Bad Back - Will New Office Chair Help?

beancounter
beancounter Posts: 369
edited March 2012 in Health, fitness & training
I have persistent lower back problems for which I see a chiropractor regularly.

I have never suffered any major back trauma but 30 years of desk jobs have taken their cumulative toll.

I wonder if anyone here has any expertise in the area of properly designed office seating, or could offer any recommendations for a properly supportive office chair?

e.g. are Herman Miller worth the (considerable) expense?

Many thanks for any help

bc
2013 Colnago Master 30th Anniversary
2010 Colnago C50
2005 Colnago C40
2002 Colnago CT1
2010 Colnago World Cup
2013 Cinelli Supercorsa
2009 Merckx LXM
1995 Lemond Gan Team

Comments

  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    Depends on how bad your back is but your employer has a responsibility to you to ensure your health at work.

    My colleague has had for many years a back issue caused by a motorcycle accident years ago. After doctors referrals and discussions with your HR department he has been fully assessed by an external consultant and has a new chair (sorry not sure of the make/model) which has made a lot of difference.

    Sounds strange but you might want to consider some Yoga as strengthening your core and back muscles should make you back issues less regular and with the added strength should help with recovery.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • beancounter
    beancounter Posts: 369
    Danlikesbikes wrote:
    he has been fully assessed by an external consultant and has a new chair (sorry not sure of the make/model) which has made a lot of difference.

    Thanks for this - as I am also in Milton Keynes, do you happento know who the external consultant was?

    As I run both finance and HR here I can pretty much do what I want, it's just finding out what is "best"....

    bc
    2013 Colnago Master 30th Anniversary
    2010 Colnago C50
    2005 Colnago C40
    2002 Colnago CT1
    2010 Colnago World Cup
    2013 Cinelli Supercorsa
    2009 Merckx LXM
    1995 Lemond Gan Team
  • Gray172
    Gray172 Posts: 26
    Sounds like you are having a similer problem to what I've had, the problem was the way I was sat at my desk. I found this very useful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZx0hNU6XIA I found my back pain went pretty soon after.
  • gregwari
    gregwari Posts: 230
    We use an external consultant called Serco, any occupational health company should be able to advise on good seating position and PC set up (which is just as important as the chair you have), as well as to reccomend a decent chair. I suffered for a while with a bad back too, first thought was it was being damaged by carrying a heavy laptop case but it turned out that the pain in my back was caused by a strain on my knees from a bad driving position (go figure...). If you do carry a heavy laptop bag, or drive excessive mileage, don't discount them as causes.

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