Are Gaming Chairs Good For Your Back? Why Invest in a Gaming Chair?

Gamers tend to spend hours and hours on their chairs while deeply engrossed in their favorite games. And why wouldn’t they? Gaming can be so addictive that it can lead to gamers hardly ever leaving their chairs!

But the question is, Are gaming chairs good for your back? The answer is: Yes! The gaming chair provides an adequate amount of back support.

To know if a gaming chair is good for your back or not let’s first compare a gaming chair against an office chair.

What is the difference between an Office Chair and a Gaming Chair?

You’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘they’re both just chairs!” But the truth is, there’s a tremendous difference between an office chair and a gaming chair. They both give different kinds of support to your back, and both have some features that set them apart from one another.

Headrests

A gaming chair usually has a fixed headrest that you can’t move around much. While office chairs usually have adjustable or movable headrests.

Color difference

Gaming chairs come in bright, flashy colors to brighten up the aesthetic of the room. Who would want a dull brown chair in a gaming room anyways?
In contrast, office chairs usually come in solid colors of black, brown, white, etc., to suit an office. You don’t normally get to see a bright yellow chair in an office anyways! Office chairs are designed to fit a more formal office interior.

Seat Design difference

Gaming chairs have raised edges (bucket seat design), much like the seats of a car, to give the actual sensation of being in one. But an office chair is flat like any normal chair.

Detachable Lumbar & Neck Pillow and Wings difference

The lumbar pillow and headrest pillows are detachable in gaming chairs while they are fixed in office chairs but can be adjusted. Lastly, office chairs have a wingless backrests while there are wings on the backrests of a gaming chair.

Purpose of Gaming Chairs

Gaming chairs serve an important ergonomic purpose as they provide you with different adjustable features like the adjustable armrest, lumber pillow, neck pillow, and lastly reclining that can go up to 180 degrees. And all these functions are not available in a simple or ordinary chair.

Fixes your posture

Gaming chairs are made to fix your posture and get rid of those lousy chairs that have ruined your posture over the years.

Think about it and imagine it yourself. Who looks better? A person sitting in a hunched manner or a person with a nice, straight posture striding proudly? I think you know the answer!

The more you use a gaming chair, the better your posture gets. While the whole slouch-fixing process is uncomfortable in the beginning, it gets comfortable with time, and before you know it, you won’t even be able to tell if you’re in a chair.

It also reduces stress on your back

Gaming chairs will help you stop slouching. Slouching not only looks bad, but it also applied stress on your vertebral discs and contributes immensely to back pain(1). To reduce stress on your vertebrae, gaming chairs are designed in a unique manner that distributes the pressure on your back and holds your back for you.

Increased Blood flow:

The primary support is provided by a highly padded backrest with neck and lumbar pillows. The tall backrest ensures that you’re sitting comfortably and your back is aligned with the seat.

Whenever you sit on a gaming chair, your body is positioned in a way that blood easily flows through it. With good blood flow to your back, the pain is reduced, and you’ll feel fresh.

Are gaming chairs good for your back & How?

Gaming chairs are fantastic supports for your back and can help ease any pain and discomfort in your back.

How a gaming chair helps your back

You can considerably eliminate any back soreness or neck pain by using gaming chairs. How does this happen? Well, when you sit on a gaming chair, your body becomes completely straight. The lumbar portion of your body becomes parallel to the gaming chair. Sitting in that aligned position for a long time makes a huge impact in the long run.

The most profound impact of any gaming chair can be felt in the back region. It is not unusual anymore in the era of technology to be victim to the wrath of backaches. Even teens experience it after long hours of sitting in front of a screen. And while other people use PCs in a normal amount, gamers tend to spend more time in front of the screens and have a higher chance of backaches.

Gaming chairs will help you say goodbye to those nights of soreness when you might ask your loved ones to massage your back. You can also save on those trips to the chiropractor!

Why waste so much energy and resources on medicines, massage parlors, and chiropractor appointments when you can just get a gaming chair to ease the pain for you?

A more ergonomic sitting experience

A gaming chair always supports a more dynamic way of sitting. When you sit in one, your body automatically aligns with it. Sitting that way for an extended period will make your back as straight as spaghetti!

Not only are gaming chairs good for your back problems, but they also straighten your neck and relieve neck pains! You won’t be having a slouchy posture that looks unprofessional anymore!

Gaming chairs give your back the support that a typical office chair may deprive you of. Some people nowadays get gaming chairs even if they’ve never played a game in their life. Why? Because gaming chairs are fantastic for your back!

Reclining Helps ease back-pains:

Thanks to the fantastic reclining mechanism that gaming chairs boast, users of gaming chairs can play while relaxing and reclining. Now, why would you want a reclining chair when you can just get a massage chair or a rocking chair? Well, it’s because you can’t use those two in front of a computer. But you can surely use a gaming chair for your PC. And why do you need to recline at all? Because it stops strain on your back.

Reclining Vs. Slouching:

A lot of you might be thinking about why you’d want to recline when that laid-back position is what you’ve been trying to avoid in the first place. Well, there is a tremendous difference between reclining and slouching. While slouching is the most notorious criminal in back pain, reclining is the superhero that stops it. Because during reclining, your vertebrae are straight and aligned with the chair.

Can Gaming chairs hurt your back?

You asked us, “are gaming chairs good for your back?”. We said they were. But some of you might think they hurt your back. If you think that your gaming chair is hurting your back, this could be because of two reasons:

• You’re not using your gaming chair properly.
• You’re just not used to it yet!

Are you using the chair properly?

Now while gaming chairs are designed to help your back and prevent slouching, remember that the user of the chair also has some responsibilities. To use a gaming chair properly, you must rest your head against the neck pillow and align your back parallel to the backrest.

You can’t expect the gaming chair to do its job if you’ve just using the hip support and leaning forwards with your elbows on the table. It’s also not wise to have your legs folded and crouched on the chair. You must follow all the right sitting posture rules for the chair to help you in fixing your posture!

Are you giving your body time to adjust?

Secondly, remember that a gaming chair doesn’t work by magic. We’ve mentioned time and again that the best gaming chairs will help cure your back and prevent you from slouching. But nothing comes easy!

 The first few weeks of sitting in the right position on the gaming chair might be very uncomfortable because your back won’t be used to it. But with time, you’ll be used to it, and soon enough, you’ll feel like life would be impossible without a gaming chair.

So give your back a little time to adjust to the gaming chair. Endure a few weeks of discomfort, but you’ll be thanking the manufacturers later when you’ll have a professional, good-looking posture.

Why you shouldn’t invest in a gaming chair?

Not every person should opt for a gaming chair, in most cases, you shouldn’t want to buy a gaming chair. Like if you don’t spend most of your time sitting every day and have no back or posture problems, a gaming chair probably isn’t worth buying.

If you are looking for a chair that is easy to move, then think twice before buying a gaming chair because gaming chairs tend to be heavy and bulky which makes them difficult to carry around or adjust in the room if necessary.

How to Choose the Best Gaming Chair for Your Back

There are so many brands selling fantastic gaming chairs. They all claim to be just the right chairs for your needs.

But are they? Are gaming chairs good for your back? And if they are, how do you know which one?

Consider the following when picking a gaming chair for yourself:

Size of the Gaming Chair

While hunting for a gaming chair, one of the most crucial factors to take into account is the size of the chair. Every gamer has a different body, as does every human being. So naturally, not every gaming chair would be ideal for a person.

This is why gamers make different sizes of gaming chairs that accommodate people of different weights and heights. The breadth and depth of a seat might vary by several inches, resulting in an unpleasant seat if you get one that is too large or too small for a particular gamer.

The majority of firms provide precise measurements for all aspects of their gaming chairs. They give the exact measurements of seat depth and width, armrest height range, and other dimensions. Choosing the right size chair will give you comfort. So take into account your body type when picking a size.

Height of the Backrest

Another factor to watch out for when picking out a gaming chair is the height of the backrest. The length of the backrest needs to be equal to or more than the length of your upper body, so your entire body gets adequate support. But it shouldn’t be so tall that the neck pillow is far above your head.

Material or Fabric

The fabric of your gaming chair needs to be the best kind. Make sure the gaming chair you choose is made up of the finest quality cloth, so it doesn’t start peeling away. If the manufacturer claims it’s made of leather, make sure it is genuine leather and not the other kind.

Breathability

A piece of good fabric for a gaming chair is breathable. This means that the fabric shouldn’t accumulate excess heat and cause sweating in your body. Who wants to leave their gaming chair drenched in sweat?

Water and Stain resistance:

Also, a good fabric or material for gaming chairs needs to be stain-resistant and water-resistant. Gamers usually spend half their lives in front of computer screens and even have their meals while playing. So spillage of water, drinks, and even some snacks is a common occurrence.

So the best thing to do is to look for a material that’s stain and water-resistant. Perhaps PVC leather or any other resistant cloth. PVC is popular because it’s stain and water-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about pesky food stains when eating or drinking.

If you don’t want to go for leather or leather imitations, try a fabric or mesh chair. Both mesh and fabric are very breathable and don’t retain much heat. That’s the selling point of mesh: High breathability. However, remember that it might take a while to get rid of stains of normal fabric.

Durability

Lastly, the fabric you pick needs to be durable. Remember: gamers don’t want to waste precious time mending the chair fabric if they can spend that time playing a nice game of Fortnite with their pals!

Ergonomics and Comfort:

The deciding factor is comfort and ergonomics. Pick a chair (of course, according to your budget) that offers the most ergonomic benefits, like a high reclining range or a wider backrest. Some ergonomic and comfort factors to watch out for include:

• More neck support.
• Adjustable armrests.
• Wider backrests.
• Height adjustments.
• Cushion softness.
• Increased lumbar support.
• 4D armrests.
• Curvature in backrests.

Of course, the more premium brands will offer more functionalities, but remember that everything comes at a cost! So considering your budget, make your best pick.

Final Thoughts

So are gaming chairs good for your back? I think we’ve answered that question more times than necessary! If you’re serious about fixing your posture and are sick of having back pains, then a gaming chair could be just what you need.