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| How Back Supports Work |
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| Sports Car Seats |
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| Sofas and Armchairs |
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| Other Back Supports |
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| Back Pain |
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| Computing Comfort |
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Our special foam is ultra-dense but supersoft, to give progressive support.
The micro-structure consists of millions of tiny
voids. It starts to compress very easily, so that it conforms to the shape of your body and absorbs any surface lumps, then where necessary it firms up to ease your spine into the correct shape. We use this in preference to viscoelastic 'memory' foam, which changes its firmness with temperature and even with how fast you sit down! |
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To maximise the benefit of the foam, we use a very
supple
stretch fabric for the cover. By
being highly conforming, it absorbs indentations from
clothing creases, belt loops and bony protrusions. As a demonstration, here it is even conforming around the little buttons on a remote control... The comfort this gives is unique. |
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The soft conforming cover is braced by the
attachment system on the back. The fastening strip is sewn into the seams and all across the cover, so the straps will never distort the cover or tear out. You simply attach the straps either horizontally for office chairs, or vertically for cars, vans and trucks where it hangs from the headrest pillars. |
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Does it work? Independent volunteer back-pain sufferers reported daily back pain reduced by 44% on average, when they used BackShape back supports for a week. Details... |
more about fitting >>
lumbar support on sofas and armchairs >>
Available in
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Charcoal Black |
Midnight Blue |
| How to Order |
 (10% discount for 8+) |
with (for online orders) |
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FREE Shipping Worldwide |
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Credit terms are available for orders of 3+ BackShapes, for registered organisations with accounts filed (£3 P&P).
10% discount for orders of 8 or more.
For our address and contact details, please visit the contact page.
More about Back Support
All lumbar supports work by exerting extra pressure behind the middle and lower spine, to push it forwards, into the shape which is known to be best for its health - the 'Lordotic curve'. Or even in many cases it is enough to settle for
getting it straight.
But after that basic characteristic, back supports can be very different. In 1999 Open Ergonomics was asked to recommend one, and finding that none met good ergonomics design criteria, we started making them.
In general, back supports are designed to be easy to manufacture. Unluckily, that does not produce the most effective or comfortable support.
The easiest way to make a lumbar support is to mould the foam core using a firm foam, and make a shape with blunt ends, so that it is easy to remove from the mould without tearing.
This moulded core is then also easy to cover with fabric, because the hard core has a stiff skin and controls the fabric, stretching it as necessary and masking any irregularities in the sewing. Sewing is still done by hand for such items, and has a lot of variability. By demanding less accurate sewing, the covers can be made more cheaply - abroad and by younger less skilled workers.
The resulting pad is not a shape that matches the spine, and is not soft enough for surface protrusions to sink into it. Consequently the skin is subject to small areas of high pressure that inhibit blood flow, and only one or two individual vertebrae are given direct support.
BackShape avoids these shortcomings by using skinless foam in a soft but dense formulation, cut by a computer-controlled machine to the ergonomically defined shape - one that is not too thick and that tapers to a feather edge at top and bottom. There is more discussion of this on the Other Back Supports page.
To maximise the benefit from this highly conforming core, we make the cover from a supple stretch fabric, that moulds itself to the shapes pressed onto it. Consequently all the bones in the back are directly supported, and pressures on the skin are kept low enough for all-day comfort.
See also:
How back supports work
Back support on sofas and armchairs
The Back Pain section of the site