I remember some people using a dental chair, and other stuff like that, but I don't even know if it's actually ergonomic. Is there any research about that?
The common phrase “Sitting is the New Smoking” is not entirely true. Sedentary lifestyle, or not moving, is the real reason sitting is so harmful to our health. By increasing the amount we move during our day, we can avoid sedentary behavior and eliminate pain associated to sedentary time.
Check out this illustration that shows how breaking up sedentary time has a huge impact on our health. https://www.movably.com/chart-3
Science time! It turns out, spinal discs are the largest structure in the body with no direct blood supply. It relies on increasing and decreasing pressure on it to ‘breath’ / get blood to diffuse through it. How do you consistently increase and decrease pressure on the spine? You got it, movement! (check out this cool illustration by the same people: https://www.movably.com/chart-2)
The trick is how do we get movement in our lower spine during our workday without disrupting our focus and workflow? That is the exact problem the startup I work for tackled. We have come up with a super cool, effective and non-ridiculous smart chair that works with your body to get the movement we all need.
Our smart chair was easily adopted and highly praised by initial users. Now we are looking to learn from a wider audience through customer discovery calls. If you are interested and have 15 minutes to chat, I’d love to connect:https://movably.typeform.com/to/y5NPOA2U Please note, not a sales call, just looking to gather some more perspective.
The only way my back problems get better is by getting out of the chair and exercising combined with chiropractor(a good one). Different people have different types of back issues though. Sit/stand desk is hardly an option for me, since standing is painful. Sitting is much less painful. A chair like those linked, would generate the least pain in the short term. Long term, the mere fact that you would likely use it in the reclined position, means your muscles become weaker. This may contribute to spinal issues. It is almost not worth becoming dependent on it. I have the easiest time sitting long hours in a super adjustable chair such as the affordable workpro quantum 9000 chair. Herman Miller makes quality chairs and may have better options. The Aeron may be one.
The two most important things for me are the proper seating position in the chair(lower back) and raising the height of the monitor so that I almost have to look up(neck).