How we research and test these guides

Tall Spine editorial deskUpdated September 2026Standard applies to every guide and tool on this site
Short answer

Every claim about the body, about safety or about a measurement on this site follows one rule: it is traceable to a named source, a published standard or a survey figure we can point to. Where the evidence is weak, the page says so on the page. Where we sell something related, we say that too.

This is a shop that publishes guides. That is a real conflict of interest, and the answer is disclosure rather than pretending otherwise.

The rules we work to

  1. A source, a standard or a measurement, never a vibe. Ergonomic numbers here come from OSHA, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Cornell University’s ergonomics group, the EU-OSHA report on static sitting, or named peer-reviewed studies. Where a figure is arithmetic we performed, the working is shown, as it is on the desk and chair height calculator.
  2. Tools publish their method. Every calculator lists its inputs, formulas and assumptions, so you can disagree with the arithmetic rather than with the conclusion. The ratios behind our calculator are ANSUR II population means, published in a table on the page.
  3. We state the limits out loud. Lumbar support cushions have weaker evidence than their marketing suggests, so the guides say that. Break-frequency research is low certainty, so the posture break timer page says so above the fold rather than at the bottom.
  4. We separate product claims from findings. Density, firmness and material fatigue are material-science questions with industry sources. Whether a cushion reduces back pain is a clinical question, answered by Cochrane reviews. We do not swap one for the other.
  5. Corrections are dated. When something substantive changes, the change goes on the page.

What we will not publish

Not this Why
Invented statistics, or "studies show" with no study named It is the fastest way to lose a reader and the search engine in the same week
A clinical claim for a comfort product A cushion is not a treatment. The 2026 Cochrane review of lumbar supports found little or no benefit when used alone, and pages here say so
Body measurements presented as universal rules Leg length varies by 5 cm or more between people of the same height. CCOHS says the torso-to-leg ratio varies widely, and we repeat that rather than hide it
Copying a competitor guide and rewording it Every page here is written from the source material, and where a number comes from arithmetic, the arithmetic is shown
Diagnosis or treatment advice We explain mechanism, fit, measurement and safe use. Diagnosis belongs to a clinician, and persistent or spreading pain is a clinician question

How a page gets written

  1. We start from the question people actually ask, including the ones in search result question boxes.
  2. We pull the primary sources: standards, government guidance, systematic reviews and anthropometric surveys. Secondary blog posts are used to find sources, not to be sources.
  3. Where the answer depends on a number, we build a tool rather than describing the number in prose, then test it against worked examples at two or three body heights.
  4. We write the shortest version that answers the question, then add only the detail that stops someone making a bad purchase.
  5. A second pass hunts for overclaiming. Any sentence that asserts more than the cited source supports gets cut or softened, including sentences that would have helped us sell something.

What we do not know

Gap What that means for you
There is no trial of lumbar cushions in office chairs The case for a cushion is ergonomic fit and comfort, not clinical benefit. We do not have the study that would settle it
Population averages are not your body Our tables use ANSUR II means. They will be several centimetres off for anyone with an unusual torso-to-leg ratio, which is why every page asks you to measure yourself where you can
We have not tested the products in a lab We do not own a pressure mat or a temperature-controlled room. Where a page cites material research, it is someone else’s study and we name it
On selling these productsThis store sells lumbar supports, footrests and massage devices. The pages here are allowed to say a product is unnecessary, that the cheaper option is the right one, or that the real problem is your desk rather than your back. If a guide recommends nothing, that is a legitimate outcome.

If a page here is wrong, out of date, or cites something that has since changed, tell us and we will fix it and note the date. The contact page is the place to do that, and our lumbar support buying guide is the fastest way to check whether our product advice matches the standard described here.

Where the standards come from

Sources

  1. OSHA. Computer Workstations eTool: Chairs — www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations/components/chairs
  2. OSHA. Computer Workstations eTool — www.osha.gov/etools/computer-workstations
  3. CCOHS. Working in a Sitting Position: Good Body Position — www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/sitting/sitting_position.html
  4. CCOHS. Office Ergonomics: The Ergonomic Chair — www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office/chair.html
  5. CCOHS. Office Ergonomics: Sit/Stand Desk — www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office/sit_stand_desk.html
  6. Cornell University Ergonomics Web. Workstation ergonomics guidelines — www.ergo.human.cornell.edu/ergoguide.html
  7. Cornell University Ergonomics Web. Sitting and standing at work — ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html
  8. NC State University Ergonomics Center. ANSUR II anthropometric data tables — multisite.eos.ncsu.edu/www-ergocenter-ncsu-edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/06/Anthropometric-Detailed-Data-Tables.pdf
  9. Dowell WR. Lumbar height and depth for seat design. HFES Proceedings, 1995 — journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/154193129503900701
  10. Arienti C, et al. Lumbar supports for chronic low back pain. Cochrane 2026 — www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD015492_do-lower-back-lumbar-supports-and-other-devices-help-people-long-lasting-chronic-low-back-pain-move
  11. Luger T, et al. Work-break schedules and musculoskeletal symptoms. Cochrane 2019 — www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD012886_work-break-interventions-preventing-musculoskeletal-symptoms-and-disorders-healthy-workers
  12. EU-OSHA. Prolonged static sitting at work, 2022 — osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2022-04/Prolonged_static_sitting_at_work.pdf