How can you make your non ergonomic office chair more comfortable?
If you are a working mum who sits for long hours at her desk, you may have heard of ergonomic chairs or considered buying one. Ergonomic chairs are designed to promote proper posture by aligning your spine and supporting the natural curve of your lower back. This makes them very comfortable and easy to use. Ergonomic chairs feature adjustable seat height, backrest angle, and armrest positions, that allows you to customize the chair to fit your unique body shape and preferences. This can be easily achieved by using some simple hack and tips that we will discuss in this blog.
 
Most ergonomic chairs come with an in-built lumbar support that can be adjusted to match the curve in your lower back This will support the muscle that are located in the deepest parts of the lumbar curve, thus preventing slouching. This in turn reduces the risk of developing issues like back pain, neck pain, shoulder stiffness, etc. An external lumbar support can be used instead to replace this in an office chair. A quick alternate hack for this is to roll up a towel and place it in the curve of your lower back. 
 
Another way to prevent slouching at the back is to keep your pelvis tilted forwards. This can be easily achieved by keeping your hip joint slightly above the level of your knee joint. This is difficult to achieve with a chair that has a bucket or deep seat. A wedge cushion  can be used to achieve a pelvic forward tilt as it places your lumbar curve in a good posture, thereby avoiding slumping or rounding at the lower back.  This tip is also applicable to your car seat when you are driving. 
 
The height of an ergonomic chair can be easily adjusted to enable you to keep your forearms rested on the desk. This can be replicated by adjusting either the height of your chair or desk,  such that the angle between the arm and forearm is around 90 degrees. This puts the shoulders and upper back into a good posture, preventing shrugging of the shoulders and thus neck and shoulder pain. 
 
Another feature of ergonomic chairs is an in built foot support. This enables you to keep your feet firmly planted on the floor when you sit. This prevents the stresses from building up the chain into the knees, hips, pelvis and lumbar spine. If your office chair is too high this can be achieved by putting a foot stool under your feet, so they can rest on the stool. A bonus tip here is to keep the tripod of your foot on the floor in sitting to make sure that your body weight is evenly distributed on the feet. Tripod of the feet are ball of the big toe and ball of the little toe and the heel.

Watch this video to learn "How Can You Improve Your  Posture When Sitting?"


A bonus hack when using an office chair is to keep your cervical spine in a neutral position. By keeping the top of your screen 5 to 10 degree below the horizontal gaze. This avoids poor postures such as Forward head posture that can lead to neck and shoulder pain. You may have to get a separate keyboard or a monitor if you use a laptop for work, if you want to do this and also keep your forearms on the desk in a neutral position (as described above).

HERE is a guide to help you maintain a good sitting posture while working from home. It is also applicable whenever you are sitting, whether at work in the office or watching television in the house. 

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MEET SWATI

 
Hi there! 
I am Swati, an Executive Mum Power Coach and a Certified Posture Expert. I use my proven system to help mums of younger kids working in high-stress executive jobs manage their back, neck, and nerve pains, despite low energy levels and brain fog. I do all this without taking away a big chunk of their time out of their already busy day. This enables them to be more productive and capable professionals at work and guilt-free mums who can focus on their kids instead of always being distracted by pain. 



My passion for helping executive mums stems from my own experiences. I have been in the same boat and understand the frustration and helplessness of being in constant pain or being afraid to engage in activities due to the fear of pain. After two pregnancies in the span of three years and juggling my two kids, housework, and a demanding job, I was constantly in pain. The weight gain from motherhood added extra stress to my already overburdened spine and joints. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight loss and spinal/nerve pain that I just couldn’t break free from.

On top of the physical pain, I also suffered from adrenal fatigue. I often felt exhausted, waking up groggy even after a full night’s (10 to 12 plus hours!) sleep, and struggled with low energy levels and brain fog. Simple tasks became challenging, and I found myself forgetting things and unable to think clearly. It was incredibly frustrating and made it even harder to balance my professional responsibilities and family life.

My work involved long hours of standing during the day, prolonged hours on the laptop in the evening, and lots of running around and rocking my kids to sleep in between. Despite my knowledge and expertise in pain relief, I still found myself unable to escape the constant daily pain and fatigue.

Sitting at a desk job from 9 to 5, or longer, plus endless meetings that seem to go on forever. The frequent traveling, the uncomfortable hotel pillows that make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep—I’ve experienced it all. I remember not being able to share my discomfort at work because I felt like an imposter, talking about pain relief strategies and focusing on work while I was not able to achieve it myself. I didn’t disclose the extent of my pain and forgetfulness to my colleagues for years. Even though I loved my kids and my job, I couldn’t give 100% to either. The discomfort held me back from reaching my full potential, making me feel guilty as a mum and less productive at work. I felt like I was constantly running on empty, unable to catch a break from the pain and exhaustion.

finally got fed up after years of trying and decided to make a New Year’s resolution to get ‘healthy’ instead of focusing solely on my pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, and weight loss. When I shifted my focus to getting healthier by reducing the inflammation in my body and addressing my adrenal fatigue, the pain started to decrease, my energy levels and focus improved, and the pounds started shedding off too! That, of course, meant a happier spine, nerves, joints, and a happier me! Today, my neck, back, and nerve pain are down to zero, my knee pain has reduced by 75%, my brain fog has reduced drastically and my energy levels are higher than ever. I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong solutions for over a decade!

Now, my mission is to share my knowledge of pain relief and managing adrenal fatigue along with my personal experience with other mums, especially those with younger kids who work in high-stress executive jobs. My goal is to help you find lasting relief, boost your energy, and reclaim your life, just as I did. 

If you can relate to all this, you are not alone. As a mum, I have been there and done that—momma, I got you! I’ve helped hundreds of mums in this situation over the years find their solution to manage spinal and joint pains, low energy levels, and brain fog that hold them back. This enables them to feel confidently in control and empowers them to cultivate that confidence and productivity at work and enjoy being with their kids, to be able to run around with them without the fear of injury or pain.

Are you ready for this journey? Ask me how if you are curious.

Let's DO THIS!
xx Swati
** Executive Mum Power Coach **

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