Relieving Shoulder, Neck and Upper Back Pain It’s the rare computer worker who doesn’t experience upper body pain issues at least some of the time. OSHA estimates approximately 20% of workers are experiencing upper body repetitive stress issues. Here are some of the triggers and possible solutions. Problem #1 – Where are your keyboard and mouse located? Are you reaching for them? If your keyboard and mouse are on your desk, you are stressing your shoulders and upper back. In addition, you may be compressing your median and ulnar nerves and restricting blood flow to your hands. If your wrist is pressing on the desk edge you are compressing the carpal tunnel area. The solution – Either adjust your desk height so you can pull your body in close to your keyboard or add an articulating keyboard tray that lets you pull your keyboard and mouse into your lap and close to your body. Problem #2 – Your posture. How do you sit? Are you perched on the edge of your chair or slumped over?

Your chair may be the problem. You should be sitting upright with your back full supported by your chair. The solution – A good ergonomic chair is scaled to fit your body (one size does not fit all, see our article Selecting the Best Ergonomic Office Chair for You) and allows you to sit comfortably with your back and arms properly supported. Problem #3 – Where is your monitor? Are you looking down, up or straining your neck forward or back to see? Any of these positions are likely straining your neck. The solution – The ideal position for your monitor is about arm’s length away from you, and the center of the screen should be at about a 50° angle below your eyes. For more detailed information, check out this article on how to place your monitor in the healthiest position. Problem #4 – Are you using a laptop computer? If you’ve read 1, 2 and 3 above, then explaining why a laptop is an ergonomic nightmare is simple. You can’t get the screen and keyboard where they need to be at the same time.

So you hunch over or reach up. Both are very problematic. strong – There’s actually more than one solution to this one. The easy one is to use a laptop stand, or laptop arm to elevate your screen and add an external keyboard and mouse. If you’re at a desk, you’ll probably still want to use a keyboard tray to get your tools where they are most comfortable. The second way to resolve this is to use the laptop keyboard with an external monitor. chair with ottoman slipcoverThe drawback to this approach is you lose the ability to view your laptop screen.lazy boy chair covers uk The coolest solution – Get a double arm that holds an external monitor and your laptop. hay about a chair coral

They you get the visual real estate of two screens and the health benefits of an external keyboard and mouse. This is my desk and I use a sit/stand keyboard tray so I can sit or stand during the work day which is great for my bad back. In summary, if you’re hurting, it’s time to make the changes you need to be more comfortable. Have you tried one of these solutions? Did you do something different? Tell us your story.modern rocking chair coversThe wrong chair = real health problems. rattan hanging chair outdoor (Total read time: 8 minutes)budget massage chairs In this post I’ll cover how I identified the best high-end chairs in the world, which I ultimately chose, and the tangible results that followed.cheap travel system pushchairs sale

In January of 2005, I found myself on a veranda in Panama after the usual afternoon rain, dreaming of the upcoming year and reflecting on lessons learned since leaving the US. Maria Elena, the matriarch of the Panamanian family that had adopted me, sipped her iced tea and pointed at my bruised feet: “Tim, let me share some advice I was once given. Buy the most comfortable bed and pair of shoes you can afford. cheap occasional chairs auIf you’re not in one, you’ll be in the other.”white office chair ikea canada I followed her advice upon returning to CA and the results were sudden: Plantar Fasciitis disappeared, as did shoulder impingement after switching from coil-spring to foam-layered mattresses. But what about chairs? On January 4th, 2009, I tweeted out the following: “Is the Aeron chair worth it?

http://tr.im/2uxd Do you have any fave chairs for extended sitting and writing?” Even though I’m financially comfortable now, I didn’t grow up spending a lot of money, which I’m thankful for. To this day, I’ve never paid for first-class airfare for myself. Not that it isn’t worth it — I just can’t do it. Similarly, I had trouble believing a chair could possibly be worth $850-$1,200, but my back pain led me to pose the question to the omniscient Interweb. More than 95% of Aeron users replied with “yes, absolutely”, but it wasn’t the only chair with a cult-like following. Four of the five are manufactured by Herman Miller (HM) and Humanscale (HS). Prices are from Amazon, as are the star reviews, but discounts of $200-400 can be negotiated with dealers. Both eBay and Craiglist offer similar discounts. In descending order of popularity: 1. Aeron (Fully loaded) (HM) – $879 (1 review; average review: 5 stars) Used at NASA mission control and tech start-ups worldwide.

2. Mirra (fully loaded) (HM) – $829 (14 reviews; average review: 4.5 stars) Note: the Herman Miller sales representatives I spoke with preferred the Mirra seat feel for shorter legs vs. the Aeron. Easier to adjust: Mirra is about 9 revolutions from loosest to tightest settings; 3. SwingChair – $495 Recommended by a strong contingent of writers, including one of my favorite visual storytellers, Kathy Sierra. I like the design concept, but I would suggest other forms of “core exercise”. 4. Liberty (HS) – $899 (6 reviews; average review: 3.5 stars) 5. Freedom Task Chair with Headrest (HS) – $999.99 (1 review, average: 4 stars) Used at the FBI and by other governmental agencies with three-letter acronyms. 6. Embody – $1,800 list price (negotiated with dealer: $1,200-1,300): Basis of chair design – sitting is bad; Even in locked position, it still has some backward flex at the top position. No forward tilt option. For personal testing, I also added a Swiss-ball chair (Isokinetics Balance Ball Chair – $75) to the mix, as seen below:

Surprisingly, the Isokinetics chair is more comfortable than most fixed chairs I tested, though there is some minor… ahem… testicular compression that isn’t nearly as pleasant as it sounds. If you don’t have jewels to worry about, this chair could well be an ideal cost-effective choice. The chair I most wanted to test was the Mirra, which seems to have the best combination of price point (bought used or via eBay) and multiple 5-star reviews. Not to mention it’s also the name of one of the best BMXers of all time. In the end, I bought a used C-size (technically a bit too large for me) Aeron for $450 on Craigslist. I’m impatient and didn’t want to wait over the weekend to schedule sittings for other Herman Miller chairs with a certified dealer. Once I have some conclusive comparable data, I want closure.I’m 5′ 8″ and 170 lbs., but the C works with no problem. 1) The lumbar support is — by far — the primary determinant of comfort or pain. I’ve lowered this adjustment and found that maintaining the natural S-curve through pressure on the lower back is what prevents pain most consistently.

Comfortable sitting time is now 7-8 hours vs. less than 2 hours, with no ill after-effects. Sliding lumbar support on the Aeron. 2) Seat height (and secondarily, depth) will determine the rest. If the flats of your feet don’t make complete contact with the floor, you will move your hips forward and slouch, eliminating the S-curve in the lower lumbar. If your seat is too low and your knees are above your hips, you will shorten the habitual range your hip flexors (negative neural adaptation) and end up with severe lower-back pain. Aim to keep your hamstrings parallel to the floor, and if the seat is too long for your femur (thigh bone) — as is mildly the case with my C-size Aeron — just separate your knees a bit. If you’re not wearing a tight skirt, I’ve found a basketball of space between the knees to provide the best lateral stabilization, which reduces torso fatigue. Take off heels when sitting at a desk, lest you end up with hot calves and Quasimodo-like posture.

Not good for mating. If you are wearing a tight skirt, I suggest taking up the Japanese tea ceremony and sitting on tatami side saddle. It’ll be more comfortable than crossing your legs all day.True, I’ve thought more about chairs in the last few weeks than anyone should, but I do it to save you the trouble. Benefit from my OCD so you can obsess on other things. 3) Using a 3′ long and 6″ diameter foam roller three times per day for 5 minutes can eliminate persistent middle-back pain from mediocre chair use; conversely, it can extend your comfortable sitting time by 30-40%. Knowledge workers often log more ass-in-seat time than sleep. Coders, in particular, are often subjected to a steady diet of Mountain Dew and hunching for 12+-hour marathons. I don’t put in these hours, but I found myself with severe mid-upper back pain from using a non-adjustable chair and craning over a desk that was too low, even for 30-60 minutes per day. Two doctors suggested various therapies, but a quick experiment (placing a laptop on top of a dresser and writing while standing for two days) proved that posture was the problem.

In less than a week following my switch to the Aeron, all upper middle-back (lower trapezius, rhomboid major) pain disappeared completely. The results: better output during work and writing, faster and deeper sleep, and a huge smack on the forehead. Why the hell didn’t I do this earlier? In my case, was it worth it at $450? Particularly looking at the value of time per hour and the lost income due to doctor visits, massage, etc., this is $450 I should have invested years ago. Odds and Ends: Twitter Giveaway WinnersThe travel bag and Fujitsu color travel scanner are gone. More giveaways coming here this week… Posted on: January 27, 2009. Please check out Tools of Titans, my new book, which shares the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers. It was distilled from more than 10,000 pages of notes, and everything has been vetted and tested in my own life in some fashion. The tips and tricks in Tools of Titans changed my life, and I hope the same for you.