geekhack Community > Ergonomics

Need posture help please

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typo:
I have not moved anything. I am sitting in an embody. I am looking at an Eizo on a Vesa mount. Same for about 9 months. All of the sudden my nec and back are completely jacked. I have no idea what is going wrong? What would you guy's adjust. i mean there are so many possibilities of things I could adjust here I do not want to make it worse. Oh, the Topre keyboard and Elecom trackball are in a HumanScale tray. That has not been adjusted at all recently either. The chair has not been moved or anything. I do not understand whay this is happening. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you

Findecanor:
I have never had as much back pain as when I was using a super-adjustable "ergo" chair. Too many options for adjusting it - adjusting it the wrong way.
I have also had problems with my forearms being in the same position for too long, after periods of not getting enough exercise.

In my experience/opinion:
* Lean back ... or use something like a backless kneeling chair where your back is in balance or use a sit/stand desk. Your posture should feel natural and comfortable, not "straight".
* Sit high enough. Your forearms should be horizontal or reach down.
* Exercise regularly. The important part is to move your muscles and your joints, not do anything straining.

typo:
Actually this chair has like 3 adjustments. Body Bilt are the brand of chairs you do not want. great chairs but must be adjusted by a Chiropractor.  You are supposed to recline in it and I am not. I have sit/stand and failing to stand now. Freaking motorized yet. I did actually lower the chair. I think you just discovered the entire problem. Thank you a whole lot! This is called being very lazy. I have the best equipment and I am defeating it on purpose, Duh. I honestly did not realize I was doing all of that until you put it all together. Being lazy is easy and in a few months you pay a price for it. I just realized I am looking up over a foot and a half at the displays. I get the Bozo of the year award. Other people can reply but canor just solved the problem. Good one!

ergonaut:
I can only emphasize the point about exercise. In those times when I exercise enough, even the ****tiest office chair can't hurt me, but in times like these, when I'm lazy and sedentary, even the most ergo setup wouldn't really help that much.

Kaidesk_Lee:
I strained a disc in my lower back a couple of years ago by sitting at my desk for years with poor posture. I'm not an expert at all but this is what I've learned since then: It happens because poor posture puts too much strain on the bones and ligaments of the back, and gradually leads to weakening of the core muscles which you should be using to hold yourself upright. Then maybe one night you sleep in the wrong position, or lift a box the wrong way which is just enough to push you over the edge, and suddenly you have chronic back pain.

Among other things, good posture requires that you constantly engage your core (flex your stomach muscles). It feels weird at first, and takes a lot of effort. But you don't need to force yourself to do it for long before it becomes a habit.

I suggest that you prioritise regular exercise to counteract bad posture. Humans are just not designed to sit down for hours on end, so while it's important to find a good ergonomic setup, regular exercise is the only long term solution.

Two resources I can highly recommend for this are r/bodyweightfitness on Reddit, and the Athlean-X YouTube channel. Both have plenty of exercises that require zero or minimal equipment like a pull up bar.

If it gets worse though, paying for one session with a physiotherapist or chiropractor can be worth it, especially if you ask them to show you which exercises would help you specifically.

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