UKC

Im a runner and a cyclist and sometimes a climber too, but for work I must sit for long periods and I sit for an average of 2h in the car each day. Not much I can do about in the car but at work, is there some form of seat or chair thats better than another? Ive got a Z stool at home which is ok but wouldnt fit for me at work, so would be something like a saddle stool or other?
Would this be any healthier than a normal chair or is it all just generally bad for the body?

In reply to Pesda potato:

http://uk.varidesk.com/en-gb/home?gclid=CjwKEAjwydK_BRDK34GenvLB61YSJACZ8da...

I got my company to invest in one of these for me. I explained the benefits compared to time off through back pain.

It's not a good as fully extending electric desk but it is better than nothing.

In reply to Pesda potato:

We have the option of a "Standing Desk" some people sit on exercise balls instead of chairs

In reply to Pesda potato:

Another vote for the standing desk. Someone in our London office has one that sits on top of the normal desk and can be adjusted with their monitor and laptop. In our Berlin office all the desks move up and down on motors to support sitting or standing working by default.

I have the same problem in my home office and am planning to rebuild it with an adjustable height desk. At least I spend a large amount of my time on conference calls so can walk around while on the phone.

In reply to TMM:

That looks pretty decent, but there doesn't appear to be much, if any, support for your forearms whilst typing or mousing. Do you ever find that a problem?

In reply to Fraser:
As a pianist, I think forearm support is something you actually do not want. I have worked in many offices, as a computer programmer, and tried a variety of chairs and desks. This is how I would design my ideal computer workstation:

Your chair should be at a height so that your feet are flat on the floor and it should support your lower back. It should not have arm rests and should not support your shoulders. If it pivots at all, the spring should be extremely stiff so that it provides comfort by softening the support without letting you fall backwards. (I think this is fairly conventional theory.)

Your monitor should be at a height so that, looking straight ahead, horizontally, it does not require you to crane your neck to see any part of it. It should be perfectly vertical, not tilted.

Your keyboard should be low, such that your forearms are horizontal with elbows are at your sides, like a piano. Your mouse should also be at this height. Your palms should be hovering for ideal touch-typing and the backs of your hands should be as flat as possible.

In general, I find that office desks are way too high for me, requiring me to either make my chair too high for proper posture or having my arms uncomfortably sprawled across the desk (I'm only 1.62 metres but that's not abnormally short) and monitors are invariably too close to the desk height, so that if the desk is low enough, they have to be tilted upwards and you are staring downwards with your shoulders hunched. (EDIT: The conventional solution to this is a higher chair combined with a foot-rest, and a pile of phone-books below the monitor. This is a rubbish solution because foot-rests are awful - they prevent you from moving your feet outside of a tiny area and invariably fail to support a more "male" stance)

In reply to Pesda potato:

Lobby like hell for automatic rise & fall desks.

We're a Swedish owned company and everyone has a rise & fall desk. I spend most of the day standing and I also use a balance board for at least an hour during the day. As a runner it's massively helped me progress this year.

We changed everyone's desks last November and there's no way I would work somewhere without a rise & fall desk now.

In reply to JMGLondon:

as much as I like the thought of using a wobble board at work that wont work for me, I could do it at home though. If only there were some way of doing the same in the car...

In reply to Xharlie:


I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I can't speak for what a pianist ideally wants but as a non-pianist but someone who usually spends 7-8 hours a day at a workstation, I definitely want and need forearm support. I've had back problems for years and have had several professional assessments of my office workstation and my requirements. It's always recommended forearm support, provided by either the desktop shape or arms on the chair I use. I persuaded my employer to invest in a decent office chair with all the necessary parts, including arm rests, and these have made a huge difference to my daily comfort.

Googling the subject gives varied responses but many show and recommend proper arm support. Indeed many cite unsupported arms as a source of injury or pain. Ultimately though, I suppose it's a personal preference and whatever you feel is best for you.

In reply to Pesda potato:


For what it's worth - for a fair portion of last year I was experiencing pain and a loss of flexibility in my left leg. Would usually feel it when standing belaying, and it lingered for a fair while during a run before gradually subsiding.

Then it stopped.

This is by no means definitive proof, but this coincided exactly with the time I moved to Belgium and started using public transport to get to work instead of driving 2 hours a day. I still sit for about 8 hours a day at the computer, the only thing that's changed is the use of the car. Make of that what you will.

Andrew.

In reply to Pesda potato:

Get up. Walk round. Make tea. Stretch a bit. Sit down again.

No chair is designed for sitting 8 hours straight.

Not in the car though. That's bad.

In reply to Pesda potato:

I hate having to sit for 8 hours a day. Drives me mad for various reasons.

Thinking about the sit/stand desks though, I imagine I'd be up and down all day as whim took me and annoying the crap out of people around me. Be interested to know what it's like from people who use them in a busy office?