In Australia, we are lucky enough to have an Australian Safety Standard (AS/NZS 4438:1997) when trying to identify the most supportive office chair for your work environment.  There's even a certified rating for office chairs to ensure they meet these standards and ensure you feel comfortable at work.

However, there are some situations where you may not have an ergonomic chair - whether it's because you are working from home and using another style chair, or the chair was purchased without understanding the necessary requirements for an ergonomic chair - and that's ok - we have found some great solutions for this - and even though it is not as good as an AFRDI rated ergonomic chair - you will still manage to feel supported to reduce back or tailbone pain.

We've put together some simple information on the types of support cushions and why to use support cushions while sitting at your office desk.

What is a lumbar support cushion? A lumbar support cushion was developed to support the natural curvature of the spine.  The lower portion of the spine, just above the buttocks, naturally curves inward toward the belly (the lordotic curve). 

A lumbar back support helps promote good posture by simply filling in the gap between the lumbar spine and the seat, supporting the natural inward curve of the lower back.

Without lumbar back support, it's more difficult to maintain the correct posture - and the lumbar spine and large muscles in the lower back have to work harder to support the proper curvature and alignment. 

Over time, as the body tires, the muscles holding the spine in such a position tend to become weak, and the head and upper back tend to lean forward to compensate the weakening of the lumbar muscles. The natural tendency is to slouch and/or lean forward in the office chair.

Without lumbar support the body over time will form into a slouching position causing back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain.