Exercise Ball Chairs
If you are looking for an alternative to a conventional office chair why not consider an exercise ball chair. Yes that's right, they make an exercise ball that doubles as a chair, or if you prefer - a chair that doubles as an exercise ball.
Office Version
Stylishly designed, the exercise ball chair has a removable exercise ball which sits inside the chair frame. Made with a back support and normal caster wheels, you can whizz around the office just as you would with a normal office chair. The difference is that this type of chair is supposed to strengthen your core muscles as you 'actively sit' which also helps to lengthen your spine.
Fans of the chair say that they can sit on it for a whole 8 hour office day and not get tired. When you want to take a little break you can bounce up and down on the exercise ball. Some people even like to remove the ball from the chair and do their exercise routine in their lunch hour. While this might be frowned upon in many offices, in your home office, you can of course do exactly what you like.
The best known of this type of chair, the BalanceBall was designed by a chiropractor. The chair helps you to sit up straight and is supposed to prevent lower back pain. Available for around $100 - $150 these types of chairs compare favorably cost wise with regular office chairs. And of course even if you don't want to sit on it all day you can certainly use it to help improve your balance and posture for part of the day.
Exercise Ball
If you aren't sure whether an exercise ball chair is for you, you can always get a yoga ball, fitness or exercise ball for around $20 and sit on it and see if you like using it while you work. At the very least you can use it as part of your exercise program!
Back Problems
If you have serious back problems it's a good idea to check with your doctor or chiropractor before using an exercise ball chair all day every day. Some people swear by them and say that it definitely helps improve their posture. Others say that the ball chair helps them lose weight because they are 'actively sitting'. By moving around all the time they are sitting working at the computer they burn extra calories every day. However not everybody likes them and some people feel that it either doesn't help their back problems or even makes them worse.
Ball Chairs
Whatever you do, don't confuse an exercise ball chair with the retro style living room ball chair that was a 60's icon. These chairs are coming back into fashion but are certainly not suitable as a computer chair. Although they might make a nice change to curl up and relax in at the end of a long day.