How to Sit Properly in a Gaming Chair and Protect Your Posture

If you spend hours gaming, working or studying at your desk, your posture is what stands between you and a sore back. At VALK we design our chairs to adapt to you, but half the job is using them properly. Here is how to get the most out of your gaming chair and look after yourself while you are at it.

The short version: feet flat on the floor and knees at 90°, lumbar cushion in the curve of your lower back, elbows level with the desk and shoulders loose, backrest slightly reclined (between 100° and 110°), and the top edge of your screen at eye level. Five minutes of adjustments, and your back ten years from now will thank you.

1. Set the seat height to your body

The right seat height is the one that lets you rest your feet flat on the floor with your knees at 90°. Depending on the model, our chairs cover heights from 1.65 to 2 m, although what really decides is the distance from the floor to the back of your knee, and that varies between people of the same height. We break it down model by model in choosing the right chair for your height and weight.

If the seat is still too high at its lowest setting, you have two ways out. The first is a footrest: the VALK OSMA, for example, has 3 height positions, is covered in velvet and brings your feet back to a proper right angle. The second is changing the gas lift: on NYX and GAIA you can fit a shorter cylinder that drops the seat by about three centimetres. If you need the opposite, reaching a tall desk, FREYA takes a longer cylinder with four centimetres more travel. Write to us and we will work out what fits you.

2. Armrests: the right support for your elbows

Armrests are essential to keep tension out of your shoulders and wrists. All our chairs have adjustable ones: 4D on FREYA, FREYA ELITE, GAIA and MYLA, 3D on NOMA and NOMA OFFICE, and 2D on NYX.

Set them level with the desk or a touch below, elbows at 90° and close to your body. Any higher and your shoulders come up with them, which you will feel three hours in. If they develop play over time and start to wobble, tightening their screws usually sorts it: we cover that in cleaning and basic maintenance of your gaming chair.

3. Lumbar and neck cushions: your invisible allies

Lumbar and neck cushions are not accessories, they are what holds an ergonomic posture together. At VALK we use quality materials for them:

• Lumbar cushions: on FREYA and FREYA ELITE they are memory foam, which moulds to the natural curve of your back. On GAIA they are foam, and on NYX they adjust in height.
• Neck cushions: on FREYA and FREYA ELITE they are memory foam, with a magnetic mount on the ELITE. On NYX and GAIA they are filled with adjustable cotton: if it feels too firm, open the zip and take some out until it suits you.

Remember that the lumbar cushion belongs right in the curve of your lower back, roughly at belt height, while the neck cushion sits between your neck and the chair.

On ergonomic chairs the lumbar support is built into the backrest instead of sitting in a cushion: adjustable across 4 positions on NOMA and NOMA OFFICE, and adaptive on MYLA, which adjusts itself to your weight and posture. You will find them all in ergonomic chairs.

4. Tilt mechanisms: adjust the chair to the moment

Everyone sits differently, which is why our chairs come with different tilt mechanisms:

• Butterfly mechanism (NYX and GAIA): allows a tilt of up to 15° that you can lock or leave free. It also has a knob to set the resistance to your weight, which keeps the movement from feeling loose or noisy.
• Multifunction mechanism (FREYA and FREYA ELITE): tilts up to 25° and locks in 5 positions, with adjustable rocking tension. Ideal when you want a more relaxed position for a film or for playing with a controller.
• Synchro mechanism (MYLA, NOMA and NOMA OFFICE): reclines the backrest to 135° while the seat follows slightly, with a synchronised movement of up to 10° on NOMA and NOMA OFFICE and 15° on MYLA. That keeps your body in full contact with the chair in any position.

On the gaming models (FREYA, FREYA ELITE, NYX and GAIA), backrest recline and rocking are two separate adjustments: the backrest goes to 160° and stays where you leave it, while the rocking motion moves the whole chair with its tension set to your weight. Each mechanism is explained in types of mechanisms in gaming chairs.

For work or study, leave the backrest slightly reclined, between 100° and 110°: it loads your lower back less than a fully upright one and keeps you close to the keyboard. For gaming or relaxing, experiment with more tilt until you find what feels right.

5. Your desk matters too

The chair is not the whole story: desk height has to work with your posture. Quick rule, the right desk height is the height of your elbows when seated, with your shoulders relaxed.

Our VALK SKULD gaming desk has three adjustable height levels (71, 76 and 81 cm) set during assembly, so you can match it to your chair and keep your arms level with the keyboard. If yours is fixed and sits too high, further down we explain how to compensate from the chair.

6. How to tell if your posture is right

• Feet flat: on the floor or on a footrest.
• Knees at 90°: neither stretched out nor tucked under.
• Elbows supported: at a right angle and relaxed.
• Back supported: fully against the backrest, between 100° and 110°, with the lumbar in the curve.
• Neck aligned: without tipping your head forward or back.
• Screen at eye level: top edge level with your eyes or slightly below, and an arm's length away (between 50 and 70 cm). If you end up with your nose against the monitor, the way you were warned would ruin your eyesight, check the distance, the font size or your prescription.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up my gaming chair for a tall desk without hunching my shoulders?

Raise the seat until your elbows are level with the desktop, and set the armrests to that same height: if they sit above it, they are what pushes your shoulders up. If raising the chair leaves your feet off the floor, add a footrest.

1. Seat: forearms parallel to the desk with your arms relaxed, and your thighs clear of the underside.
2. Feet: if they dangle, a footrest restores the contact and the 90° at the knee.
3. Armrests: level with the desk or a touch below, so your forearm passes from one to the other without a step.
4. Backrest: between 100° and 110°, lumbar in place, so you do not end up draped over the desk.

If your desk is adjustable, try lowering it before any of this. And if the seat is at its limit and you still cannot reach, FREYA takes a longer gas lift with four centimetres more travel.

Which adjustments prevent lower back and neck pain if I game and work in the same chair?

Four: feet supported with knees at around 90°, lumbar in the curve of your lower back, backrest slightly reclined (between 100° and 110°), and the top edge of the screen at eye level. The first three take load off your lower back, and the fourth stops you pushing your head forward, which is what strains the neck most.

Finish with the armrests level with the desk, because if your shoulders rise, your traps pay for it. And move: changing position and standing up for a couple of minutes every hour helps more than any perfect setting. If the pain persists once the chair is set up, see a physiotherapist.

Where does the lumbar cushion go on a gaming chair?

In the curve of your lower back, roughly at belt height. Not down against the seat and not halfway up your back: too low and it pushes your hips forward, so you end up sliding out of the chair.

Sit right back, spine against the backrest, and move it up or down until it fills the curve without pushing you off the backrest.

How do you recline a gaming chair, and what angle suits each situation?

There are two separate movements and it helps not to mix them up. The backrest reclines and locks at whatever angle you choose. Rocking is something else: it moves the whole chair, and its firmness is set to your weight from the mechanism itself.

For work or keyboard gaming, between 100° and 110°. For watching a series or playing with a controller, between 120° and 135°. Past 150° you are into nap territory. Our gaming chairs recline the backrest to 160° and the ergonomic ones to 135°, so all of them cover everything from desk mode to sofa mode.

How do I spot good lumbar support: cushion, built-in adjustment or dynamic mechanism?

A good one is the one you can set to your height and that is still there at the end of a long session. If it slides, flattens or pushes you forward, it is not doing its job. All three systems work if they manage that, and what changes is how much you have to fiddle with them.

• Cushion (FREYA, FREYA ELITE, NYX and GAIA): you place it wherever you want and remove it if you would rather not have it.
• Built in and adjustable (NOMA and NOMA OFFICE): it sits inside the backrest, adjusts across 4 positions and never shifts out of place.
• Adaptive (MYLA): it adjusts itself to your weight and posture, no controls involved. On top of that the backrest moves up and down 6 cm across 12 positions, and the lumbar goes with it.

Bad sign: a fixed lumbar you cannot raise or lower, or one so hard it pushes your back off the backrest.

Is it worth paying more for 4D armrests if I use a keyboard and mouse for hours?

Yes, if you string several hours of keyboard and mouse together. 4D armrests adjust for height, depth, width and rotation, so you put them right under your forearm in the position you actually work in, instead of adapting your arm to them.

For shorter sessions or controller gaming, 2D armrests set to the right height do the job. MYLA's can also be mounted crossed over, which moves the support back and lets you get closer to the desk.

Are gaming chair footrests stable, or are they a weak point?

It depends on where they rest. The pull-out kind that slides from under the seat hangs off the chair and is meant for stretching your legs out, not for carrying weight: lean hard on it and it suffers. A floor-standing one is steadier because the load goes into the floor rather than the chair.

MYLA has a built-in mesh footrest, foldable and adjustable across 4 positions, for resting with your legs out. To support your feet while you work or play, the VALK OSMA sits on the floor, has 3 heights and works with any chair.

At VALK we design our chairs around your comfort and your health. Whether you spend hours in front of a screen or you are after the perfect spot to unwind, posture is what makes the difference over the long run.

If you are not sure how to set up your chair or you need an extra accessory, write to us through the Help Centre and we will sort it out with you. And if you are still choosing, compare models in gaming chairs and ergonomic chairs, or have a look at gaming chair or office chair if you work and play in the same spot.