Balance Ball Chair

A few years ago, I decided to address how much time I was spending sitting in front of my computer and how bad my desk chair was for my back and ergonomics. I decided that I would get a balance ball chair without ever having sat on one, and I have to say, I really love it and it helped me immensely.

Not only does it offer me something to sit on while working, but the chair is the perfect accessory for stretching and taking breaks to counter the effects of being seated for long periods of time. You can use the chair as part of a home gym or for easy, at-your-desk ergonomic exercises as well.

When I decided to go from having a day job to trying to make a living from writing on the Internet, the amount of hours that I spent in front of a computer increased massively. At a day job, there were many more reasons to be interrupted or to get up from my desk, but working at home I found that I was putting in more sustained hours with a much smaller range of motion.

After my first year of working at home, my left hip began to ache and my forearms did too. I got what I thought was a better desk chair, in that it had more of a back and armrests, but what I really did was get a chair that let me be more lazy about how I was sitting. In late 2005, I realized I had to get a chair that made me more aware of and responsible for my seated health. So I asked for a balance ball chair as my holiday present that year.

I went with the ball in the chair frame as I didn't want to suddenly get tired and fall off my chair or get up from my desk and have it roll away. I think that's the greatest benefit of having a chair base. The low back isn't for me to slump against, but to remind me to straighten up and use my own muscles to sit properly. I get a LOT less backache from having to use my own body to sit upright instead of depending on the chair itself.

One of the biggest reasons I picked the balance ball chair was that you sit on the chair and not in the chair. I have a Gaiam balance ball chair and it has a low back and no arms. I have to put some effort into sitting upright and this has done a lot to actually strengthen my back and improve my posture.

I can't sit cross-legged with both legs pulled up, something I used to do in my old, conventional office chair, a habit that was just terrible for my lower back. The chair is also low enough to the ground that my legs are in a better position, something which also takes some strain off my lower back and upper legs.

I can take the ball out of the chair frame and just sit on that if I wish. I'm a bit too short to do that at my desk, but it's a favorite for watching movies when I'm not working.

The balance ball can also come out to help with stretches and exercises. Little levers on the wheels of the frame can be flipped to turn on the breaks, locking the wheels of the chair which turns it into a stable piece of exercise equipment.  Or the ball can be removed from the chair frame and used solo either for exercise or as a softer and more mobile sitting device.  My old desk chair wasn't nearly as versatile.