Most office chairs are simply too big, even for my 6’3″ frame!
Incorrect armrest positioning caused me painful shoulder and neck problems that took forever to heal.
I want to save you that trouble.
This article will talk about ways to position armrests correctly. It also talks about how to support your arms when the armrests are too low and too wide.
This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. Bad posture also decreased my mental clarity, energy level, and work productivity.
All the desk worker health tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
How to Use Office Chair Armrests
If you’d like a better understanding of why armrests cause posture issues, check out my article titled Why are Office Chair Armrests Bad for Computer Posture?
Or, jump right into a solution-based approach, continue reading below. Follow these 3 golden rules for proper armrest use.
Keep Shoulders in a Neutral Position
Shoulders are a body part that can easily get strained and overused when sitting at a computer. Especially when they’re held in an unnatural position for long periods of time.
There are 4 positions I use to classify shoulders:
- externally rotated
- internally rotated
- laterally extended
- neutral, balanced position
Externally rotated shoulders don’t really apply when it comes to computer posture. It’s important to have a strong external rotation. But external rotation isn’t a common mistake at a computer.
However, internally rotated shoulders is a very common computer posture mistake. And we want to avoid it as much as possible.
A neutral shoulder position doesn’t have any rotation. It’s right in the middle of internal and external rotation.
We want to stay in this neutral, comfortable position as much as possible when working on a computer for long periods of time. Regardless if we are sitting or standing.
It’s very possible to maintain a neutral shoulder position while we’re using a keyboard and mouse. It’s not necessarily easy, but it’s possible.
I maintain a neutral shoulder position by using more arm muscles (and less shoulder muscles) when I initially rest my hands on the keyboard and mouse.
Being consistent with this neutral shoulder position is hard in the beginning. But I got used to it.
Keep Elbows Comfortably Close to Rib Cage
We also want to avoid laterally extended shoulders. This happens when we move our elbows outward sideways from our body, to rest them on armrests.
I want to keep my shoulders in a neutral, balanced position as much as possible.
I don’t ever want to move my elbows to meet the armrests. Most of the time, the armrests don’t adjust side-to-side at all. They just go up and down.
If I can’t get armrests adjusted to meet my elbows in a natural, comfortable position, then I won’t use the armrests at all.
Ensure Proper Arm Support, as Long as Elbows are Slightly Above Desk Level
If the armrests of an office chair don’t support my arms comfortably, I try to support my wrists on the desk.
Then, I keep my elbows naturally close to my rib cage.
I’ll lightly activate my shoulder and trap muscles to suspend my arms in mid-air if I have to.
This will allow me to partially support my arms on the desk, with minimal muscle activation from my shoulders.
The main thing I want to avoid, I don’t want office chair armrests to create computer posture mistakes for me.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce computer-related injuries by improving your posture. That’s something to be very proud of!
If you liked this article on how to use office chair armrests, check out my free ebook titled 3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately!
>>> Click here to download your free copy
This ebook is a great supplement to the article you just read. In this ebook, you’ll learn 3 of the most painful, poor computer posture mistakes. Then, you’ll learn how to fix those mistakes immediately with 3 simple changes to your ergonomic computer desk setup.
Go to SittingPosture.com/ebook to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
