Ergonomics - what's important?

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Perks

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Okay, I've finally worn out my chair. How to I know this? Well, my sciatic nerve is burning a b!tch down my left leg and my right hamstring is strained from trying hold my left buttcheek off the board of this cheap chair. The padding has been displaced by my ischial tuberosities and it's mostly your fault, since I sit here too much, inspired and entertained and annoyed to distraction by all of you people.

So, I love you, but now it's time to give a little back to Perks. For those of you in the know, what is ergonomically important in a desk chair?
 
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Unique

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Get one without arms or you will have the same problem in your hands that you now have in your ... ischial tuberosities.
 

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When buying chairs, look at the number of levers and dials that allow you to adjust the chair. At a minimum you want to be able to raise and lower the seat, and tilt and/or slide the chair back.

I'd rather buy a really good used chair than spend the same money on a new but not so good chair. You can get almost new chairs at office resale stores that are extremely high quality and ergonomically sound.
 

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Perks said:
Okay, I've finally worn out my chair. How to I know this? Well, my sciatic nerve is burning a b!tch down my left leg and my right hamstring is strained from trying hold my left buttcheek off the board of this cheap chair. The padding has been displaced by my ischial tuberosities and it's mostly your fault, since I sit here too much, inspired and entertained and annoyed to distraction by all you people.

So, I love you, but now it's time to give a little back to Perks. For those of you in the know, what is ergonomically important in a desk chair?
The importance of a desk chair is to provide stimulation to certain regions of the lower body during long periods of exposure to on-line activity when one should be about enjoying the pleasures of fleshly contact, but alas!, what else to do besides settle into a forum and gyrate wildly while writing, as if the sole purpose of wooden frames were meant to give undulated peaks of perpetual pain when pressed firmly against the fulvous forms from our body of works.
 

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Lower your chair. A lot of people simply sit too high in their chairs, causing them to hunch over to work at the computer, etc. I'm moderately tall, and I work at a microscope much of the time. I found I need to keep the chair at the lowest possible level so my back and neck stay in a vertical line. There's a reason your vertebrae connect the way they do, having to do with upright stance.

caw.
 

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blacbird said:
Lower your chair. A lot of people simply sit too high in their chairs, causing them to hunch over to work at the computer, etc. I'm moderately tall, and I work at a microscope much of the time. I found I need to keep the chair at the lowest possible level so my back and neck stay in a vertical line. There's a reason your vertebrae connect the way they do, having to do with upright stance.

caw.
Now that's some sound advice. But isn't Perks looking for a new chair?
 

Perks

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What I took from that one is that I need to at least get one that can be lowered. So said Medievalist also, therefore between the two - it must be true.
 

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Back strain is terrible when you sit for hours and hours in front of a computer. I know from experience that posture is important as is getting closer to the keyboard. I personally sit up straight and have both hands resting on the front of my desk, in position on the keyboard, and tuck my legs slightly underneath me. I can work for hours this way without hurting my spine or getting tennis elbow.

(Is this better?)
 

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Wow, you're almost helpful! Spooky, is that you? You didn't mention bodily fluids, allude to your testicles obliquely, or say anything that made my gorge rise. I'm gonna have to add you to my buddy list. ;)
 

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Posture is really important. Don't forget to consider the height of your desk also when considering how to sit. My desk is mid-to-my stomach and I am balanced between all three points in porportion to my height.

I spend typically ten or more hours a day in front of the computer working, so it's important that I don't get back or neck strain from working or I'd be very miserable.

A comfortable chair is really important when you consider how much time spent sitting. But don't get one that's too soft or you'll get a lazy bottom in no time.

Hope you'll feel better with a new chair and posture.

Best wishes,

Spooky
 

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Don't just consider your chair. Your desk/keyboard height is critical too, and it's worth trying out different keyboards and mice if you can. Trust me. I didn't and I have pain in my hands and arms all the time now, and can't really type at all now (I use Dragon Dictate, which is good but Just Not The Same). It is worth dealing with this before you think you need to.
 

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Actually my posture is pretty good (it's always a helpful reminder, though) but my problem is that I've been sitting in this chair for nine years. Well, I've gotten up once or twice. Anyway, my butt has bullied the padding off the cheap molded seat. So, the fiberboard or plastic or whatever it is under the burlap upholstry is in nearly direct contact with my sitz bones (yes, they're really called that) and causing problems - sciatic lightning and gripey hamstrings.

If I'm going to invest in a new chair, I just want to know what's important.
 

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Oops, according to Spooky I'm in for trouble. I confess to having a brand new desk chair...and not using it. I sit on a chaise lounge (comfy, comfy), with my legs straight out in front of me, and my laptop in my lap. But don't listen to me, because I also have a bad lumbar right now--which I thought was from skating, but which may, in fact, be from too much 'lounging.'
 

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pb10220 said:
Oops, according to Spooky I'm in for trouble. I confess to having a brand new desk chair...and not using it. I sit on a chaise lounge (comfy, comfy), with my legs straight out in front of me, and my laptop in my lap. But don't listen to me, because I also have a bad lumbar right now--which I thought was from skating, but which may, in fact, be from too much 'lounging.'
Oppps...did I forget to mention your milage may vary with the amount of comfort you get from the furniture?
 

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Ah, I just got my new chair. It's so nice, I may never get up again. Nice high back so I can rest my head and stare and the ceiling while I gnash my teeth over how to make this *^!#%$ sentence work; cushy cushion to cradle my ischial tuberosities. Adjustable pneumatic height thingy. And it's leather and it smells very, very good.

Will it make me more productive or more likely to experiment with how much fun it is to test how smoothly it twirls? We shall see.
 

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The right chair is so important! I spare NO expense (OK, within reason -- those $2000 exec chairs are nice, but I am not going to spend that kind of money on a chair).
 

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Perks said:
Will it make me more productive or more likely to experiment with how much fun it is to test how smoothly it twirls? We shall see.

Get someone to spin you around really fast and then write. :D

Or chase you with the vacuum.

oops.:gone:
 
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Dear Perks, Now you are in my department. I have a degree in interior architecture and studied furniture design. First off, on behalf of the board and all its posters, I truly am sorry your sciatic nerve is burning a b!tch down your left leg and your right hamstring is strained from trying hold your left buttcheek off the board of your cheap chair and that the padding has been displaced by your ischial tuberosities.

First of all, don't blame the desk. Industry standard has always been 29 - 30 inches. With the exception of Frank Lloyd Wright who was short of stature and long of talent, nobody ever really thought of adjusting desk heights until recently. Chairs, yes. Desks, no. Unfortunately for shorter people, by the time they lower the chair to allow their feet to touch the floor, they are looking upward, putting strain on the neck, shoulders and all the way down to the lower back and beyond. Today, it's possible to find desks that lower to many different heights.

Herman Miller, a giant in the world of office furniture, was probably the first to use adjustable desk heights. However, Herman Miller also invented the dreaded office cubicle. So they arent always right.

However they do make the most wonderful ergonomic chair on earth - the Aeron. First off, the Aeron comes in 3 sizes - realizing that people come in all shapes and sizes. You basically choose an Aeron like you would a shirt - small, medium or large. The key differences in the Aeron and other chairs is the tilt and the support. First, it has a natural tilt that conforms to the body. Then its suspension system immediately adjusts to changes in position. The idea is to let the chair do the work - not to play with levers and buttons and stuff.

The chair is pricey but there are several online catalog places that offer it at huge discounts. If you work at a desk for more than 4 or 5 hours at a stretch, it's worth the money. For many people, you spend as much time in your chair as you do on your mattress (aint that sad?) and so you should take as much care choosing a chair as you do a mattress.

Gaudi actually had the right idea when designing furniture. In Park Guell in Barcelona, there is a bench that goes all around the exterior of the rooftop park. Gaudi literally had a naked man sit in wet plaster to determine the proper form to conform with the body. Perhaps someone can sit you naked in wet plaster and try the same...

Seriously, if you are interested in investing in a proper chair at huge discounts, let me know off the board and I can refer you to great furniture discounters. My desk is vintage -- it was my father's as a child -- but my chair is an Aeron. Persi
 

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Great, now you tell me. The day I buy my new chair. I sat in about a hundred of them in three stores, though. Found one that fits my spine and the back of my lumpy old head. I'll remember the Aeron for when I sell my first book and can afford to redo my workspace. :)
 

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Instead of "ergonomics", I thought it read "erogenous". Ha.

My chair is eating away as well. I'm torn on the issue of getting a new one, though. I've thought up so many lovely inklings with my butt plastered to that thing.

As for your chair, use it as a table, or a guest chair. The guests will (hopefully) be polite enough not to say anything, and you can be silently satisfied in knowing you've caused another person the same pain.... :D
 

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My wife's sciatic nerve gave her trouble when she was in the late stages of pregnancy.

Just sayin', my friend. You may soon need longer arms to reach the keyboard.

Don't kill me.
 
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