Buying a good ergonomic chair is only half the job. We constantly see people drop hundreds on a great chair, raise the seat, and never touch another lever. These are the adjustments that actually relieve back and neck pain.

1. Seat height Set it so your feet rest flat on the floor and your knees sit at roughly a 90-degree angle, level with or slightly below your hips. If your feet dangle, you are putting pressure on the backs of your thighs all day.

2. Seat depth This is the most overlooked setting. You should be able to fit two or three fingers between the front edge of the seat and the back of your knees. Too deep and you cannot use the backrest; too shallow and you lose thigh support. Slide the seat pan to dial it in.

3. Lumbar support The lumbar pad should press into the natural inward curve of your lower back, not your mid-back. Adjust its height and depth until you feel gentle, even support that encourages an upright posture without forcing it.

4. Armrest height Armrests should let your shoulders relax with your elbows at about 90 degrees while typing. If you are shrugging to reach them, they are too high; if your shoulders slump, too low. Width matters too: keep them close enough to support your forearms.

5. Recline tension A chair should let you lean back slightly throughout the day to change loading on your spine. Set the tension so reclining takes light, controlled effort, then unlock the recline so you can move freely rather than sitting rigidly upright.

Put it together Spend ten minutes setting all five the day your chair arrives, then revisit after a week. Small tweaks to depth and lumbar often resolve aches people assumed were the chair's fault.