Can I just raise my chair instead of lowering the desk?

Only if your feet still reach the floor flat. Raising the chair lifts the knees with it, and once the feet dangle the seat-height specification is broken. Add a footrest at the same time if you go this route.

Do standing desks have the same problem?

They solve it, provided the lowest setting reaches your sitting number. Check the minimum height before you buy: a desk with a 72 cm minimum cannot serve a 43 cm seat height at all.

Laptop only · Published 2026-08-15 · By The Ergonomics Desk · Spec checked 2026-09-18

Desk height: seat height plus 20 to 25 cm, and why 75 cm fits almost nobody

The standard desk is 73-75 cm high. That number came from typewriter tables sized for the average of a 1950s male population. If you are under 178 cm, it is probably too tall for you, and the whole reason your shoulders creep up is that your desk is asking them to.

Measurement schedule - centimetres unless stated
Callout	Item	Ideal	Band	Why this band
1	Desk height above the seat surface	20-25	18-28 cm	Puts the elbow at 90-100 degrees with the shoulder relaxed.
2	Typical floor-to-desktop for a 43 cm seat	63-68	61-70 cm	Why the 75 cm default is 7-10 cm too tall for this group.
3	Typical floor-to-desktop for a 50 cm seat	70-75	68-78 cm	The narrow band the standard desk was actually designed around.
4	Keyboard tray drop from desktop	8-12	6-15 cm	Enough to rescue a fixed-height desk without a new one.
5	Leg clearance under the tray	65	62-72 cm	Below this the tray forces the knees apart or the chair down.

Derive desk height from the seat, not from the floor

Set the chair correctly first. Then measure from the seat surface to the underside of your forearm at the elbow while your shoulders are relaxed. That distance - typically 20-25 cm - is the desk height above the seat, not above the floor.

Add your seat height and you get your floor-to-desktop number. A person with a 43 cm seat needs a desk at 63-68 cm. A person with a 50 cm seat needs 70-75 cm. The single number 75 fits one of those two people well and the other one badly.

What a too-tall desk actually does

A desk 5 cm too tall raises the shoulders by 5 cm and holds them there. There is no muscle in the shoulder girdle designed to hold a static elevated position for six hours, which is why the tightness shows up in the upper trapezius rather than in the arms.

The second effect is at the wrist. Reaching up to a high keyboard puts the wrist into extension before you have typed anything, and every keystroke adds a few more degrees of bend on top of that.

Fixes, cheapest first

A keyboard tray that clamps under the desktop drops the input surface 8-12 cm and is the standard answer for a fixed-height desk. Choose one with a negative-tilt option and at least 60 cm of width, and check that it leaves 65 cm of leg clearance below it.

Cutting the legs is the permanent fix and is easier than it sounds on a wooden or steel-leg desk: a pipe cutter removes 4 cm in a few minutes. If you cut, cut in 2 cm steps and re-measure - going 5 cm short is unrecoverable, going 2 cm short is another cut.

Before you measure

Set the chair height first, then measure relaxed elbow height above the seat
Add the seat height and compare with your desktop's actual height
If the desk is more than 3 cm too tall, fit a keyboard tray
Confirm 65 cm of leg clearance below the tray
Re-measure after any change - do not carry numbers over from a previous setup

Once it is measured

Desk height = seat height + 20-25 cm, measured at the relaxed elbow
A 75 cm desk fits a 50 cm seat height, not a 43 cm one
A too-tall desk raises the shoulders and pre-bends the wrist
Keyboard tray first, leg cutting second, new desk last

Three budget bands

entry

Under $60 - a clamp-on keyboard tray with negative tilt. The single highest-return purchase for a fixed 75 cm desk.

mid

$300-$600 - an electric sit-stand desk with a 62-128 cm height range, so both a short and a tall user can find their number.

pro

$900+ - a desk with four memory presets and a printed height accuracy of plus or minus 1 mm, plus a cable tray that preserves leg clearance.

Printable spec

Desk = seat height + 20-25 cm - 43 cm seat -> 63-68 cm desk - 50 cm seat -> 70-75 cm desk - keyboard tray drops 8-12 cm - keep 65 cm leg clearance

Questions that come up

Can I just raise my chair instead of lowering the desk?: Only if your feet still reach the floor flat. Raising the chair lifts the knees with it, and once the feet dangle the seat-height specification is broken. Add a footrest at the same time if you go this route.
Do standing desks have the same problem?: They solve it, provided the lowest setting reaches your sitting number. Check the minimum height before you buy: a desk with a 72 cm minimum cannot serve a 43 cm seat height at all.

Adjacent factors

This page is measurement reference material, not medical advice. It describes dimensions that reduce load on a healthy adult at a desk; it does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. If you have an existing back, neck, wrist or circulation problem, or you are pregnant, take the numbers to a clinician or a qualified ergonomist rather than treating them as a prescription. All figures are adult anthropometric approximations - measure your own body before you spend money.