Back pain is a common complaint among people who spend long hours at a desk. A chair won't cure it, but the right one, set up properly, can make a long working day a lot more comfortable.
This guide covers what to look for in an office chair for back pain, our three picks at different budgets, and how to set your chair up once it arrives. If you'd rather go straight to the range, browse our office chairs for bad backs.
Understanding Ergonomics and Back Pain
An ergonomic chair is one you adjust to fit your body, rather than making your body fit the chair. That matters for your back. In a chair that doesn't fit, it's hard to sit well, and without support at the lower back it's easy to slump forward as the day goes on.
Sitting still for long stretches can leave you stiff, however good the chair. So think of the chair as one part of the answer, alongside how you set it up and how often you get up and move. If your pain is severe or doesn't settle, see your GP or a physiotherapist: a chair is not a treatment.
Key Ergonomic Features to Look For
Good chairs for bad backs have one thing in common: they adjust to you. When you compare chairs, check for these features.
- Adjustable lumbar support. It fills the gap between your lower back and the backrest, so you can sit back into the chair instead of perching on the edge.
- Seat height. You should be able to sit with your feet flat on the floor and your thighs roughly level.
- Seat depth or a seat slide. This lets you sit right back, with a small gap behind your knees, whatever the length of your legs.
- Backrest tilt and tension. A good mechanism lets you sit upright or lean back slightly and still feel supported.
- Adjustable armrests. Set at the right height, they let your shoulders relax while you type.
- Breathable cover and supportive padding. Mesh or fabric stops you getting hot, and firm foam spreads your weight evenly.
- A headrest, if you often lean back or take long calls. It gives your head and neck somewhere to rest when you recline.
It's also worth thinking about desk height alongside the chair. A desk that's too high or too low forces your arms and shoulders into awkward positions, however good the chair is. A sit-stand desk lets you switch between sitting and standing through the day. Build regular movement breaks into your day as well.
What Is a Posture Chair?
A posture chair is a fully adjustable office chair, designed so you can set it to hold a good sitting position. Look for adjustable lumbar support, a seat slide, and a mechanism that lets the seat and backrest move separately.
No chair gives you good posture on its own. What a good one does is make a good position easy to hold, hour after hour. So the best chair for posture is the one that adjusts to your height, your legs and the way you work. That's as true of posture chairs for the office as for a home desk.
Is There Such a Thing as an Orthopaedic Office Chair?
There's no single standard an office chair has to meet to be called "orthopaedic" (or "orthopedic"), so the word on its own tells you little. If you're looking for an orthopedic office chair for back pain, judge it on its features, not its label: adjustable lumbar support, seat depth, tilt and armrests.
Ratings you can check are more useful. A 24-hour rating tells you a chair is built for long days and shift work, and a maximum user weight tells you who it's built for. Some chairs, like the Vista below, are also tested to BS 5459 Part 2, a British Standard for office chairs used for long hours.
Our Top Office Chair Picks for Back Pain Relief
These three chairs from our range cover three budgets. If you have longer legs, check for a seat slide: it lets you set the seat depth to suit you.
Best Premium Pick (£500+)
For anyone willing to invest in high-quality seating, the Strata High Back 24 Hour Posture Office Chair is built for exactly this brief. It's rated for genuine 24-hour use and for users up to 24 stone. It has integral lumbar support and a mesh back that helps keep you cool over long shifts.
Where it really earns its price tag is adjustability. You get a height and tilt adjustable headrest, height adjustable arms and a seat slide for setting the seat depth. The backrest and seat angle can be locked, or set to free-float in a 2:1 ratio.
Between the cold-moulded, extra-thick foam seat and five separate seat and back adjustment points, two people with very different builds can both get a good, supported fit from the same chair. It's backed by a 5-year guarantee.
Best Overall / Mid-Range Pick
This is the tier we'd point most people to, and the Vista High Back Chair is a strong all-rounder. It's rated for 24-hour use and supports users up to 152 kg. It has adjustable arms, ratchet back adjustment, a seat slide, and an integral lumbar pump that lets you dial in the support you want.
Under the seat is a heavy-duty asynchro mechanism with torsion control. Asynchro means the seat and backrest adjust separately, rather than tilting together as one fixed unit, so you can set each one to suit you.
Torsion control sets the resistance in the recline. The effort needed to lean back can then match your body weight, instead of feeling too stiff or too loose. The chair is tested to BS 5459 (2000) Part 2 and comes in charcoal or royal blue fabric.
Best Budget Pick (Under £300)
Not everyone needs, or can justify, a premium chair, and the Maldini Mesh Back Office Chair proves a budget pick can still cover the essentials. It has a breathable mesh back, a built-in headrest and height-adjustable arms. Its synchro mechanism with torsion control lets you set the tilt to suit your body weight, rather than giving you one fixed recline.
The padded foam seat has a textured cover for comfort over a working day. The chair is rated for up to 8 hours' use and users up to 115 kg, and it's backed by a 5-year guarantee. You give up some of the fine adjustment of the pricier chairs above, but for a standard working day it covers the fundamentals well.
One customer review stands out. The reviewer, after 18 months of near-daily use, described the lumbar support as "a gentle support spread out either side of your spine".
They concluded: "this chair, unlike so many others I've tried over the years, has never caused me any lower back pain. In fact, if I have lower back pain when I get up in the morning, I find that sitting in this chair can often help to reduce or get rid of it."
This is one person's experience, not a promise of how any chair will feel for you.
A Note for Taller Users
Standard chair sizes don't suit everyone. If you're taller than average, seat depth matters as much as lumbar support. A seat that's too short leaves your thighs unsupported and pushes you to perch forward, which undoes the good work of the backrest.
This is where a seat slide earns its keep. The Strata and Vista above both have one, so you can extend the seat to support longer legs while keeping your back against the lumbar support. For more, see our guide to choosing office chairs for tall people.
Maximising Comfort and Support
Proper Chair Adjustment Techniques
Good office chair posture starts with setting the chair up for you. Even the best chair won't help much if it isn't adjusted, so take five minutes and work through it in this order.
- Seat height: feet flat on the floor, with your knees at roughly 90 degrees and about level with your hips. If your feet don't reach the floor once the seat is right for your desk, use a footrest.
- Seat depth: sit right back, then slide the seat until there's a gap of about two to four fingers between its front edge and the back of your knees.
- Lumbar support: move it up or down until it sits snugly in the curve of your lower back.
- Backrest: set the tilt so you can sit upright, or lean back slightly, with your back still supported.
- Armrests: set them so your shoulders relax without hunching, with your elbows at roughly 90 degrees when you type.
Once it's set, change position often and take short breaks to stand up and move. Then set your desk, screen and keyboard around the chair, not the other way round.
Complementary Products for Comfort and Posture Support
A good chair is one part of the picture. Lumbar cushions, footrests and a properly set-up desk all help you keep a comfortable position through the working day.
Standing desks or sit-stand converters encourage movement and cut down on continuous sitting time, which is particularly useful if you tend to feel stiff or sluggish after long stretches at your desk. Together, these let you fit the whole workstation to you, not just the chair.
FAQs
What is the best office chair for sitting long hours?
Choose a chair rated for the hours you actually sit. A chair rated for 24-hour use, like the Strata or Vista above, is built for long days and shift work. An 8-hour chair, like the Maldini, suits a standard working day. You'll find more heavy-use chairs in our 24-hour office chairs range.
Do office chairs help posture?
A good one helps, as long as it's set up for you. An adjustable chair makes it easier to sit back with your lower back supported, your feet flat and your shoulders relaxed. It can't do all the work, though: change position and get up regularly too.
Which are the best ergonomic office chairs?
The best ergonomic office chairs are the ones you can adjust to fit you: seat height and depth, lumbar support, tilt and armrests. Our three picks above are a good place to start, and our ergonomic office chairs range has more. If the term is new to you, read what an ergonomic office chair is.
Upgrade Your Workspace with Office Supermarket
If back pain is making your working day harder, start with the chair you spend the most time in. Use the features checklist above to compare chairs, then browse our office chairs for bad backs or our full range of office chairs. If you're not sure which one suits you, our friendly team can help you choose.
