Best Office Chair for a Short Person with Back Pain. 2023 Reviews
Endless hours in front of the computer will leave anyone with some uncomfortable back pain if they are not using an office chair with enough support. If you’re short, finding a chair that fits your frame will be an additional difficulty. So, we researched the Best Office Chair for Short Person with Back Pain
Short on time? These are the top picks for the best office chair for short person with back pain:
What is the best office chair for a short person with back pain? A good office chair means proper support for your back. But if you are shorter than average, you will need to find chairs that offer flexibility to cater to your size.
Here are our top 5 office chairs for short people.
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Comparison Table
SitRite Ergonomic Kids Desk Chair
AmazonBasics Mid-Back Office Chair
BestOffice Mid-Back Office Chair
Flash Furniture Ergonomic Office Chair
GreenForest Children Office Task Chair
Learning more about what makes a good office chair will allow you to make better decisions about which chairs will work best for you. According to Personnel Today, 81% of office workers spend between four and nine hours a day sitting at their desks.
If you don’t have the proper chair, it can easily and quickly cause back and joint issues.
What Makes the Best Office Chair for Short Person?
If you hear the phrases “lumbar support” or “ergonomics” all the time and have no idea what they truly mean — don’t worry — you’re not alone. These buzzwords have become part of our vocabulary when chatting in the office. But rarely do we take the time to fully acknowledge and understand what that means to us.
So, before we talk about our top picks for shorter people, it is important to understand what you should look for in the perfect office chair. There are a few different important items to consider.
1. Your Joints Should Feel Comfortable at 90 Degrees
This is key if you are shorter than average. When you sit in an office chair, a great rule of thumb is to make sure all joints can comfortably sit at a 90-degree angle. Your legs, hips, and ankles should all adhere to this.
Of course, if you are shorter, this becomes an issue with a chair that doesn’t go low enough. If you constantly have to reposition yourself to achieve that angle, it is not good for your muscles or joints. It means you will be straining just to be able to sit. And that doesn’t sound fun.
2. The Chair Should Always be Adjustable
You always want to find a chair that has options for adjustments. Not only will this be helpful if you share the chair with others in the office, but it still helps even if it is your chair.
Adjustments to help posture and accommodate you throughout the day are important aspects of an office chair. It should have options for up and down as well as tilting side to side. When you sit all day, you need that flexibility.
3. It Supports You No Matter What
We know that sounds like a quality you seek in a partner, but it should be true of your beloved office chair as well. When you sit at a desk for what feels like endless hours every day, it is natural for your body to begin to slump.
No one expects you to have a perfect posture on your own all day. You want a chair that supports you and adjusts your posture even when you fall into bad habits. The chair should be your safety net to keep your back and joints aligned when all your body wants to do is sink into a poor posture.
4. Find a Chair That Fits You
An office chair can boast the best lumbar support on the market. But if that support doesn’t fit your body shape, it will not only be useless; it could even be damaging. If the seat doesn’t fit your body properly, it can cause leaning, poor posture, and strain that will lead to muscular and joint issues.
Your feet should be flat on the ground, your lower back positioned properly against the lumbar support, and you should be able to take full advantage of the backrest.
Best Office Chair for Short Person with Back Pain Reviews
1. SitRite Ergonomic Office Kids Desk Chair
When people hear “kid’s chair,” it is easy to picture those unimaginably uncomfortable, hard chairs we were used to as kids. But this is far from your typical kids’ chair. In fact, it is currently one of our contenders as the best desk chairs for kids. It is ergonomically designed to support the back and it offers ample padding.
The seat is slidable back and forth, and the height is adjustable, making it helpful to be sure your feet will be able to reach the ground properly and stay flat.
A major benefit for short people with this chair is the additional detachable footrest. If you have trouble reaching the floor without sacrificing your 90-degree angle, there is a detachable footrest that attaches to the front legs of the chair. This allows the footrest to be raised by a few inches, making it easier to reach.
The design is fully intended for shorter people, so the positioning of extra cushions and padding for support will provide a proper base for your back without having to slide around in it, desperately seeking a comfortable position.
The rounded armrests offer additional support for your arms and elbow joints to be sure they align with the rest of your body. So often, we forget about our arms needing to be in proper alignment, and this chair helps secure your body’s calibration.
These armrests are designed at an optimal height for shorter people while offering support and comfort for your arms to align properly. No doubt that this the SitRite Ergonomic Kids Chair is number one pick for the best office chair for short person with back pain. It is a great way to start off the list.
2. AmazonBasics Mid-Back Office Chair
Mesh chairs that offer a breathable back are excellent for people sitting for extended periods. Sometimes they get looked over because, at first glance, a fully padded back will look more comfortable. But the mesh back is equally as comfortable and offers the breathability feature while still supporting you where it counts.
The back is contoured to accommodate a healthy spinal position and lower back support. Its adjustable height will make it easy to lower the seat enough for your feet to properly meet the ground evenly, and the rounded, padded seat offers comfort for your upper legs and hips.
The depth of that padded seat adds a great element for short people. It is 25.2 inches deep, which allows anyone with shorter legs to achieve that highly desired 90-degree angle for their knees.
Many office chairs that are too deep will cause a short person’s knees to extend further than necessary, resulting in joint soreness.
The armrests are also designed with petite figures in mind. You can organically find a comfortable position for your arms to help support and align the rest of your body.
This chair also boasts an inexpensive price point for the support and comfort that it offers, specifically for those of smaller stature. The AmazonBasics Mid-Back Office Chair is a solid option for the best office chair for a short person with back pain.
3. BestOffice Ergonomic Office Chair
As another mesh option, this chair provides a variety of features meant to keep you back in perfect alignment as you sit at your desk. The locking mechanism in the chair’s back offers a great way to keep your back upright and straight.
This is a chair that will help you stay sitting up straight and with proper posture throughout the day. Even when you hit that 2 pm slump and want to cave those shoulders in and lose all semblance of proper posture, this chair helps straighten you back up into a better position.
The arms of this chair don’t provide the best support overall, but their size accommodates anyone with shorter limbs.
Its compact shape is meant for shorter bodies that need lower back support to reach their lower back. Its seat is short and does not go back too deep, so it will help your legs stay in a proper position and your feet lock into that 90-degree angle.
The BestOffice Ergonomic Desk Chair is nice and lightweight and easy to maneuver around an office if you are a smaller person as well. And the height adjustment will ensure you find a proper height that will accommodate your frame.
4. Flash Furniture Ergonomic Office Chair
This chair offers a few different variations of the design. The mid-back option is an ideal office chair for short people. The back has built-in lumbar support that will hit your back at just the right spot if you are shorter than average.
One review you will notice time and time again for this chair is “It was too short for me,” coming from someone who is 6 feet tall. It is a chair built for shorter people in mind. The base of the seat is small and compact, perfect for someone of a shorter height.
Finding a chair that has a natural curve that mirrors your back’s natural curve as a shorter person can be maddening. But this chair has perfectly built-in lumbar support that matches the spine alignment for a shorter person perfectly.
The padded arms flip up as a nice added feature to fit the chair neatly under a desk or if you’re looking to adjust them slightly to your liking.
The height adjustment also doubles as a back tilt where you can adjust the tension allowed for leaning back. For anyone looking to keep straight and preserve their posture, but have the option for more leniency, theFlash Furnite Ergonomic Office Chair is a great option.
5. GreenForest Children’s Office Desk Chair
To finish the list of the best office chair for short people with back pain, we are going with the GreenForest Office Desk Chair. This chair boasts smooth pneumatic controls making it easy to adjust the height of your chair. When you are short and suffer back pain, the ease of the chair and its functionality become even more important.
The design is focused on smaller frames and shorter limbs. There are no armrests, so it can seamlessly cater to petite figures. The design of this chair is very simple and is made for kids. For a shorter person, it provides more space to move around while sitting in the chair.
The length and depth of the seat and back are geared to shorter folks, while it doesn’t sacrifice any of the back support you will need. The mechanism for adjusting height will also adjust for tension if you need a moment to lounge back before locking it back in for proper posture.
Overall, the seat of the GreenForest Office Desk Chair provides an excellent cushion that will help keep your hips happy, which helps keep your body properly aligned. And the simple and subtle lumbar support on the back of the chair provides good support while helping to relax the lumbar and spine.
Best Office Chair for Short, Heavy Person
Out of all the options we have shared for shorter people, it’s also worth noting a top choice for anyone who is heavier set while still short. Many chairs that try to sacrifice height will also sacrifice width, making it difficult for those who need a little extra space.
The Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh Chair is an amazing option for anyone looking to accommodate both body types. It holds up to 331 pounds, and its fully customizable features will make it easy to find a comfortable position quickly.
Not to mention, the seat width is bigger than many of the other chairs on this list as well, at 19 inches.
Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh Chair
The ergonomics of this chair are beautifully designed and highly adjustable. Its passive lumbar support and 6-inch thick mesh cushion will keep your body in a state of perfect posture with extreme comfort.
A huge benefit to this chair for anyone shorter experiencing back pain is the flexibility of its size. It boasts three different comfort levers to ensure each part of the chair will be comfortable with your specific body type.
Making the chair shorter in height, tilting the seat as necessary, and tilting the back to accommodate your frame are all possible through this chair’s mechanisms. To complete the fully adjustable experience, you can also adjust the height of the armrests to keep your shoulders aligned properly.
You will have a variety of different sizes and heights that you can manipulate this chair into. For anyone short and always feels like there is one part of the chair that just doesn’t work for them, this is going to be an ideal chair.
The area of support and the natural curve in the back of the chair will offer excellent support, and with the customizable heights, you will be able to make sure it hits your back at the perfect spot.
The Flash Furniture Mid-Back, Black Mesh Swivel chair is another solid option, as it has a 20-inch-wide seat and holds up to 270 pounds. It has great reviews regarding its sturdiness and ability to keep your back aligned and supported.
Signs to Keep in Mind with Your Office Chair
If you have started noticing some pain in your back and can’t figure out where exactly you’re going wrong, make sure you pay attention to your body and consider everything that could be causing it.
When you are shorter, this process becomes a little trickier. But with the right research and knowledge about what works and doesn’t work for your frame, it will become much easier to find your best solution.
Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help you stay comfortable and healthy in your office chair:
Replace it every five years – According to Dr. Matt Tanneberg at Arcadia Chiro, you should replace your chair every five years to keep the support strong and will make sure the cushions don’t begin to sink in, causing improper posture. (Unless you go for a high-end chair!)
The lumbar support feels more obtrusive than supportive – If the lumbar support feels like it is jutting into your back instead of supporting and cradling it, then the chair probably is the wrong size or shape for you. It is meant to relax and support you, not to be an uncomfortable nuisance.
Don’t be surprised if your back is sore at first – Even with the right chair, you may not be very comfortable. This could simply mean that you have been sitting with poor posture for so long that it will take a moment for your back to realign itself and get used to sitting with better posture and proper support.
Listen to your body – You can tell the difference between a back that is getting used to proper posture and a back that is under some serious stress from a chair that does not support you how it should. Not only can an ergonomically incorrect chair worsen your posture, but it can also cause quite a bit of pain if you are sitting in it for hours on end each day.
Bottom Line on the Best Office Chairs for Short People
When you spend so much time sitting, it is paramount to find an option that works with your body type. Make sure to find options that will keep you back supported, work with the natural curve of your spine, and be adjustable to meet your needs in your specific height range.
Additionally, many shorter people may find comfort in the best armless office chairs. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if your short or petite. The only thing that matters when finding the best office chair for short person with back pain is to find the right office chair that can suit your needs. 🙂
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