3 Types of Lumbar Support for Office Chairs

What is the use of Lumbar Support?

Any lumbar support in the office chairs is to help support people’s back and keep the natural curvature of people’s spine when they are sitting. If there is no proper support, our bodies are more likely to compensate by leaning forward or slouching. And that may result in poor posture and back pain over time. Therefore, when choosing an ergonomic office chair, a good lumbar support is one of the 8 important chair parts.

There are various types of lumbar support for office chairs, from fixed, adjustable to dynamic. Generally, when selecting lumbar support for your chair, remember the following guidelines:

The following are the 3 most common types of lumbar support for office chairs on the market and their strengths and weaknesses:

3 Types of Lumbar Support

1. Fixed Lumbar Support

Fixed lumbar is actually the lumbar support fixed to the backrest and it cannot be repositioned or modified in any way. They usually appear on lower end or leather office chairs.

Analysis: Fixed lumbar is generally more ergonomic for an office chair than that without a dedicated lumbar support at all. However, since each person’s spine curvature is unique without the same, it may be counter productive if the lumbar is positioned incorrectly or protrudes too little or too much for persons.

2. Adjustable Lumbar Support

Just as the name implies, the adjustable lumbar support allows manual adjustment of the lumbar area to better suit the curvature and depth of the individual’s spine. Nowadays, there coming up with the adjustable office chair lumbar supports with one or more different adjustable functions. And they respectively are:

(1) Height adjustable

Users can adjust the height or position of the lumbar support to fit the precise area of the back.

(2) Depth adjustable

Users can control the degree of lumbar support protruding outwards.

(3) Firmness adjustable

It is usually achieved by a knob. Users can control the firmness or softness of the lumbar support.

Analysis: The best type of adjustable lumbar support combines the above two or all three functions.

There are some applications of the fixed lumbar support and the adjustable lumbar support for your reference.

3. Dynamic Lumbar Support

This type of lumbar support can adjust its depth and firmness automatically according to the change of people’s posture to provide continuous support at all times. Dynamic lumbar support can also be seen on some high-end chairs.

Analysis: Dynamic lumbar support is very beneficial when implemented correctly. Because it automatically fits to the constant changes in your back when you sit down.