Should You Be Using Office Chair Armrests? | ECD

Most office workers spend roughly eight hours a day sitting in the same office chair, which can often be uncomfortable and make you feel restless after a while. But it doesn&#;t have to be that way. The importance of not settling for any old office chair is often overlooked, but your office chair just might be the most vital piece of furniture you buy. 

Link to JE Group

Endeavouring to choose an office chair with adjustable arms, lumbar support, and customisable features will be the difference between happy working or trudging through with aching joints. Typically, consumers tend to gravitate towards office chairs with cushioned seats, but there are many other factors you should consider, including the inclusion of adjustable armrests. 

Why are Office Chair Armrests Important?

Whether to buy an office chair with adjustable arms or not has been a heated topic of discussion for many years. There are three sides to this argument. 

The first is, I&#;ve never put any thought towards whether an office chair with armrests is better than one without. 

The second is, you should use a desk chair with armrests, as they support your upper limbs and reduce the pressure and load throughout your lower back when sitting. 

And the final argument is: you should not use an office chair with armrests, because they create risk factors such as shoulder shrugging, stress on your forearms, and the encouragement of a leaning posture.

What may surprise you to read is that both arguments are correct, but the deciding factor depends on the positioning.  

How Positioning Can Affect the Suitability of an Office Chair with Armrests

The standard office desk tends to be around 720mm in height. When looking at the seated elbow height, the ideal user should be around 6&#;2&#;, and those who aren&#;t this tall should adjust themselves to fit the workstation. But this adjustment can lead to shrugging, as most of us sit too low in our chairs in relation to our desks. This is where office chair armrests come in. 

An office chair with adjustable arms will support your arms by holding your arms in a more comfortable position at all times while typing. 

However, this is actually a red herring because although you may feel supported, the armrests are holding your shoulders in a shrugging position throughout the day, which can create tension in your neck and shoulders. If sustained for long enough, this position could be a potential risk factor for developing a musculoskeletal disorder. 

However, if you ensure to sit in a natural position throughout the day, rather than forcing yourself to sit in a particular way, office chair armrests can support your elbows and forearms, and prevent stress on the musculoskeletal system. Posture is vital when it comes to sitting in an office chair with armrests. But an ergonomic chair with adjustable armrests will do most of the work for you. 

Working for hours at a time without armrests or with armrests that are not adjustable could result in repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and could even lead to serious neck and shoulder issues. But an ergonomic chair with adjustable armrests can help you to achieve the perfect sitting position, which will allow you to work comfortably for hours at a time. 

A notable advantage of using an ergonomic chair with adjustable armrests is that they allow you to get close to your desk and reduce the need for reaching, which can cause shoulder strain after a while. Armrests adjustable by depth and height are perfect to achieve this. But why else is armrest height so important?

Armrest Height

One of the primary issues users usually encounter when purchasing an office chair with adjustable arms is not knowing how to position them properly. Users typically end up placing the armrests too high, causing shoulder shrugging, or unevenness, which can cause you to lean to the side. Leaning forces the misalignment of your spine and pelvis, which can result in long-term lower back discomfort. 

Your office chair armrests should be positioned at your natural elbow position. When they are properly set, your armrests should sit just under your elbows when your hands are in your lap, allow you to sit close to your workstation, adjust to your requirements, and set at the correct width for your frame size.

When to Use Armrests

Ideally, armrests should be used intermittently throughout the day. They are arm&#;rests so they should be used that way. If you are set up at the correct height and your workstation is well adjusted then you should merely use your office chair armrests as a rest break when taking a call, reading a document or talking to a colleague.

Armrests are also beneficial when moving out of your chair as it removes the force on your hips in half.

Positioning while working

You should use your office chair armrests while typing or using your mouse, to keep your wrists straight, your upper arms close to your body, or your hands at or slightly below the level of your elbows. You will know when your office chair armrests are at the perfect height because you can easily reach the keyboard and your muscles will not feel tense or strained while you work. 

To adjust your armrests correctly, you should ensure the rests are positioned just below the elbow height with your arms and shoulders relaxed. When sitting, the top of the desk should be at or slightly below your elbow height with your shoulders relaxed and palms resting on the front of the desk.

Different Styles Of Armrests And Adjustment

If you&#;re looking for an ergonomic chair with adjustable armrests, you should know that there are several types of adjustments to look out for and that one size does not fit all. 

• Height Adjustable: At the very least, your armrests should be height-adjustable to allow you to customise your chair to achieve the perfect position. This is essential in preventing discomfort.

• Width Adjustable: An office chair with adjustable arms should allow movement towards and away from your body to suit your body size.

• Pivot/ Twist: The pads of your armrest should rotate for more flexibility and support. 

• Folding: Folding adjustable armrests are especially beneficial to wheelchair users, as they will fold away, back and down when you don&#;t need to use them and allow more space for your wheelchair. 

What Are Armrests Made From? 

Just a little tidbit of information, high-quality office chair armrests are usually made of polyurethane to withstand daily use while still being durable and comfortable.

To Summarise

Although most think back support is the most important feature of an adjustable ergonomic chair, armrests are an equally essential factor to consider. You may not realise that your shoulder and back pain can be attributed to poor armrest positioning, and has less to do with the lumber support the chair offers than you thought. 

Although a chair with fixed armrests may be cheaper, it is important to weigh up the long-term investment of buying an ergonomic chair with adjustable armrests and understand just how much time you will be spending on it. So, for those who put in a good eight hours a day, investing in an office chair with adjustable arms is well worth the money. 

Browse our selection of high-quality adjustable ergonomic chairs at Ergonomic Chairs now to achieve a more comfortable working environment, and support your body throughout the day.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Meeting chairs with armrests. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

 

Here&#;s a question for you: Should armrests be used in the office? Armrests are some of the most interesting parts of doing ergonomic assessments. It&#;s also a common debate within the ergonomics community on how to navigate the use of armrest on our client chairs - are they absolutely necessary or is there too much ergonomic risk involved? In this blogpost, I&#;m going to share some information to add clarity to how you approach this topic with your clients.

Do Armrests Help or Hinder?

Choosing whether to recommend armrests or not has been a wide discussion in the ergonomics community for many years, and there are really two different and separate options when it comes to the use of armrests on office chairs:

1. Armrests are beneficial as they support our upper limbs and reduce the amount of load down to our lower back while sitting.

2. The best possible posture is attained when you&#;re not using armrests. 

You've probably heard of this debate before. Perhaps you've even been in a situation with a client when you considered how to best navigate armrests. 

The questions are:

• Where do you stand on the use of armrests on chairs?

• Do you prefer if the armrests are attached?

• Or is it more comfortable to use an ergonomic office chair without them?

Usually, people request armrests for work when they start to notice pain in their muscles, which is normally in the arms, upper back, and neck areas. There&#;s no doubt that armrests can be very beneficial in relieving discomfort. However, in my humble opinion from years of doing office ergonomic assessments, they are really only useful under optimal conditions. What this means is that in order to improve the ergonomics of a set-up, the armrests must fit your client appropriately while maintaining a neutral body posture while sitting. 

It seems simple enough, yet not every chair allows this to be.

Proper Sitting Posture

To keep the shoulder relaxed, it must be in a neutral posture. Your client should ideally be able to sit with their shoulders not raised or depressed, and the upper arm is comfortably tucked next to their torso when they&#;re working.

Theoretically, this working posture will not expose your client to any ergonomic risk that can lead to the development of an ergonomic injury, nor will it contribute to any pain or discomfort related to a past injury.

In addition to the postural benefits, armrests can be incredibly useful in assisting your client with getting in and out of the chair. This can be overlooked by both clients and ergonomics consultants alike and only truly realized when there are no armrests attached.

Appropriate Fit Is Essential

There&#;s been a number of studies that explain why the use of armrests can be important to your health and comfort while sitting at your work desk. And in my experience, they can help prevent musculoskeletal disorders to the upper extremities, such as shoulder and upper back strain. But here&#;s one caveat:

The armrests must properly fit your client in order to be beneficial. 

Ergonomic risk occurs when optimal armrest positioning isn't met. This is manifested in many ways. One of the most common occurs when employers only buy one type of chair for all of their employees. And as I&#;ve mentioned in my previous blogs, it&#;s very rare to have one chair that can accommodate the majority of the workforce. This poses a problem for those employees who are not considered to be &#;average&#;.

If armrests are in a fixed position or limited in height, width, and pivot, then they most certainly won&#;t fit your client correctly and can&#;t be used properly. The &#;one size fits all&#; chair design usually misses a huge part of the workforce in the following ways:

• Width

  - For smaller or more petite employees, there can be a substantial mismatch between the armrest placement and shoulder width. This means that the armrests are too wide for the client, and this results in outwardly flexed (abducted) shoulder positions. This is considered to be an awkward posture and can lead or contribute to discomfort over time.

• Height

  - The armrest height adjustability may lack accuracy so it results in awkward shoulder positions of either the shoulders being raised up or depressed. 

• Length

  - The armrest length may be too long and can prevent your client from sitting close to their desk. This increases the client's reach and can even result in the client leaning forward in their chair. Over time of doing this, it can contribute to lower back strain and even discomfort! This is considered to be a negative as it encourages your client to lean forward (which is a non-neutral back position) and contributes to shoulder awkwardness.

Case Study

The best answer to the question as to whether or not armrests are the right ergonomic solution for a particular person is that: it depends. Ultimately, the solution is totally dependent on your client's preferences, budget, habits, as well as your personal experience. Let me build on this thought process by sharing a past ergonomic assessment of mine.

I&#;ve done work with a past client who did not have optimally positioned armrests&#;the armrest length prevented my client from getting close to the workstation. Additionally, the client was complaining of shoulder pain.

We ruled out any outside causes to this pain, and concluded that it must be a result of the non-optimal placement of the armrests: they were too wide for her and the height adjustability wasn&#;t accurate. My client also reported that she felt that she could only use one armrest at a time, just because they were far too wide for her.

There were three options that I suggested to my client:

1. Remove the armrests completely

2. Lower the armrest so they&#;re out of her use

3. Replace them with armrests that are both height and width adjustable. 

After much thought, we determined that replacing the armrests with a more adjustable pair was the best option. She found an alternative armrest that met our metrics on her chair manufacturer&#;s website. After following up with my client several months after the assessment, she reported that the new armrests were very helpful and also really reduced her shoulder pain.

Note: The key element in any ergonomic set-up is that everything has to be set up to fit your client correctly. Having fully adjustable armrests (height, width, forward-to-backward slide, and inwards-outwards pivot) on a good ergonomic chair is an important part of creating a safe and healthy work environment.

As Ergonomic Professionals, we need to learn not only the process and tools of how to do ergonomic assessments but also how to market our services. So if you haven&#;t had a chance to download the &#;Marketing & Selling Ergonomics&#; FREE Guide, you can grab it here. My signature program, Accelerate: The Business of Ergonomics, helps Ergonomics Consultants like you use a variety of modern marketing strategies to get more reach for your services. If you&#;re interested in joining Accelerate, just click on this link to get on the waitlist.

Are you interested in learning more about Modern design auditorium chair? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!