Did you know that back pain is one of the most common reasons for missing work days? According to statistics, nearly 4 in 10 office workers would experience lower back pain. While sports injuries, accidents, poor posture, arthritis, obesity, and physiological stress are common causes that lead to back pain, the casual approach towards its prevention often results in serious health issues and recurring back pain among working professionals. If you have a corporate job that requires you to spend 8-10 hours sitting, it is imperative to opt for a good quality mesh chair seat cushion to enhance the cushioning at your lumbar back region to avoid back pain issues. To make the selection process easier for you, here are a few questions, which should be answered before you choose the best office chair cushion.
How to Choose a Seat Cushion?
Try to analyze your health condition and make a list of things you would want in your office chair back support cushion. This can include the size, material, design, fabric type, thickness, etc. In case you have severe back issues like sciatica, degenerated disc, coccydynia, or hip pain, you would require an ergonomic chair cushion, which would support your back properly.
Do Lumbar Back Support Cushions for Office Chair Work?
Office chairs have a standard design, which might not support your lumbar back as an ergonomic chair does. If it is not possible to replace your chair, you can opt for superior quality lumbar cushions, which are available in different varieties. Ergonomic cushions are specially designed to offer relief to your back pain, as they have a special design that supports the natural S-curve of your back. Depending upon the severity of your back pain, you can choose the one that suits you the most! Ergo21 offers you innumerable options for lumbar back cushions which include original seat cushions, travel cushions, wheelchair cushions, sports cushions, lumbar cushions, meditation cushions, coccyx cushions and more.
Which is the Best Cushioning Material for an Office Chair?
The market is flooded with innumerable varieties of chair cushions, which include gel cushions, air cushions, memory foam cushions, and advanced LiquiCell technology-based mobility wheelchair cushions, which have different levels of comfort.
Before making a purchase, try to understand your requirements. While an air cushion is lightweight, it doesn’t offer firmness; the gel cushion, on the other hand, needs to be set time and again. Memory foam back support cushions are one of the most popular choices as they have the right firmness. However, with long hours of sitting, this foam may also cause numbness and fidgeting. If you are open to new innovations, you can go for Ergo21 LiquiCell technology based cushions, which have water-filled membranes that distribute the pressure evenly and let your body glide. Hence, material plays an important role, especially in the case of wheelchair cushions as the user requires added comfort.
To make things easier, here’s a checklist of things before you make the big purchase-
- Check the cushion weight and support: This criterion is of utmost importance especially if you have chronic back pain. In that case, you would need a firmer chair cushion to have extra support.
- Find out about the weight capacity of the cushion: if you are on the heavier side, the lumbar support seat cushion should be solid enough to bear your weight and offer the right cushioning to support your back and sit bones.
- Size of the chair and cushion: Measure the office chair properly and make sure that the cushion you chose fits perfectly on the chair! If it’s too large or too small in size, this back support cushion would do more wrong to your back and can actually cause serious damage to you.
- Care and maintenance: Find out in detail about the care and maintenance of these cushions. If they are machine washable, it would be much easier to manage rather than the ones that require professional cleaning, which might cause you a bomb!
Apart from regular lumbar back cushions, there are a wide array of mobility wheelchair cushions, which also enhance comfort and offer high functionality to the users. Here are some pros and cons of using an ergonomic wheelchair cushion.
Pro’s
- Superior cushioning: If a person is spending more than 8 hrs sitting in a wheelchair, opting for an ergonomic seat cushion is a must. The best wheelchair cushion offers the right firmness so that the user feels comfortable, especially in their lumbar region.
- Improved blood circulation: The root cause of numbness while sitting is improper blood flow and circulation in the sit bones. An ergonomic wheelchair cushion distributes the vertical pressure from your spine evenly and promotes proper blood flow.
- Versatility: Invest in a good quality ergonomic seat cushion, which can be used in homes, offices, wheelchairs or while traveling in cars, trains, or airplanes. Added features like a carry handle and a cover would definitely add to the practicality. Do thorough research on the different options available in the market and choose the best cushion.
Con’s
- Understanding of your requirements: You are bound to get confused with numerous options available in the market. However, the challenge to finding the best lumbar cushions that fulfill your requirements.
- Regular wear & tear: If you are using the back support cushion regularly, it is bound to succumb to regular wear and tear. Keep a watch on the condition and replace the cushion as soon as you feel that it is not solving the purpose.
Conclusion
It is not difficult to manage lumbar back pain, especially by switching to options like an ergonomic office chair cushion, which ensure comfort while working. By keeping all the above mentioned factors in mind, you can finalise a good quality seat cushion and get benefits from the same.