Healthy chairs

There are a number of different types, designs, styles and formats of chair which have functionality at the fore. These chairs “can” look stylish, however this is not their main objective.

A number of chair types have been developed for people, and there are a great many, who find it problematic to sit down and stand up due to loss of joint mobility and muscular strength. When this is the case a seat that is higher than average (aided by high firm arms) can make it easy to lift and lower oneself into and out of a seat.

Equally, seats that can use remote control motorized systems to elevated and even tilt the seat can be of great use. These chairs, often called riser chairs or tilt and lift seats, make the knee and hip bending part of sitting down almost redundant. They are ideal for older people.

Other types of chair can be more specialized. As an example, the evacuation chair is used to get a disabled person out of a building where the building has become unsafe. This could be due to fire, explosion or some other disaster that makes normal escape means and routes unfeasible. These chairs have a construction that makes it possible for one helper to transport a passenger up or down stairs in relative safety.

Healthy chairs for the office environment are called task chairs. This term refers to their application which will normally revolve around some kind of constant or repeating task. This may be as simple a working at a single computer, or it may necessitate working simultaneously at multiple workstations and having a task chair that accommodates the operatives changes in position and posture.

Chairs are not only for work, maintaining a healthy posture, or making themselves more accessible. Relaxation chairs are another seating option and the most popular form is the massage or heat and massage chair. This type of chair can provide relaxation at the end of a busy day and the gentle manipulative action of the massage facility can help tired or aching muscles recover more quickly and feel healthy and invigorated.

One final type of seat, or in some cases bench, is the therapy chair. This can be used by any number of health therapists and it allows the patient to comfortably “present” in a posture that gives access to the part of the body that the therapist intends to work on. These chairs can be large motorised aids or much smaller portable seats that have easy transportation requirements.