Chairs for posture: Why we need a good chair

Evidently, sitting is an integral part of our lives. Correcting and maintaining a good posture is therefore crucial to ensuring your body can rest in a comfortable position. It’s easy to slip into the habit of slouching whilst you’re watching tv or hunching over to read, but good posture is essential to preventing health issues that can worsen over time.

Finding the best supportive chair for you is a great-starting point in taking care of your body by better positioning your hips and knees to keep a healthier back, as well as increasing your confidence with powerful posture.

Keep reading for trusted advice and practical information on how incorporating a good posture chair into your living room will help to support your overall health from our independent Occupational Therapist Julie Jennings Dip COT HCPC.

Good posture chairs, most often known as ergonomic, are great as they help to prop your body upright to correct your posture. Designed with your posture at the forefront, ergonomic living room armchairs are the most comfortable options for people who want to give their back the best support.

Over time, many of us develop what is known in Occupational Therapist circles as a “comfort posture”. This refers to the most comfortable position we adopt in a particular seat. If your furniture doesn’t support you in a way that encourages correct posture, then your “comfort posture” will be heavily, negatively impacted.

An easy way to understand this is to think back to a time when you’ve had to sit in a chair that you’re not accustomed to. At first, you may have found it an odd, even painful, experience – trying to get used to a different bed or chair. This is because your muscles (and brain) learn the most comfortable position to be in, and when we go somewhere new, our muscles are then challenged while we try to find our new “comfort posture”. This is where having a chair that helps to support the best sitting posture for you is key.

Even once you’ve found the best armchair for posture that suits you, it is usual to experience short-term muscle discomfort as your body adapts to this improved position to rest in. In most cases, this should last no more than two-to-three weeks, and less if coupled with regular exercise and movement.

When you don’t have the right chair, you’re at risk of developing a multitude of health problems that can worsen over time and impact your quality of life. An unsupportive chair can negatively impact the curvature of your spine by neglecting to support your back and its three natural curves – which in turn will load more stress onto your joints.

Poor sitting posture can lead to increased aches and pains and an increased risk of injury/falls, which will eventually lead to a loss of independence. In addition to this, it can cause problems with digestion, breathing and can contribute to poor circulation and fatigue. As we age, our circulatory system becomes slower, and we are at increased risk of developing pressure sores. Ensuring that your armchair provides good postural support and is suitable for your height, weight and body type can go a long way in decreasing this risk.

However, don’t despair, the good news is that these complications can be avoided by adopting the correct seating position on a supportive chair.

To maintain good chair posture, your chair must be comfortable, supportive and fit properly to your position. Here at HSL, we have spent a long time in consultation with our independent Occupational Therapist Julie Jennings Dip COT HCPC, developing and perfecting our Exclusive Chair Fitting Service. This is a highly personal test that assesses your needs to find a chair or sofa that gives you total support. We don’t believe that a ‘one size of chair fits all’.

Our armchairs and riser recliners are designed to support your neck and alleviate joint pain, backache, arthritic conditions and headaches. Our friendly and personable Comfort Specialists will check that each of the following parts of your body are fully supported, giving you unrivalled comfort and encouraging proper sitting posture.

To find out more details about all of our supportive armchairs, check out our armchair page. Come and speak to us in one of our showrooms or book a free home visit here. Or, contact our friendly customer service team on 01924 507050.

At HSL, your comfort and wellbeing are our top priority; our friendly and personable Comfort Specialists ensure that our posture armchairs offer full support to give you unrivalled comfort to encourage a good posture. We offer a range of practical and comfortable chairs, sofas and beds that have been approved by our Occupational Therapist, Julie Jennings COT HCPC, to support a healthy lifestyle.