Chair Development on the Basis of Body Pressure Distribution—A Research Effort

Surveys and studies show that more and more employees perform high- or low-skilled white-collar work predominantly in sitting postures. Therefore, comfortable sitting plays an important role in reducing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and other harmful effects. Research efforts focus on reducing these risks by designing ergonomic chairs with multiple adjustment possibilities, allowing the chair to fit to the user's body shape or assuring a dynamic seating where the user's lower body is in continuous movement. This article summarizes the results of a research effort that evaluated the effect of several factors on sitting comfort based on body pressure distribution. The effects of foam elasticity, foam layer arrangement order, and seat support elasticity were investigated as well as the chair seat type (kneeling chair, saddle chair). Results were used to determine the optimal chair cushion including the layered foam system and seat support type. On the basis of our findings a new ergonomic chair was developed combining the advantages of static and dynamic sitting.