theofficechairshop.co.uk

6 Tips To Reduce Back Pain At Work

2012-02-24T05:22:00.002-08:00

Good postureis easy in theory but difficult to practice.

When you’resitting at a desk, staring at a screen for hours it’s easy to let posture slip.

We tend toslump a little, slouch a lot, lean forward, hunch and generally move around.

The muscles responsiblefor keeping us upright are the abdominal muscles and the back muscles (intertransversariimuscle, multifidus spinae, trapezius muscle)

Leaningforward 30 degrees to get closer to your computer screen puts 3 to 4 times morestrain on the back, causing premature wear and tear on the joint surfaces,ligaments of the spine, and the discs located between the vertebrae.

The backmuscles are also negatively affected as the continuous added strain causes themto tighten, reducing optimal blood flow. Over time this posture leads to thedevelopment of tight, rigid muscles and joints, which in turn makes them proneto injury.

Here’s aquick 6 point guide to sitting comfortably and reducing back pain;

1. Elbow position

First, begin by sitting comfortably as close as possible to your deskso that your upper arms are vertical, parallel to your spine and rest yourhands on your desktop / keyboard.

If your elbows are not at a 90-degree angle, adjust your office chairheight either up or down.

2. Thigh position

You should be able to slide your fingers under your thigh at the frontedge of the office chair. If it is too tight, you need to prop your feet upwith an adjustable footrest or adjust the seat height but remember point 1!

3. Calf position

Sit back against the chair back and place your hand between the back ofyour calf and the front edge of your office chair. If you can’t, you will needto adjust the chair backrest, lumbar support or seat depth by using a seatslide if one is fitted, or get a new office chair!

4. Lower back

When you sit correctly with you back against the back rest, thereshould be cushioning that causes your lower back to arch slightly to encourageyou not to slump forward or slouch down in the chair. This low back support inan office chair is essential to minimize the strain on your back.

5. Eye level

Your resting gaze should be aimed at the centre of your computerscreen. If your computer screen is higher or lower than your gaze, you need toeither raise or lower it to reduce neck strain.

6. Armrest

Adjust the armrest of the office chair so that it just slightly liftsyour arms at the shoulders. Using an armrest on your office chair is a greatway to take some of the strain off your neck and shoulders and should make youless likely to slouch forward in your office chair.

2012-01-31T08:12:00.000-08:00

What makes agood office chair?

This is notas easy as it sounds to answer as there are many variables to take into accountsuch as how long will the chair be used for each day, the size of the user, thesize of the room and many other questions.

The qualityof the chair is a good place to start.

If the chairis really cheap then there’s a good chance it won’t be good quality and willnot last long.

If you’respending £39 on a ‘leather’ office chair from a large store you get what youpay for.

A decentoffice chair should have a good amount of padding and it should be good qualitypadding. Push your fist down on the seat and you should not be able to feel thebolts etc.

The front edgeof the seat should have a shaped or ‘waterfall’ front edge. A seat with astraight front will cut off circulation. A good rule of thumb is that youshould be able to slide your fingers between the inside of legs and the frontedge of the seat.

On a higher qualitychair the seat may have an individual tilt function and/or seat slide. Theseare useful for finding that comfortable seating position.

The back ofthe chair is also very important. The back should be shaped to compliment thenatural posture of your spine and should offer good support.

The backshould be adjustable for tilt and ideally should be adjustable for height to accommodatedifferent users.

The shape ofthe back will promote good posture.

The chairshould of course be height adjustable to accommodate different users.

Posture andhow you use your chair is another issue. I have covered this briefly in anotherpost here; http://theofficechairshop.blogspot.com/2011/11/posture-chair-whats-that-all-about.html

The width ofthe chair should be adequate for you. More generous sized chairs are availableif you have a larger frame so don’t squeeze into a chair that is too small.

Many betterquality chairs have adjustable arms. Height adjustment is common and many havewidth adjustment and more to help find a good position.

If you arespending long periods in your chair then an executive type chair is not a greatchaice as they tend to have very limited adjustability.

You arebetter off looking at task type chairs with lots of adjustment built in as wehave mentioned above.

We have awide range of office chairs at www.theofficechairshop.co.uk.We welcome the opportunity to talk to our customers so please feel free to callus and discuss any questions you may have.

How to choose an office chair

2012-01-31T01:27:00.000-08:00

What Do All These Things Mean?

There are a whole range of features and functions on chairs that can be confusing at best, at worst misleading.

I'll explain what they mean;

Lets start with upholstery.
Generally chairs are either leather, fabric or mesh. Leather tends to be used for executive chairs and fabric for operator type office chairs.

Fabric is pretty straight forward. Some chairs have the option of a range of fabrics that are banded, some are only available as you see them.
There are simply hundreds of different fabrics, colours, styles etc. A couple of common fabric manufacturers are Camira Fabrics and Bradbury Fabrics
Both of these supply a huge range of fabrics. Chairs that are available in these fabrics are generally upholstered after the customer places their order so takes a bit longer.

Leather is a bit different. Most chairs, sofas, car interiors etc are actually made out of bonderd leather which is also known as eco leather or enviro leather.

Bonded leather is a material that consists of recycled leather that’s combined with other materials to create a 'bonded' leather. Bonded leather or Enviro leather is used to upholster furniture, bind books, and create clothing and fashion accessories.
Bonded Leather?

Mesh is relatively new and brings some additional benefits.
Mesh allows the chair user to keep cool. When a thick padded leather or fabric chair can get a bit uncomfortable, a mesh chair allows the user to stay cool.
Mesh chairs don't have padding and rely on the mesh to support the users weight.
The mesh has some spring in it to accommodate this.
An important part of a mesh chair to look at is the front edge of the seat. Due to a mesh chair having no padding on the seat, poor quality mesh chairs can have a hard edge which will dig in to the back of a users legs. A good quality mesh chair will have a good layer of padding under the mesh at the front.

So, you know if you want fabric, leather or mesh. What else?
What are all the levers and knobs?

Ok, so here's a bit of jargon busting information.

Single lever mechanism? This means a chair that has 1 lever which tilts the chair and operates the raise/lower mechanism.
Typically these are what's called a tilt/lock mechanism. This means the chair only locks in the upright position and not in semi tilted positions.
This can also be called Traditional tilt.

Twin lever mechanism? This generally means a mechanism that has 2 levers! One operates the tilt of the chair and generally allows the chair to be locked in a variety of positions. The other lever operates the raise and lower function.

Syncro lock or syncro lock any position? This is a different type of mechanism that means when the user tilts the chair, the back and the seat move together BUT at different rates. This simply means that the seat tilts less than the back.
The benefit of this is that it allows the user to tilt back a little without their feet coming off the ground for example.
It might not sound a big deal but it's a more comfortable tilt that a traditional tilt.

Seat slide? That's easy. Not all office chairs fit all people. A seat slide allows the seat of the chair to slide forward or backwards. It effectively makes the seat longer or shorter.

Back height adjustment? Again, simple. It means the back of the chair can be adjusted up or down. If you combine a seat slide with back height adjustment you've got a chair that can be adjusted for most people.

Adjustable arms? No, this is some kind of medical procedure. It means the arms of the chair can be adjusted. There are lots of different types, the most common being height adjustable. They can also be width adjustable or adjustable forward or backwards.

Headrest? You would think this is simple but it's a question of interpretation. Basically, a chair with a removable headrest is described as such. A chair described as having a headrest could be detachable or it could be an integral headrest like a padded hump in the chair that is high enough to be a headrest.

Independent back tilt? This means the back can be adjusted independently. When you adjust the back the seat stays where it is.

Body weight tensioner? What? This is a screw type adjustment, usually under the front of the seat, that adjusts the tilt. By this i mean if you screw it in and it's more difficult to lean back, screw it out and it's easier.

Hopefully that should be enough to get you started.
Remember, take your time, don't rush in to a purchase. Shop around, check the company out, call them to see what they're service is like and when you're sure then go ahead.

We welcome people calling us, emailing, connecting on social media like twitter, facebook or Google+.

Feel free to call us anytime, we're happy to help.

Speak to you soon.

Mark

2011-11-29T00:51:00.001-08:00

This week on theofficechairshop.co.uk.........

What have we been up to?
Well, we've uncovered some archive footage of Hitler trying to buy a chair from us!!!

As well as uncovering rate and fascinating video footage, reception furniture has been a bit of a focus this week.

We've added some funky reception suites to the range that are available in a whole host of colours.

This is the start of a range of chairs that are all available in hundreds of colour options.

There will be operator chairs, task chairs, executive chairs and everything in between.
I'm looking forward to it. It will add a new dimension to your chair buying experience.
You'll be able to select your chair and have it upholstered in a colour of your choice.

Just a quick little update today, it's late and io've still got loads to do!

Bye for now...

2011-11-21T03:15:00.001-08:00

The Facebook Social Media revolution for theofficechairshop.co.uk

Continuing with our quest for global domination we have launched a new Facebook shop.
Facebook are obviously huge so when we were approached about setting up a store it seems a great idea and and didn't hesitate.

It is a toe in the water at the moment so i haven't loaded it with too many products, but now we have proved it we will add more and more products.

It's a great idea from Facebook, as you would expect.

You can visit the store by clicking here

This links in well with our social media presence where we encourage anyone to join us, interact with us, become our friends, make suggestions, pass comment, judge us, whatever.

We would LOVE to here from you.

Click any of these links to find you way to us.

Dave Clark Automotive furniture on theofficechairshop.co.uk

2011-11-13T11:38:00.001-08:00

0800 1422626

It's been an interesting week here at theofficechairshop.co.uk.

In my last blog i told you about the incredible Dave Clark Designs furniture.

I had a good chat with Dave last week and we have agreed to offer his furniture through our site which i'm excited about.

Dave's work is incredible. The quality is second to none and the designs are just stunning.

There are lots of variations on the theme of car seat furniture.

These tend to be standard office chair hardware such as base, piston and mechanism, bolted to the bottom of a car seat.

In my opinion these are boring, ugly and unimaginative.

I would be concerned that the centre of gravity may not be correct, weight distribution may not be correct, the angle of the seat base may not be correct for an office chair as the seat is fixed at a slightly more laid back angle in the car.

For me the biggest crime is lack of imagination. In most cases they are simply an office chair with a car seat replacing the office chair.

These chairs can be anything from £200 ish to well over £1000. I've even seen these on one web site for several thousands! Madness.

0800 1422626

When you compare these after-thoughts with the furniture produced by Dave Clark it's like night and day.

Dave's designs are pure art, like a sculpture that happens to be functional furniture.

Over the next couple of days we will be adding some of Dave's chairs to the site.
I'll post the links as they are added.

One of the most amazing aspects of this furniture is the price, or lack of it!

These are truly hand built pieces and due to the fact that these chairs can be specified to highly personalised degree it is likely they will be totally one offs.

For example, if a clip chair is specified with stainless steel frame with a blue Panamera seat it's possible that no one will specify this combination again making it a one off.

For a bespoke piece of incredible quality, beautifully hand crafted furniture you would probably expect a price tag of several thousands of pound. Not so!

This amazing furniture is available for very reasonable prices making them a realistic proposition.

This is the Clip which will be offered for circa £395 depending on frame finish and chair specified. Now that is incredible value.

We sell a range of reception suites that are hundreds of pounds.

Can you imaging having a bespoke, hand made Dave Clark suite instead? What a talking point, what wow factor.

It's not just seats either. Anything is possible.
If you have a requirement, just pick up the phone for a chat. What have you got to lose?
0800 1422626

0800 1422626

Incredible unique office furniture.

2011-11-07T02:51:00.000-08:00

You won't have seen anything like this before!
This office furniture is amazing.

This incredible furniture has been hand crafted by the fantastic and talented designer Dave Clark and we are very proud to say we will soon be offering this furniture for sale on www.theofficechairshop.co.uk

Each piece has been designed and hand made to the clients specification.
These designs are the result of countless hours of hard work and can be reproduced as you see here or tailored to your specific requirements to create a bespoke solution.

If you like the design but would like an alternative finish, just ask.

If you want specific chairs sourcing or re trimming, just ask .

We will be adding this hand crafted, high quality, bespoke, Dave Clark office furniture to our site very soon and will offer updates here an across our social network as it is added.

These chairs are bespoke so take time to manufacture but as you can see it is well worth the wait.

I'm very excited about working with this incredible designer and offering his remarkable, outstanding and unique furniture.

I'll post some more updates as we progress.

If you want to know more about this furniture or have some specific requirement you want to discuss we can be contacted on
0800 1422626
or by email on
mark@theofficechairshop.co.uk

2011-11-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

Posture chair?

What's that all about?

Sounds expensive.

What's wrong with my old chair?

Do you sit at your desk or workstation for long periods?
Do you get back ache or tension in the lower back or shoulders?

There's a good chance it's to do with or at least not helped by poor posture.

There is a lot of conflicting advice regarding seating position but there are a few key points to be aware of.

In my experience, the most common issue is slouching or leaning forward.
As i'm writing this i'm doing exactly that!

A few obvious key features are adjustable height arms, lumber support for your lower back, seat back adjustment and seat height adjustment.

On top of this, some areas to be aware of are seat shape so as not to put unnecessary pressure on the underside of thighs and behind the knee, ideally the chair should have a seat slide to allow adjustment of the seat depth.

Don't over reach, keep things close, consider a foot rest, it makes a surprising difference and consider a wrist pad to rest your wrists on.

There's a lot to consider.

We have a great chair that addresses all of these issues and provide amazing support and comfort. It's called the Chiro +. It's an awesome chair and is Chiropractor approved for peace of mind.

http://www.theofficechairshop.co.uk/chiro-plus-chiropractor-approved-orthopaedic-office-chair.html

I'm no expert but this is what I've learnt. If you want to discuss it in more detail please feel free to call us 0n 0800 1422626 for a friendly chat.

Mark

2011-10-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, the Facebook store is coming along and should be ready really soon.
I'm excited about it.

Not because i expect to generate loads of sales but because it's something new and interesting.

I've been looking at new suppliers for the site too, something a bit different, a bit more exclusive maybe.

By the way, have a look at this desking. It's spectacular. Very very nice. I really like this range.

Some of the furniture can be delivered flatpacked while some of the bigger higher priced items need to be hand delivered and assembled. We have some partners in mind to support us with this so we will be able to offer a full package.

Generally office desks, when bought online, are flat packed so need to be assembled by the you.

This is great if you have the time and resources in place to build the furniture.

These days, most of us are busy doing our own jobs and don't have time to put aside several hours out of our busy working day to build office furniture.

To combat this we offer several range of office furniture on our site that are delivered and built for you, saving you time and hassle.

Time will tell if this is going to be the future for us or not. For me it seems like a great service. Anything that makes it easier for the customer must be a good thing.

We offer a broad range of 'delivered and built by us' furniture from an entry level workstation range to several executive ranges and some exclusive models in there too. www.theofficechairshop.co.uk and click on the desks/tables tab on the navigation bar.

Here are some more images of the exclusive range of furniture i mentioned earlier in the blog.

Speak soon.......

2011-10-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

I was sat watching some boring TV last night when i nearly jump into the TV!
It caught me by surprise and if i'm honest it's a little sad of me but i was so pleased to see one of our chairs on TV.

It was on the UK's best loved and most popular soap Eastenders and was chosen for Janine to sit in as she controls her new business empire.

The chair is the windsor cream leather chair and i guess must have been chosen thanks to it's commanding, inspiring styling. It's a very comfortable chair and a bit bigger than a standard leather office chair, with wing style arms and contrasting piping.
http://www.theofficechairshop.co.uk/office-chairs/leather-chairs/windsor.html

I'm sure my wife thinks i'm sad but i was actually excited for a moment when i saw it.

Well, better get some more work done but i thought i'd just share this with you!

Cheers
Mark

2011-10-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

So, here we go. My first blog.

Social media has become such a huge part of the on line revolution that we have to jump aboard.
I guess i'd better introduce myself. I am Mark Turner and i run the show day to day here at theofficechairshop.co.uk.

For me this provides a great opportunity to get closer to our friends. By friends i guess i mean customers and potential customers.
I have had many discussions about how we close the gap, bring our friends in closer, let them get to know us and feel secure using us. This could be the answer.

As a customer you are faced with a dazzling choice of potential on line stores. They could be run by a huge team in a flash office or a con man in his bedroom, how do you know?????

Honestly i don't know but if you're like me, sceptical, you'll do your homework. Google them, see what comes up. Call them maybe? How do they treat you on the phone? Do they sound bothered?
Anyone can build a website these days. My 11 year old son has dabbled at building one primary school.

So, once you've researched the company and feel safe, what next?
How do you make the purchasing decision? All you have is a picture and a basic description that seems to suggest the item it the best thing ever made.
That's another tricky one but i always read product descriptions with a cynical attitude.

I am fully aware the seller is trying to sell so isn't going to tell me about the bad points. You have to work them out for yourself.
Read between the lines, assume the worse and don't buy if you're not sure.
I always encourage people to call us and we will gladly talk about any of the office chair, office desks or anything else we sell. If we're not sure we can find out. It's not hard but customer service will be a discussion for another time!!

We have some ideas for site development that go along the lines of 360 degree video clips of the office chairs, close ups, features etc. These all take time and cost money but i think they close the gap and help you see more about the chairs and office furniture we offer.
You still can't actually touch the fabric on an operator chair or feel the leather on a leather executive chair but you will be able to get a much better idea of how the chair works, what the levers do and that kind of thing.

So that's it for now. I'll add some features etc as we go on. See how it goes. Feel free to add any comments or questions. You can contact me through our main site on the link above.

Cheers
Mark