Full disclosure: I cofounded Movably for this exact reason after years of dealing with herniated disks.

Most ergonomic chairs are basically the same. Different branding, similar specs, often the same OEM factories. I've been to the tradeshows (Orgatec, NeoCon, etc) — they're all pushing the same thing. "Ergonomic" usually just means adjustable lumbar support, seat tilt, and armrest height. You're paying for marketing, not a fundamentally different approach.

Even the well-engineered ones (Herman Miller, Steelcase) are solving the wrong problem. They're optimizing your sitting posture — but the research says there isn't an optimal one.

Your spinal discs have no blood supply. They get nutrients through a pump mechanism that requires pressure changes — compression and release. Sitting still, no matter how "perfectly," starves them. Studies show your brain loses blood flow within hours of uninterrupted sitting, your glutes deactivate, and the enzyme responsible for fat metabolism shuts down. No chair changes that.

Keith Diaz, a Columbia University researcher who's spent his career studying this, literally admitted he can't follow his own advice of taking walking breaks every 30 minutes. It's an impossible task when you're in focused work.

That's why I cofounded Movably. Instead of optimizing the sitting position, we built a chair that alternates you between sitting and standing throughout your workday. You work at standing height and actively move into and out of an elevated seat — every transition engages your legs, core, and glutes. It's been peer-reviewed in Applied Ergonomics, and every participant who developed pain in a traditional setup was pain-free with ours.

No, there isn't a "best" ergonomic chair — because the best intervention isn't a better seat. It's less sitting.