.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chairs for Neck Pain
Chronic neck pain is a common complaint among people who spend hours a day in a chair, either bent over paperwork or working in front of a monitor. The right ergonomic chair can help correct poor posture by supporting spine health. The best office chair for neck pain offers support for the spine and, most importantly, adjustable height and tilt to avoid craning your neck to see a computer screen.
Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $1000
SomaComfort Chair
The SomaComfort chair has a very unique style that quickly sets it apart from the pack. The SomaComfort helps reduce tension in the shoulders, neck, and back by supporting the spinal column, neck, and lower back with a sleek ergonomic design.
The distinctive design of the SomaComfort offers not only support but also improved mobility with enhanced elbow and shoulder blade movement. The chair is fully adjustable, with the ability to optimize the seat angle, back rest angle, hinge rocking, armrest width and height, and seat position.
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Ergohuman by Eurotech
Another great option is the Ergohuman chair by Eurotech Seating. Right away, you’ll notice the unique design of this chair, which features eight ergonomic adjustments to keep your neck and back aligned all day long.
The Ergohuman has breathable mesh to promote circulation with the ability to adjust the back angle and height, tilt lock, tilt tension control, synchro tilt, arm height, and seat depth and height. The headrest adjusts up and down so you can position it to hit your neck perfectly, with a curvature that supports your head and neck when you lean back.
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Balt Butterfly Executive Chair
You may also appreciate the unique features of the Balt Butterfly Executive Chair, which offers a mesh back that includes angle and tilt adjustment.
The chair’s back is perfectly contoured to provide natural lumbar support, while the curved headrest can be adjusted by both height and angle to give you the proper neck support whether you are upright or reclining in the chair. The arm rests also pivot and adjust by height so you can work in a variety of work spaces.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $500
The Leaders Executive Office Chair by Duorest is one of the most interesting office chairs you’ll encounter, but it’s every unique design element is made to support the neck and lower back. This chair features fully adjustable dual backrests, which can be adjusted to fit almost any body size, combined with an ergonomic adjustable headrest and an adjustable seat. Along with adjusting seat height, you can also adjust tilt tension, tilt, tilt lock and height and width. For improved stability, the Duorest chair features a six-leg base.
When you spend a lot of time sitting down, you need a chair that gives you sufficient lower back support. This ergonomic design gives you firm support from the lower back all the way to the neck. You’ll find it will actually correct your posture by forcing you to sit upright. Duorest chairs are truly the best you will find for under $600+.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $300
The Viva Office Mesh High Back office chair is the perfect blend of features and price. The chair has an ergonomic mesh back that avoids excessive heat and moisture build-up, along with pneumatic height adjustment and adjustable armrests. The headrest is fully adjustable so you can periodically lean back to rest your head and neck as you work.
The Viva Office chair is one of the few ergonomic chairs at this price range that works for people who are taller than six feet.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $200
The “Walker” adjustable office chair by The Green Group is hard to beat in its price range. The “Walker” features 360-degree swivel motion with a stable five-wheel base and the ability to recline with the flip of a lever.
This chair was designed specifically to support the neck to avoid neck strain with a unique curved, adjustable headrest that supports your head and encourages proper alignment when you lean back. The padded headrest, arm rests, height, and lumbar support are all fully adjustable.
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Best Ergonomic Office Chair under $100
Shopping for an office chair on a budget does not mean you need to sacrifice comfort and health. The Yaheetech office chair features adjustable seat height that’s combined with an ergonomic mesh back and seat with seat tilt. The adjustable head rest offers complete support throughout the day while supporting the head and neck.
You’ll find that the ergonomic back will help remind you to correct your posture if you start to feel pain or fatigue in your neck.
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Verdict
If you work on computer then you definitely need to invest an a good ergonomic chair. As discussed above, Herman Miller Chairs are top notch as they are backed by years of research and testing (see here)but if it is out of your range, we’ve covered a whole lot of others so make sure to keep this when making a purchase.
Do share in the comments below and let us know which chair you like the most. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.
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