Could your chair height be causing your wrist pain?

Published in Office Chairs on Wednesday, 18 February 2009
by Catherine Albert  |   Post RSS

The height you sit when working at a computer is one of the most important aspects to get right, particularly if you want to sit for a long time and be comfortable. In fact I would go so far as to say if you don’t get the height of your chair correct than everything else you do will be ineffective.

Just take for examplewrist pain. If you are siting too high at your desk you tend to use the mouse by resting on the heel of your hand. And the pressure on your wrist together with your hand posture can cause significant discomfort - see diagram below.

Many people will notice they are getting wrist pain and perhaps try a different type of mouse, maybe even a mouse wrist rest or use a splint. But none of these is the answer.

The answer is to lower the height of the chair so that the elbows are level with the desk. This will allow you to rest most of your forearm on the desk when keying and using a mouse. By spreading the load over a larger area rather than just resting all the weight on the heel of your hand, you can work more comfortably

TIP: Always adjust your chair so that your arms are at the right height – don’t worry about your feet being on the floor. You may need a footrest. The arms are more important as they will be doing all the work.

FIVE points for a good height adjustment on your chair

1. A gas lift stem is best. They come in different lengths so if you sit at a high counter you may need the higher gas stem

2. Make sure you can adjust the height while you are sitting on the chair – a lever mechanism is best

3. Lift the chair up above the height you need and then lower the chair while you are sitting on it until your elbows are level

4. If your feet are not fully supported on the floor use a footrest

5. You should have about 8cm or the width of your palm between your thighs and the lowest part of underside of the desk. 

NB. Once you have pain even when you make the right adjustments it can still take 6 weeks before the pain settles down.