Can the Office Chair Armrests Release Your Back Pain?

As we all know, armrest is one of the important parts for the office chairs. With the armrests, user’s hands can have a support. And that means the armrest to a certain extent can reduce the hand pain. However, many people may not know the armrests also can reduce the back pain. We will analyze this problem at the following.

How do the armrests release your back pain?

Suppose your office chair has armrests, which it should.

The armrests will help stabilize your spine and make it less susceptible to pain and injury. Actually, armrests don’t just support your arms and elbows. And they also support your spine.

You can see for yourself by propping your arm on the armrest and then lowering the armrest. After lowering the armrest, your shoulders will drop at once. When your shoulders drop, your spine will compress.

Studies have shown that using the armrests of office chairs can reduce the weight on worker’s spinal column by as much as 10%.

Unfortunately, not all office workers use them. Neglecting to use the armrest of an office chair will only increase the weight upon the spine, causing or aggravating back pain.

Problems brought by the improper armrest adjustments

That being said, it may necessary to adjust the armrests of the office chair to fit ergonomics. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), improper armrest adjustments may cause the following problems:

If the armrests are too low, people’s body can not keep balanced and lean to one side, straining your neck and spine.
When the armrests are too high, your shoulders will stay high, which will increase the pressure and tension in your neck.
If the armrests are too large, your office chair may not fit your desk. Or an oversized armrest may interfere with your typing on the keyboard.
When the armrests are too wide, you must extend your arms farther in front of your body to grasp objects, which can cause neck and back muscle fatigue.
If the armrests are too close to your body, it may be difficult for you to get in and out of the office chair.