Kneeling Chairs and Back Problems

[Echo North]

That's encouraging Martin!

I'm trying to use it as a positive.  You know, as an excuse to work out, stay fit and keep extra weight off.

I'm definitely going to look at a hydraulic desk.  Work already gave me a price limit that would enable me to get about 10 hydraulic desks, so i should be able to get some hardware to help.  I work for great people.

Walk...Walk...Walk and Exercise...Exercise...Exercise...is the key though.

Anyone tried acupuncture for this type of pain?  My wife swears by it, I keep accusing her of trying to send me to a witch doctor.

Mike

 

[Echo North]

I'm also going to remove the lumbar support in my office chair...I'm with PRR, I don't think that thing is doing me favors.

Mike

 

[okgb]

I believe it's helpful to veiw the body as a whole system ,
agree with the yoga , but anything that will strengthen  with balence

how are your shoes & mattress , do they work for you
the other things in your daily life ? habits ?

 

[Echo North]

I believe it's helpful to veiw the body as a whole system ,
agree with the yoga , but anything that will strengthen  with balence

how are your shoes & mattress , do they work for you
the other things in your daily life ? habits ?

I had to stop wearing "fancy shoes"  I wear good sneakers all the time.

I have the least pain when I wake up in the am so i think my mattress is fine.

Mike

 

[thermionic]

The kneeling chair has helped with my shoulder / back injury. However, it's a PITA. You sit 'in it'. If the phone goes you have be careful getting off it, or you catch your feet and can go flying.

I intend to try a Swiss Ball at some point.

J

 

[wtmnmf]

Anyone tried acupuncture for this type of pain?  My wife swears by it, I keep accusing her of trying to send me to a witch doctor.

Spending half an hour or an hour relaxing while someone fusses over your body once every week or two always feels good, regardless of the therapy. 

 

[thermionic]

Spending half an hour or an hour relaxing while someone fusses over your body once every week or two always feels good, regardless of the therapy.  Wink

Give that man the Nobel Science Prize. There have been experiments where they've used tools that mimick the feel of acupuncture, but don't pierce the skin. They showed similar results in the placebo group.

Justin

 

[sodderboy]

Do not confuse "water tables" or "massage with happy ending" with asian bodywork or real acupuncture.  You will feel a deep galvonic energy with every point hit by a professional, be it with a needle, thumb, or knee.
I have found that "massage therapists" are largely bogus.  Three hours of attention from them are worthless.  Same with chinese mall massages.  The massage equivalent of twice-cook pork.
Asian medicine practiced by professionals is certainly not witch doctoring.  It has a few thousand years on Pasteur and Curie.
Mike
PS: And I will repeat that anyone with chronic pain anywhere in their body should invest the time to read one of Sarno's books.  Power to the people!
 

 

[MartyMart]

I bought a HAG chair from the back store in London in about 1987, it cost me almost £300 then ... which
was a LOT believe me. ( probably equates to around 500-600 today )
The reason was the amount of time I spent programming in front of a computer - then an Atari and now
an Intel Mac Pro.

It came in the car with me to hundreds of sessions and after a few "wry smiles" and people had tried it
there was no problem at all !

This combined with a decent amount of walking etc has totally saved my back.
The chair is STILL in good condition and when the large rubber "grommets" had worn out on the knee
section in about 2001 - HAG sent me replacements for the cost of postage only !!
THAT's what I call service

I couldn't disagree more about the "knee pain" you just have to get used to it, and this HAG chair is a pro
device, you actually sit with combined pressure of "Bum an Knees" .... NOT just on your knees.

It forces you to sit up straight and NOT slouch - Genius device, adjustable up/down and spins around and has wheels.

Without it, I'm sure that my back would be in a terrible shape by now.

Just my 20 years of "HAG" 2 c's  !!!

MM.

 

[PRR]

> I'm minus 7.00 diopters

-Minus-? You focus past infinity? You wear convex glasses to see normally?

That's quite different from me and a lot of folks. I see at 15", my gal sees at 5". If the Corgi knocks the glasses off the couch, we'll find them, by peering at one square foot at a time. Ah... your naked vision is like me in my gal's glasses: I am pretty dysfunctional.

I worked with someone who wore over +20 glass and was still legally blind.

I know little about far-sightedness. I know near-sights like me get extra fussy as our near vision recedes, because we were spoiled in our youth.

Then about +7 glass for driving, +8.25 or +8.5 for PC, +9 for books, +10 for detailed electronics... this is heavy glass. Be glad of the plastic lenses we've got in the last few years... when glass was the only choice, a ten diopter lens had to be heavy even if it was small.

And yes, at 33 it probably is not worth fretting about. Yet.

> I suppose I'll need bifocals soon.

You have many years of single-vision lenses. You have your "normal" +7, thankfully fairly stable. In 5-15 years, go to $39 eyeglasses dot com or similar, get single-vision with the numbers from your eye-doc with "Add" about +1.25. This puts your relaxed focus around 32", and while you are 40-something you can accommodate in to book-distance. With this spec, you can walk around the house, but won't be crisp with a hi-def TV across the room; you can drive, but you can not read highway signs and may not be legal to drive. I prefer this focus in my office, and sometimes get to the parking lot before noticing I can't tell one Honda from another and should go back for my distance glasses. Many near-seeing tasks are awkward on bifocals, short-range single-vision is more comfortable. And at $39, you can have short-range pairs at home and work for far less than the cost of bifocals.

Finally I realized that I had the monitor just right, but could NOT read my calculator, and was terrible reading the PC keyboard. So I now have two sets of $79 bifocals with +1.25 main and +2.25 inset.

> if it starts to hurt then start to move and listen to your body!

Yes. Tai Chi, Yoga, etc are, by western standards, "all the same", and similar to classic muscle training: your mind and body get to know each other better.

Acupuncture is not bogus. Not "witch doctor". There are bogus practitioners; get a referral. If your wife is good enough to marry, her opinion is worth listening to.

I've had routine chiropractic. The doc went though the motions. It did limber a little, but when I left I walked around the block before getting in my car; otherwise the tightness came right back.

I went to a massage guy recommended by a dancer. He was slightly less bored than the chiropractor, and did about as much good. The whole hands-on thing has effect. But I'm conflicted by being a very hands-off antisocial guy.

Kneeling Chairs: they are all different. I had two different, both flawed in different ways. I believe they CAN be better than they usually are; Marty's endorsement is quite interesting. And yes, $500-$1000 is cheaper than a year of chiro or massage or pain-dope, not to think of surgery, and over 20 years is stupid-cheap.

 

[Scodiddly]

I used to use a kneeling chair back in my software days.  Actually I had one of those and the yoga ball, and I'd switch every couple of hours some days.  No complaints about either.

 

[Echo North]

I'm technically nearsighted but in reality I'm nosighted.  I believe my glasses are concave.

I just measured, without correction I need to get about 6" (or closer) from my computer screen to be able to read it.

I remember the thinner plastics were just becoming available when I was a kid which probably saved me from a lot of torment.  Even up until recently I had to select smaller frames to avoid the "coke bottle" look.  I still have plenty of lens bulging past my fairly thick plastic frame.

I've just started on "lyrica" which is some sort of nerve pain drug.  Seems to be helping a little but ultimately it's a short term fix until I get my back stronger and get out of this damn chair.

Mike

 

[PRR]

> I'm technically nearsighted but in reality I'm nosighted.  I believe my glasses are concave. ...I need to get about 6" (or closer)

Bah. That's strong, but my gal wears -9.0D/-10.25D. With her glasses off, she can't focus until we are nose-to-nose, 4 inches. Like you, she gets in bed and then sets the specs on the side table; or if I do it for her, I have to be sure to put them in THE spot or she won't find them in the morning.

> I've just started on "lyrica" which is some sort of nerve pain drug.

New to me, and at first glance seems an odd choice for back pain, either injury or degenerative.

"Lyrica is used to control seizures and to treat fibromyalgia. It is also used to treat pain caused by nerve damage in people with diabetes (diabetic neuropathy) or herpes zoster (post-herpetic neuralgia). ... Lyrica may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide."

Seizures? Fibromyalgia?

Perhaps "nerve damage"; but damage from diabetes or zoster must be a different sort than simple disc-crush damage? They don't know how it works; it may reduce pain impulses.

Possible strong mood effects. Possible bad withdrawal effects. Yeah, they have to list EVERYthing now, and as drug disclosures go, this is not awful. But Strong Stuff. Hope it helps.

 

[Echo North]

Well the deal with the Lyrica is that I have been on the pain killers for almost 6 months and they are looking for something to avoid the bad side effects associated with those.

I think it's one of the "other purposes not listed in this medication guide."

They say it can help the pain from the protruding disc hitting the nerves on my spine.  Seems to help.

I'm going to have most of August off.  Apart from moving into the new house (we're hiring someone to move and lift stuff) I'm going to focus on getting my back on the right track.

Mike

 

[sonicmook56]

I feel like I'm on the way to severe back problems, I'm only 27.

I wake up with severe back pain 4/ out of 7 days.  Walking around for 5 minutes watering the garden makes it go away.  Sometimes in a hot shower I feel like I'm paralyzed, I can't move.  My special lady friend has been reporting the same thing, I think we need a new mattress ASAP.

Part of my issue might have been commuting 100+ miles a week on a fixed gear bicycle that was too large for me.  I recently switched to a smaller frame with different geometry, got a freewheel+ 6 speed cassette for the first time in 5 years and my back feels much better.

Lots of good info and personal experience stories in this thread.

 

[canidoit]

The first time my back stuffed up, I was out for almost a month. I said I would start looking after my health but i didnt. My shoulder gave out and I still didn't do anything about it. The second time my back went I was out for 3 months. Then my knee gave way and my knee was out for 6 months.

Learnt my lesson by that time, I do yoga and excercise better. When your body starts to give, it's telling you something. Try yoga and also a lumbar support on your chair. Those kneeling chairs are actually great but you have to give them a chance so that your body gets use to it and it becomes second nature, just like Yoga. The problem with these types of injuries is that once you get them once, it's very easy to get them again. I have tried the kneeling chair and excercise ball and the ball is the better from the two from my experience. But you have to position yourself properly on the ball for it to work properly.

That's just my take on it.

 

[kazper]

I wake up with severe back pain 4/ out of 7 days.  Walking around for 5 minutes watering the garden makes it go away.  Sometimes in a hot shower I feel like I'm paralyzed, I can't move.  My special lady friend has been reporting the same thing, I think we need a new mattress ASAP.

We did one of those memory foam mattresses from Costco. Shows up in an box about the size of a fridge and in about 20 min it's a full size mattress. I can't recommended them enough for the small amount of money they cost.



A good friend uses acupuncture for his back problem and says it helps.

 

[Echo North]

Purchasing just sent this link to me:

http://www.workriteergo.com/

Check out the video after the flash intro...that is going to be me in the grey suit.

Mike

 

[PRR]

> Check out the video after the flash intro...

http://www.workriteergo.com/workrite_movie2007.asp

What is with the orange pens, paper, and orange show-fence over everything? How f%*#@ing much did that video cost them? How much does it add to the cost of the product?

> that is going to be me in the grey suit.

That's a 8 MegaByte price-list!

That's a $4,000 desk, $372 monitor-arm, $320 keyboard tray.

You'll want a $179 power outlet (ONE outlet!). $63 for a wire-tray. $10 cup-holder.

? ? ? There is a $697 "Diagnostic Kit" (and extra $135 cables) so your PC can talk to your desk's up/down buttons.

FOOT-REST! Foot-support is critical for back ease. Half the desks round here have a mail-tray stuffed under. Add $92. (Which looks just like one my grandmother bought for $22...)

$4000 desk
$372 monitor-arm
$320 keyboard tray
$179 power outlet
$179 power outlet
$179 power outlet
  $63 wire-tray
  $10 cup-holder
  $92 FOOT-REST!
===============
  $5,394 plus tax, shipping, and whatever other frills the $alesman sells you.
 
Man, my boss could buy me off and kick me out for less than that.

> Purchasing just sent this link

Yeah, well, they just buy stuff, they don't pay for it. My Purchasing Dept has been sold a similar big-shot desk/chair vendor. But my Chairman (or your manager or manager's-boss) has to sign the purchase-order indicating that s/he has this much cash and wants to spend it this way.

Good luck. And if you get lucky, let me know; I'll gimp over to try it.

 

[Echo North]

Good luck. And if you get lucky, let me know; I'll gimp over to try it.

Approved.  

I guess one of the Jesuits on Campus just got one.  They (my bosses) want me to go look at it first to make sure I like it.

It'll be interesting to see how long it takes to get here and what they charge to deliver.  When I got my new chair, it took 3 months and they charged $200 to wheel it in the door.

I'm searching officemax now for orange pens, post-its, cups...

I'll take some pics when it gets here.

Mike