A lot of conversations start with the client telling me that they don’t want armrests on their chair because they get in the way.
Your arms weigh about 10% of your body’s weight so if we can support that, that’s work the neck, shoulders and upper parts of the spinal column are not having to do. If you have pain in the thoracic or cervical spine, it’s possible the solution lies in an armrest, the solution almost certainly will not be a neck rest.
A lot of chairs come with armrests that don’t have enough adjustment,
and in many cases none at all.This is ridiculous when you consider how variable the size and dimensions of human beings is! These chairs may have been sold as ‘ergonomic chairs’. How can they be ergonomic when they cannot be adjusted to fit?
A bad armrest, or even a good armrest that isn’t adjusted properly will do more harm than good. WIth the shoulders relaxed and your hands resting in your lap, adjust the armrest so that it just meets your elbow. Adjust the width of the armrest so that it is under your shoulder and the depth so that it doesn’t protrude any further than the front of you.
Then raise your chair so that the armrests meet the desktop. Notice how the lady in the picture is completely rested and not having to reach for her keyboard. Everything is supported.
Good ergonomic chairs like the Rh Logic or Ergochair Adapt, the photo uses an Rh Mereo have good highly adjustable armrests.
If you cannot adjust the armrests to this position then you’ll likely be adopting stressful positions that are going to cause pain eventually. Throwing them away would often be an improvement.
