best office chair for low and mid back pain

[Anonymous]

I WFH. I use our small dining room as an office and have always just sat on a dining chair w/o any problems. I sit upright and my core is very strong. However, I hurt my back a few weeks ago while working out and while I am healing, the dining chair is just not cutting it.

I thought about one of those Gaiam ball chairs, but research doesn't really support that long term. I don't really want a massive / ergonomic chair, due to space limitations, but I am getting older (50s) so I need something ...

Thinking perhaps I should invest in a sit / stand desk and 1 - 2 chairs. And also relocate my office to another room to accommodate all of that!

Any recommendations? If you have back issues, what do you use?

[Anonymous]

Bump .. any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

I had a back injury a year ago and honestly, I never found any way to sit that helped. I'd go with sit and stand options because key for me was not staying in the same position too long. When I was sitting, I used a cushion like this.

https://thecushionlab.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%2A%2ALP+-+NonTM+-+DSA+-+pMax&utm_term=&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=20642641146&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtsy1BhD7ARIsAHOi4xYEIjB0xTpDWhY94gBbhuYdQ9v-BOfqRVECK8pH6xvE-IKD2apr8lMaAp6kEALw_wcB

[Anonymous]

The cold hard truth with back pain is that sitting down, in general, is horrible for your back. Sitting places the most pressure and stress in your back out of any position. You are much better off standing. No chair can really address back pain no matter what they're trying to upsell. It's basic biophysics.

[Anonymous]

I would go to a real office design store (there used to be one in the World Wildlife building in Foggy Bottom). Try the chairs. Your back pain is different than mine so my recommendations really won't help much.

[Anonymous]

For me, it wasn’t the chair, but making sure I was sitting properly in the chair. I tend to twist and contort myself when sitting, and my motion when sitting into or standing up out of the chair was really abnormal, which was contributing to back pain.

If you are in PT, ask about proper sitting form, and if you’re not, a few sessions might help.

[Anonymous]

Most any desk chair should be better than a dining chair. Look for one with a lot of adjustability and lumbar support. I also use a seat cushion like this one, that I think helps some.

https://www.staples.com/mind-reader-harmony-collection-foam-seat-cushion-black-seacush-blk/product_24561684

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thank you for the suggestions! I think I'll start with Cushion Lab first and then full improvement of my WFH setup later.