5 Best Seat Cushions to Make Your Desk Chair More Supportive and Comfortable

The experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab evaluate back pillows, mattresses, pillows, and seat cushions with advanced equipment and with the help of our consumer testers' feedback.

To find the best seat cushions, our analysts researched tons of top brands and narrowed down a select few to test in the Lab. After putting the cushions through the wringer, our consumer testers used these seat cushions on their office desk chairs or seats at home. On top of that, our editors also spoke with physical therapists and medical professionals to hear their recommendations and insight on what features make a great seat cushion, especially for those with back pain.

Here are a few things we evaluated and considered while testing seat cushions:

✔️ Softness and comfort: The softness and comfort of a seat cushion can correlate with the material. Memory foam seat cushions have a slower release time (meaning the cushion conforms to your body and takes a bit of time to return to its original shape). Gel allows for more breathability, and while it doesn't conform to your specific body shape, it allows for more even distribution of your body weight across the seat cushion.

✔️ Shape: Our consumer testers gave feedback on their thoughts about the shape of different seat cushions and whether that helped alleviate or worsen any discomfort while sitting in a seat.

✔️ Ease of use: We also asked consumer testers whether the cushion was easy to set up on their chairs. Some cushions, like the Purple Double Seat Cushion (pictured), include a cover that encases the cushion, which also allows for easy cleaning.

✔️ Ability to stay in place: Lastly, we evaluated whether cushions stayed in place on a chair over the course of days, weeks, and even months. Some seat cushions feature special gripping material or straps to buckle a cushion in to ensure the cushion stays in place on a chair as you sit, stand up, and potentially fidget throughout the day.

Before you choose a seat cushion, it is important to identify where your pain is originating from, says Dr. Bethel. “Your axial pain could be from coccydynia, degenerative disc disease, or sacroiliitis,” he says. (Some of these ailments may require donut-shaped pillows).

You'll want to look for the right material, shape, and support for what's ailing you.

✔️ For back pain, you will need a seat with some cushioning and plenty of lumbar support, says Helfrich.

✔️ For tailbone pain, also known as coccydynia, look for a U-shaped cushion or one with a cutout for the tailbone to remove pressure. “Seat cushions are made to offload pressure at your pain point,” says Gallucci.

✔️ For tailbone or hemorrhoid problems, you’ll want a circular or U-shaped cushion. A cutout can also help with relieving pressure on the affected area.

✔️ For a larger person, “a firmer pillow is better, otherwise it may collapse in and end up with pressure on your pain points,” says Dr. Bethel. Otherwise, it is often about personal choice. “It’s always best to find that Goldilocks area – not too hard and not too soft,” says Helfrich. “The most important aspect is that it is comfortable for you.”

✔️ For a high hamstring injury, you want to offload the pressure off the ischial tuberosity (the bones in your butt cheeks) with a very thick cushion.

✔️ For bilateral low back pain, "use a pad that's neutral, and offloads the ischial tuberosity," says Dr. Gallucci. This refers to a bony part of your pelvis that supports body weight while sitting, making contact with the chair. A neutral pad can be one that is flat and square, like the cushion from Purple.

✔️ For sciatica, Helfrich points out that a cushion with memory foam and lumbar support can be helpful for relieving the pressure around the sciatic nerve.

Both are good materials for a supportive seat cushion. Gel is more resilient and has a bouncy feel, whereas memory foam conforms to your body for pressure relief. “Gel is a dense liquid, similar to what you would find in gel shoe inserts, while memory foam is a solid foam that displaces its cells as opposed to moving the fluid around,” explains Dr. Bethel.

Gel has its benefits, says Gallucci, “If you're going to be sitting for a long period of time, the movement of the gel helps with circulatory issues, and may help decrease inflammation, whereas foam becomes denser over time.” Plus, gel is a bit cooler and more breathable, while memory foam tends to trap heat.

Marisa Cohen, deputy editor of Hearst's health newsroom, has two decades of experience writing about every aspect of mental and physical health. For this article, she interviewed three medical experts who work with patients who suffer from back, leg, or tailbone pain, Good Housekeeping staffers also tested out the seat cushions for comfort and support.

Isabella Cavallo is the editorial commerce editor at the GH Institute. She has experience covering health, fitness, and wellness topics, including reviews of health-related products, lumbar support pillows, mattresses, and more. Cavallo most recently contributed to this article with updated testing info, new picks, and more.

To write this story, Cohen tapped the following physical therapists and health professionals to gain their insight on what types of seat cushions are more ergonomic, can help correct posture, and have the potential to alleviate back pain:

✔️Klee Bethel, M.D. is the director of interventional pain management at the Neil Riordan Center for Regenerative Medicine in Tempe, AZ.

✔️ John Gallucci, Jr. D.P.T. is the founder of JAG Physical Therapy.

✔️Christynne Helfrich, D.P.T. is a physical therapist at Hinge Health.