Expensive ergonomic furniture, does it really work?

In the current pandemic situation, we’ve seen a myriad of advertising and “Ergonomically” designed furniture being sold in the market. However, we need to be wary of whether these items can actually help us prevent chronic pains and aches , or in the worse case scenario, cause harm to the body.

What is truly ergonomic might not be expensive. There are some factors that one can always rely on to determine if it works for you or not...

Body Awareness

You need to be fully aware of how your body reacts to its surroundings and how you’re able to find these furnitures to suit your body. You should not be fitting your body to the furniture which will in turn cause harm. Everyone has a different body alignment and there is no one size fits all.

Know your habits

You would also need to know what your habits are when working, resting, sleeping. If you are aware of these issues, you will instinctively know the types of support you need. Make effort to target and correct these bad habits first, they might bring more benefits to the body in the long run.

Preventive exercise and conditioning

Exercise and training of core stability muscles can help to alleviate chronic pain. It will help you to be able to function normally, even when using standard furniture and equipment. With good self-supported and balanced muscle development, it will enhance proprioception (natural sensing of movement and positioning) which can reduce the occurrences of injuries.

Make choices based on these 3 factors, know and understand your body before splurging on expensive furniture. They may not be able to help you in the long term. Finally, develop good proprioception and spatial awareness which will allow you to have better control over your body's movements.