TAKING CARE OF YOUR BACK: SITTING WHEN WORKING
The seat of the chair for working should be deep enough (front to back) so that the thighs are fully supported, and the front edge of the seat should not dig into the thigh; this could cause pressure on the sciatic nerve. The chair seat should be inclined about 5 degrees to the horizontal, forwards, and be high enough for the knee angle to be not less than 90 degrees when the feet are flat on the ground.
The back rest of a word-processing officer’s chair should be adjustable so that the height above the seat can be varied to provide support at the lumbar part of the spine. Where there is a full-length back rest, it should be contoured to give support at the lumbar level.
Office work often requires both writing and word processing, and each requires a different posture. Since the height of office desks can seldom be varied, it should be possible to raise and lower the chair.
Word processing imposes a fair amount of strain on the back, particularly the neck and upper back, and also on the shoulders, because the word-processing officer often has to sit for longish periods with the arms unsupported. Therefore, for typing you should sit higher than for writing; the keyboard should be at a height that allows the upper arms to hang relaxed, with only the weight of the forearms having to be lifted. You should sit as close to the keyboard as you can without cramping your movements. If you sit too far from it, you have to lift the whole arm forward to reach it, increasing the strain on the upper back.
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