My work chair's armrests are too far apart

March 7, 2020 11:41 AM

Basically what the title says. I am a petite lady with an office job and shoulder/neck pain. Resting my arms on the armrests gives some relief, but the armrests are too far from my body. I'm hoping to find some kind of wedge pillow or armrest extender that will help solve this problem.

I've seen the ergonomics specialists at our agency, and they were helpful in finding a chair that fits my height, and getting me a keyboard tray, etc. But they were at a loss in dealing with this issue. I went down to their lair in the basement and sat in about 20 different chairs they have available, and none of them had armrests that were adjustable enough so that I could have my elbows sitting right next to my sides. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a good solution like a pillow or extender that will help? Thanks in advance!

posted by backwards compatible to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

There are armrests like these that attach to your desk instead of to your chair (and then you'd want an armless chair) - would those work in your circumstances?
posted by brainmouse at 11:52 AM on March 7, 2020

brainmouse's suggestion is brilliant! Who would have guessed that a product like that existed? I hope it works for you.
posted by ydaltak at 1:56 PM on March 7, 2020

Best answer: I made my own arm rests by cutting firm foam blocks into the height and width I needed and covering them with fabric (no sewing. details if you want), then they sit in the chair on each side between me and the far-away ones, which hold them in. Mine aren’t fastened in place in any way but they could be.

I have also used the arm rest on one side and a yoga block on the other. It fits nicely between my hip and the far-away arm rest and is just the right height for me, but again, you could modify as needed. You’d think this would feel uneven but it doesn’t bother me.
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 2:16 PM on March 7, 2020

Response by poster: Unfortunately, the desk mounted armrests won't work for me. My desk is too tall for me, and I have to use a lowered keyboard tray to type. Armrests at the desk level would be way too high. But the yoga block idea is great! I will give it a try; I think that could be exactly what I'm looking for.
posted by backwards compatible at 3:23 PM on March 7, 2020

I sell office supplies and furniture. It sounds like you've already considered this, but one sometimes-overlooked feature on many office chairs with arms is that the width of the arms is often adjustable. Usually via a tightening knob or a cam-lock lever on the underside, where the arm attaches to the seat. On some chairs (they may call this "3D arms") the pad portion of the arm can also slide in or out, forward or back, and may rotate inward or outward as well. Sometimes there's a locking release for this, sometimes not.

If your chair arms are adjustable in width, and the "all the way in " position has the arms tight against the sides of the seat and this is still too wide to be comfortable, the chair is too big for you. The Solve and Quotient families of task chairs by HON are scaled a little on the smaller side, and are popular with more petite users. (One of our employees is 4'11").
posted by xedrik at 10:04 AM on March 8, 2020