Your Office Chair Is Killing You • Hacker News Board

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#41

Post by spudlyo » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:24 PM UTC

mechanical_fish wrote: post #38

I can't believe that some ergonomics researchers are actually endorsing my crazy idea of setting up a treadmill and walking while working. Maybe I have to try that now. It's a pity that treadmills are so pricey. Incidentally, the ability to move around in different positions while reading is a major reason I bought the iPad.

You can often find great bargains on used exercise equipment, as it's often bought and then rarely used. Check craigslist.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#42

Post by ivorjawa » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:26 PM UTC

I just set up a standing workstation for drawing, electronics work, and (some) coding. I wrote an extensive post about it, including what equipment I used and why I made the choices I did here: http://ivorjawa.livejournal.com/624808.html

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#43

Post by stcredzero » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:45 PM UTC

spudlyo wrote: post #41

mechanical_fish wrote: post #38

I can't believe that some ergonomics researchers are actually endorsing my crazy idea of setting up a treadmill and walking while working. Maybe I have to try that now. It's a pity that treadmills are so pricey. Incidentally, the ability to move around in different positions while reading is a major reason I bought the iPad.

You can often find great bargains on used exercise equipment, as it's often bought and then rarely used. Check craigslist.

What about one of these instead of a treadmill?

http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-40-0045C-InStride-Electronic-S...

The same company also makes a compact elliptical.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#44

Post by JoeAltmaier » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:47 PM UTC

Sit in any any regular chair, and don't lean back. Simple, similar to the "stool perch" recommendation, free and universally available.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#45

Post by kerkeslager » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:53 PM UTC

edu wrote: post #27

friendstock wrote: post #16

what about sitting on a big bouncy ball? http://blog.makezine.com/upload/2010/03/toolbox_take_a_seat/...

From the article Standing desks and chaise longues are good options. Ball chairs, which bounce your spine into a C-shape, are not. I'm not sure if "ball chairs" are the same as you mean, but I guess they're.

I've been sitting on a medicine ball for a while, and I agree that there's a big tendency to slouch into a C-shaped back. However, if you are conscious of your posture, it is possible to sit with an S-shaped back. At least, that's my subjective, anecdotal experience.

A side effect of sitting with good S-shaped posture on a medicine ball is that I don't really "sit" any more. Instead, I straddle the ball as if I were riding a horse.

However, for me the reason I switched to sitting on a medicine ball has nothing to do with back posture and everything to do with preventing a recurring pilonidal abscess.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#46

Post by Vivtek » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:58 PM UTC

NickM wrote: post #37

I wish the article had given an explanation for their claim that lumbar support doesn't help anything. They say the spine needs to stay S-shaped, and that's exactly what lumbar support is designed to promote, so what's the problem?

I understood that it wasn't that lumbar support isn't good, it's that a normal chair with lumbar support is still just a normal chair, and thus too low; you're still sitting on your butt instead of letting your legs support you.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#47

Post by xexers » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:03 PM UTC

stcredzero wrote: post #43

spudlyo wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can often find great bargains on used exercise equipment, as it's often bought and then rarely used. Check craigslist.

What about one of these instead of a treadmill? http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-40-0045C-InStride-Electronic-S... The same company also makes a compact elliptical.

its impossible to cheat while standing on a treadmill, but those things you can just stop.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#48

Post by tlb » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:28 PM UTC

Older people who move around have half the mortality rate of their peers. Well that proves something. No chance of mixing up causation there.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#49

Post by tlb » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:31 PM UTC

NickM wrote: post #37

I wish the article had given an explanation for their claim that lumbar support doesn't help anything. They say the spine needs to stay S-shaped, and that's exactly what lumbar support is designed to promote, so what's the problem?

I think the point is that postural support muscles have special metabolism that does good things when they're active (generating force) for extended periods of time. A chair that molds you into the shape doesn't make the muscles work.

Re: Your Office Chair Is Killing You

#50

Post by stcredzero » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:32 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #44

Sit in any any regular chair, and don't lean back. Simple, similar to the "stool perch" recommendation, free and universally available.

This is something I'm skeptical about in this article. I know that I can sit in such a way as to give my spine an S curve. However, I also know that I inevitably curve my back if I am sitting down for long stretches of time.