Me, I have a disease which is kinda wiping out my connective tissue over time, which includes those lovely soft discs in my spine, dammit. Biggest current issue with that is that it’s getting harder and harder to sit at my desk for more than ~15min without lower back pain ratcheting up…
So I was wondering if anyone here with lower back issues has found a chair that helped them sit?
From L-R, T-B, chair #2 is a saddle chair, which looks kinda interesting. Chair #4 is one I used to have, which seemingly tries to keep the spine perfectly straight-up, but it was also hell on my knees.
Now, chair #3 kinda looks like a Star Trek-style bumper-car that I’d want to ride in my very last visit to an amusement park. 😄
(right-click as needed)
Those kneeling office chairs really hurt my knees, I’m too tall to use saddle chairs at a regular desk and with exercise balls its hard for me to get the height right. As far as chairs go what helped me was finding a chair with adjustible lumbar support, and adjustible spring tension on reclining. Steelcase used to offer all of these features but it looks like they don’t have as much adjustment now. I’ve heard good things about Herman Miller but I’ve never tried them. As for lifestyle changes: a heating pad to loosen cramps, free weights to strengthen, and a foam roller to help realign the spine have all helped me. ymmv obv.
Anthros. Sitting in anything else now kills my back.
Ergochair from aunomous.ai. Ricking the same chair since 2016.
Ergochair from aunomous.ai. Ricking the same chair since 2016.
Never going to give it up?
I’ve had lumbar pain from bad chairs in the past, but nothing medically diagnosed (so bear that in mind, your situation might be a lot more serious).
For the past years I’ve been using a Secret Lab chair, and it’s been wonderful. I usually tilt it so it allows me to distribute the weight across my back and not on top of my lumbar, probably not really ergonomic but I haven’t experienced any problems with it.
That being said if I needed to get a new chair it wouldn’t be a secret lab, as much as I like it and I think it’s built like a tank and will last me forever, the lack of a way to limit the tilting is very annoying for my use case.
I have a talent. I’m able to slouch on any chair or equivalent that is presented to me.
If I remember to correct my posture I just put the pillow for my lower back, slide to the edge of my seat or do both.
I used to slouch in chairs when I was younger.
I have a feeling it was a pretty terrible decision for my long-term back health, but whatever. Can’t go back in a time machine and change that shizzle.
Herniated L6/L7. No chair has helped me. Only things that have are
- sit/stand desk
- movement (the best position is the next position)
- dead hangs, progressed to pull ups
- deadlift, slow progression, perfect form. Teaches proper lift positioning and bracing to execute successfully.
- same for squats
Not medical advice in any way. These are just the things that have helped me immensely. If you take any lifting advice off the Internet, get a coach.
I know if my back starts to hurt it’s because I’m not doing one or all of them enough.
L6/L7? Lumbar ends with L5 and joints with S1. Bro got that spine DLC. Lol
I’ve forgotten the name but this thing I found at goodwill has been great for my hips/lower back while working!!
That looks like it vibrates.
Yeah the vibrations relieve tension.
Cornhole tension?
Yeah, I’ve never had such a good massage chair. Super lucky find!
That would do wonders for an itchy butthole, but I suspect it would wedgie my drawers so far up my asshole they would never be seen again.
I’m pretty sure they sell miniature versions that preclude this issue.
That device actually exacerbates low back pain because it causes you to arch your back & scream.
Fun story, there’s a sex shop in Orlando with one of those on the second floor. When you turn it on, the actual entire second floor balcony rumbles
I can only imagine. 🤩
Try spinalis chairs, but to me it was less comfortable so it was harder to focus on the task
I used the saddle and the last one. The latter felt better for my back, but strained knees quite some, the former doesn’t seem to do much for posture, but the back feels a bit better now.
Exercise balls. After my boss bought a dozen for the workplace, I realized how much less my lower back was hurting. If I make an effort to also move my hip in various ways, it hurts even less. I decided to buy one myself to use when gaming on my PC. Works like a charm. Does my back still hurt? Yes. Has the exercise ball worked better and been more cost-effective than any other option thus far? Yes.
My problem is some kind of hypertension after overdoing cycling about six years ago. At least that’s what they think. After having seen several specialists and doctors, they still don’t know.
I have exercise-induced hypertension too and the docs can’t figure that one either. It started around Covid. So did yours.
Covid killed everything. Nothing has been the same since.
People are… different too, and not in a good way either. I think we all died and this is purgatory or some shit.
And they’re getting worse every time they catch it. Meanwhile, the UK government has found a solution! Tell doctors not to write sick notes 👍.
That thought never occurred to me. What the… Have you seen or heard or read any articles that talk about back pain among those that have been infected by covid or that have been vaccinated?
Dang, I didn’t know about this…
My problem is some kind of hypertension after overdoing cycling about six years ago. At least that’s what they think. After having seen several specialists and doctors, they still don’t know.
Damn, that’s confusing.
So when you scale back with that specific exercise and test your blood pressure with a home kit, does it seem better…?Exercise balls
In the States, we used to have those as “Hobby-Horses” for us little kids to ride. I wouldn’t even know how to choose one nowadays, nor what to do with one of those now, honestly.
i bought an exercise ball as a temporary measure until i could afford a decent chair but found it so comfortable i never bothered replacing it, until after about five years it lost its shape and became a big egg with an arse print in it. the problem with that is when it’s warm you quickly get a sweaty undercarriage. so i bought a less complicated version of the kneeling chair in your fourth image like this one:
you can pay a fortune for a varier one or get one for a song from aliexpress etc. it has most advantages of a ball plus you can switch positions to have your feet on the floor, on the rails, on the pads, or some combination. i was worried i’d roll over my toe but it hasn’t happened yet
I have a rocking kneeling chair from Sleekform, which I found a nice middle ground price and quality wise. I’m hyper mobile and have ADHD, so I appreciate being able to sit in a variety of ways on it. I tend to perch with my feet on the knee rests, tbh (I wear slippers in my office). I also rock in it when I need to fidget.
A lot of gyms and physical therapists have them, sometimes they’re called “yoga balls” if you want to try one out. Just make sure you have something/someone to hold on to while you’re trying it.
Some are advertised as “anti-burst” meaning if it breaks it’s more likely to slowly deflate rather than pop - iirc bc it’s made of thicker material. I had one of those and used it to sit on sometimes - it was fun but I ended up going with another chair.
Those aren’t sandwiches.
They want you to send them sandwiches.
They might be threatening you with aliens, too.The old sandwich/alien extortion game
So it looks like you got your current ID swapped out for your defunct one, over at OOCC? So that you can help make sure the rules are followed there…?
Yeah we’re good over there now
You seem to have cleaned up some stuff, and that’s awesome to me. <3
At the same time, there’s a certain quandary still present:
https://piefed.social/c/[email protected]/p/2004583/4th-wall-breaking-omniscienceA post like the above gets loads of likes, yet clearly breaks rule #3 pretty hard.
Now what?
I disagree
Garfield is not funnyGarfield is almost never funny, but that example is clearly aiming / achieving ‘funniness,’ so not appropriate.
Again, clearly breaking rule #3.
As someone who’s probably posted three-dozen of my best efforts on OOCC over the years, can you please just do your job?
Instead of sitting or standing, without knowing your particular type of pain/injury, I suggest gently moving.
Walking pad/treadmill is an option, but if so go reallly slow so you take smaller steps, as walking “incorrectly” can also strain your lower back.
Perhaps a better fit would be to look for vertical motion than forward or static… standing on pedals similar to on a bike or on a stair machine or even just with one foot on a stepping board and switching whichever leg is on it frequently. Still when peddalinf, stepping or climbing stair steps: go slowly, we’re not trying to break a sweat.
But probably the absolute best chioce is to ask a physician or physiotherapist that are knowledgeable about your specific kind of back issues how to sit, move, train and rest.
Good luck!
I’ve been using a secret labs omega for the last decade and been very happy with it. I got the fabric instead of leather and 👍 no complaints
The last one in your image is terrible. I have one and it just made my knees and lower back hurt worse. HermanMiller is really the only way to go. My wife and I both have the embody. I can sit for an entire day and my back feels the same as it did at the start. There’s a reason people gush about those chairs.
Swapped between normal and kneeling chair for a while as budget solution to back pains. Switched to sit/stand lifting desk + normal chair, stand pad (do not cheap out on the stand pad, get a nice thick one) and balance board when I upgraded my desk.
Kneeling chair was great, but shouldn’t be used for long periods of time (2+ hours) according to lots of easily corroborated medical advice easily found even on the kneeling chair supplier websites.
Sit/stand desk is the best investment I’ve ever made, felt the improvements after 3 weeks of casual use. Balance board is awesome bonus but requires a solid hard surface. Had to buy a wooden panel to put over my plastic carpet protector cuz my place has fairly deep carpet.
Thank you!
(and kinda sensing a pattern…)
