Finding the right chair
IN February 1996, South Africa’s National Occupational Safety Association published in its Safety Management magazine a story with this provocative title: “The ordinary office chair is obsolete and dangerous”.
The reason is simple: although upholstered, they are as rigid and as stiff as park benches and thus, prevent natural movement. This has led to the shocking statistic that 40% of all sick leaves are taken by sedentary workers suffering from debilitating back pain.
Occupational health research has proven that unless the chair allows or encourages a wide variety of movement while providing comfortable support, back pain and other health problems are very likely.
To be able to classify a chair as being ergonomic, affirmative answers must be given to the following questions:
> Does the chair allow “strain-free sitting” and encourage motion while sitting?
> Does the seat allow a forward tilt?
> And does the chair provide all the adjustments required due to anatomical variations between people, as in lumbar-support, headrest-height and seat-depth?
Too much emphasis is given to back-support, that is, passively leaning back in a “relaxed” position all the time. This actually weakens stomach and back muscles, which contributes to back pain and fatigue.
If chairs are chosen because they are cheap, then note that high price does not guarantee a good chair. Conventional, more affordable office chairs provide poor overall value when it comes to durability, comfort and efficiency.
Keep in mind that there is not one chair that fits everybody, so it is important to choose a chair that can be adjusted to suit body weight and height.
Chesters Collection specialises in ergonomic and orthopaedic healthy chairs fully made in Germany by Wagner GmbH. These chairs are incorporated with the patented Dondola technology that prevents and relieves back pain.
The scientific study on Dondola mechanism conducted by university and hospital in Nuremberg showed 66% improvement on patients with back pain without medication.
Chesters Collection’s friendly customer care team is sensitive to the sitting comfort and back care of customers.
They can help find the correct chair for specific needs, so that customers can enjoy stress-free sitting.
■ Wagner ergonomic and orthopaedic chairs are available exclusively at Chesters Collection, Block B-0-1 Megan Avenue 1, 189 Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, or call 03-2166 4121 for further information.