Kneeling chair

A kneeling chair is a type of chair for sitting in a position with the thighs dropped to an angle of about 60° to 70° from vertical (as opposed to 90° when sitting in a normal chair), with some of the body's weight supported by the shins. A kneeling chair is a type of chair for sitting in a position with the thighs dropped to an angle of about 60° to 70° from vertical (as opposed to 90° when sitting in a normal chair), with some of the body's weight supported by the shins. In 1979, Hans Christian Mengshoel invented the original kneeling chair of modern times, the Balans chair. Three Norwegian designers, Oddvin Rykken, Peter Opsvik, and Professor Svein Gusrud developed chairs based on the same principle. The kneeling chair is meant to reduce lower back strain by dividing the burden of one's weight between the shins and the buttocks. People with coccyx or tailbone pain resulting from significant numbers of hours in a sitting position (e.g., office desk jobs) are common candidates for such chairs. However, it is not proven that kneeling chairs are an optimal solution. A proper kneeling chair creates the open body angle by lowering the angle of the lower body, keeping the spine in alignment and the sitter properly positioned to task. The benefit of this position is that if one leans inward, the body angle remains 90° or wider. A misconception regarding kneeling chairs is that the body's weight bears on the knees, and thus users with poor knees cannot use the chair. In a proper kneeling chair, most of the weight remains on the buttocks, and some of the weight bears on the shins, not the knees. The primary function of the shin rests (knee rests) is to keep one from falling forward out of the chair. A saddle chair provides another way to keep the body from falling forward; this type of seat is generally seen in some sit stand stools, which seek to emulate the straddle riding or saddle position of a horseback rider.