Ergonomic Classroom Chairs – Taking Care of Students

The word “ergonomic” is fast becoming a buzzword in the classroom chair market. The growing awareness of the need for classroom chairs that support proper seating clothing and good posture has led manufacturers to increasingly market products that are, in their words, “ergonomic.” Sounds good right? Be careful. If all that glitters isn’t gold, then you can be sure that all the brilliant “ergonomic” terminology doesn’t necessarily mean that all those classroom chairs are truly ergonomic.

Anyway, what is an ergonomic classroom chair?

Good question.

Many people assume that the word “ergonomic” is synonymous with comfortable. Not so. Not all classroom chairs, or any other chair, that are comfortable, are ergonomic by definition. According to Webster’s Medical Dictionary, ergonomics is defined as “an applied science that deals with the characteristics of people that need to be taken into account when designing the things they use so that people and things interact more effectively and safely “. Taking that definition to its natural conclusion, ergonomic classroom chairs would refer to a classroom chair that allows students to sit in a way that eliminates (or at least relieves) musculoskeletal stress and therefore helps them. to learn more effectively.

That may sound simple, but it definitely isn’t. Each and every student is built differently. Even people of the same height have different needs: some have longer legs, others shorter, the structure of the back is different, etc. Therefore, for classroom chairs to be truly ergonomic, they should be designed not only ergonomically in terms of shape, but also fully adjustable: height, seat tilt, backrest tilt, armrests, it all works.

These chairs exist, of course. You see them all the time in office settings. Secretaries, receptionists, IT technicians and even CEOs use them as a matter of course. It has long been obvious that people with these abilities, who have to sit for long periods of time, mostly in front of a computer, must have chairs that provide adequate musculoskeletal support. Otherwise, they could suffer from chronic back pain, headaches, stiff neck, shoulder pain, and a host of other problems.

And our students?

Students sit in classroom chairs about 80% of their time. Much of that time is spent reading and writing, as well as in front of computers. Additionally, students 18 and younger are even more susceptible to chronic musculoskeletal disorders than adults, as their bodies are still in the developmental stage.

Well, if that’s the case, why don’t we provide all of our students with truly ergonomic lounge chairs?

There are many honest answers to that question, many of which are beyond the scope of this article. But two main factors are worth noting.

The first answer is, no wonder here, budget. To provide every student with classroom chairs that are 100% ergonomic, schools would have to pay a lot of money rather than the cost of around $ 21.00 for a good quality standard classroom chair, and it is not hard to see why they are. Schools simply cannot afford to invest in fully ergonomic classroom chairs.

The second answer, although perhaps less convincing than the first, is still a real concern. It can be quite difficult to keep students focused while sitting in standard classroom chairs. Can you imagine what a teacher’s nightmare would be like if students were sitting in class chairs with all those gadgets? Up and down, back and forth, lean forward, lean back – levers for height, armrests, seat tilt, back angle – and all this with wheels? Discipline is tough enough.

So now that we’ve ruled out the utopian possibility of fully ergonomic classroom chairs in our schools, is there anything administrators can do to make sure their students have the best ergonomic seating possible?

Yes, indeed there is. And it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, either.

The first thing schools can do is provide chairs of different heights for each grade. Studies have shown that a large percentage of students are sitting in chairs that are too high or too low for their height. This leads to the feet hanging in the air, which increases the back pressure, or, on the other hand, to a crunch in the knee area, which reinforces poor posture and a constriction of the leg muscles. If schools have classroom chairs available in different heights, then a major problem of student chair misadjustment will be solved.

Once the height issue is resolved, schools can provide seats and / or back cushions. Ideally, a physical education teacher, or anyone else with the necessary technical knowledge, would go around the school during the first month of the year and help each student adjust the padding to allow their classroom chair to provide the maximum possibility of leg and back support. This would go a long way in alleviating musculoskeletal pressure points.

Another factor that contributes to good classroom chairs is actually the school desk. Even if students have height appropriate class chairs with proper padding, it won’t help them much if their legs don’t clear the top of the desk and they have to stretch or squish them to the side. The solution, again, is to make sure they are adjustable in height. There are a wide variety of height-adjustable student desks to choose from, and they can fit any school budget. It’s definitely worth the investment, as putting time and effort into ergonomics of classroom chairs without regard for desks is akin to buying a top-of-the-line computer and then not bothering to invest in a good quality antivirus program. . .

Lastly, while the ideal of total classroom ergonomics might still be out of reach, there are ergonomic features that schools can look for when purchasing standard classroom chairs. While they may not seem important, these characteristics can make a big difference in helping students sit in the healthiest way possible:

* Cascading Front Seats – These are seats that slope downward (like the shape of a waterfall) at the edge of the seat, below the knee area.

* Lumbar support: lumbar or lumbar support is an important feature in ergonomic seat. This usually presents as a curve in the back of the chair, just above the point where the back and seat meet. It’s designed to provide support where your lower back needs it most – the lower curve of the spine.
* Flexible back: look for chairs that have some “stretch” in the back. This allows students to lean back a bit when they feel the need, taking pressure off their legs and back.

Finding classroom chairs that provide the most ergonomic features will benefit your students in more ways than one. And it is not as difficult as you think. There are classroom chairs, like the Inspiration chair from Hertz Furniture, that have all of these features and a few more. Along with the rest of the suggestions offered here, your students will not only sit better, but will also focus and listen better.