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If you can’t “stand” back pain, stand
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Donald Rumsfeld famously used a standing desk in his office at the Pentagon. Clearly this helped him make wise decisions during his career!
Seriously, I am a big proponent of good ergonomics, regardless of your favorite position for working.
Here is what the government has to say
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/components_monitors.htmlGet a chair that lets you adjust the height of not only the seat but the arms as well. Your arms on the arm rests should be somewhat parallel to the floor. Of course if you work for the Penguin and your floor is seriously tilted, then you’re on your own.
The angle of your back should be straight. A chair with adjustable back angle is best, or one that is fixed in the vertical position.
I like the center(left-right, top-bottom) of my monitor roughly lined up with my nose, roughly arm’s length from my person.
As for the keyboard, the J key should be lined up with the sternum or solar plexus. I prefer to have the mouse at the same vertical level as the keyboard, that is on the table, level with my belly button. If you do not have a belly button, then your navel! This is based upon a standard 30″ desk height.
Speaking of your navel, just down the road is your posterior. Those of us who sit a lot need whatever extra padding we can get. I use a small cushion on top of my chair’s built-in cushion. There are other drawbacks to prolonged sitting which I shall not get into (eat bran).
Depending upon your leg length, your feet should be flat on the floor. If you have long legs, you may need to extend your legs at an angle in order for the other positions to hit their marks, or get a higher desk.
The positions of other frequently used objects is just as important. If your telephone is behind you or on a short wire, this can impact your neck and other appendages.
Most important of all is your snack drawer. You should be able to reach a Snickers bar or can of Jolt without even looking or moving your chair!
Hmm, now where did I put that heavy instruction manual..ah, here it is, let me just reach at an odd angle for that…ooh, got it.
Mike Cohen
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[Jeremy Garchow] “I see, you want to control the interface through your eyes!”
He wants to make an eye-line cut!
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/ -
A woman who had chronic back problems, when she found I did a lot of computer work, told me that sitting all day is one of the surest ways to end up with back problems.
I do this once in awhile with a portable shelf I work off of. It’s good to make sure you move around or walk a bit so you don’t stand stationary too long and end up with varicose veins in your legs as the blood pools. Standing on something soft is also important.
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I have a drum practice pad and sticks on a desk right behind me. When I start feeling tight or tired, I take a short break and go through some snare drum exercises and warm-ups. It exercises and stretches both my muscles – and my creativity.
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Did anyone else notice the Anthro Furniture ad space conveniently placed to the right of this thread?
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It would take a while to get used to, but i think this could work well for editing:
https://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html
J
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I have an Anthro desk for our primary work station and know that a number of others do as well. Proud Bovine Walter Biscardi’s #2 edit suite appears to be configured with Anthro furniture always at the standing position.
While the Anthro desk doesn’t adjust the monitor up or down (have to tilt them up or down to shift positions) it does raise the keyboard/mouse surface for standing and lower it for sitting. I don’t switch back and forth to standing often, but do on occasion. More often than not I’m switching between the keyboard at its lowest point and a mid-point while still seated.
On our standard def workstation (and my desk work area) I have a small ledge under the desk, a couple of feet in, which allows me to prop my feet up and lean back for a different work position.
Quite possibly of far greater comfort for back and neck pain is having a set of fixed vision glasses. You youngsters won’t understand this but once you get over 40 close-up vision starts to go. The solution to this used to be bi-focal or tri-focal glasses. Then somebody came up with the bright idea of “progressive” lenses which gradually change from close-up at the bottom of the lens to distance around the middle and beyond. This must work for some “normal” people, but for me it means that only a horizontal sliver is in focus at a time to I’m left to hold me head at a particular angle to see the screen sharply and raise and lower it to look at different parts of the monitors.
I cured this idiocy by sitting down with the optometrist, determining the exact distance I work from the monitor and having a special pair of single vision, that distance alone glasses cut. They reside on my desk and that’s all they’re used for. Honestly having them has relieved more back and neck pain than any chair or desk ever could. (But that’s just me. What do I know?)
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[Nick Griffin] “Quite possibly of far greater comfort for back and neck pain is having a set of fixed vision glasses.”
Nick has a good point. Ever since I needed glasses at all, I realized that editing, especially with dual monitors plus a broadcast monitor, required me to sit farther away than I would with a laptop, but still not so far that my distance lenses were helpful. Since having a special pair of editing glasses made, I have tended to contort and strain forward a lot less just to see what I’m doing.
I’d like to see that Anthro set-up sometime.
Bob C
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[Bob Cole] “I’d like to see that Anthro set-up sometime.”
Not hard to see a LOT of Anthro stuff. Here’s one of the bigger ones, there are many.
https://www.anthro.com/ppage.aspx?pmid=35
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I got a nice big fully motorized sit/stand desk for about $550 last year. (Also available with a hand-crank.)
https://www.tvilum-scanbirk.com/default.aspx?ID=1793&ProductID=80400/760803&GroupID=Working
Here are some others:
https://www.tvilum-scanbirk.com/default.aspx?ID=1793&GroupID=WorkingThe more (much more) expensive and better known Scandinavian Sit/Stand is Jesper.
https://www.jesperoffice.com/Sit_Stand_.php?cid=240If you do a search for “Danish Sit/Stand desks” you’ll find more info. I was told that it is mandatory in some countries for employers to provide sit/stand desks for all office workers. I got mine from a Scandinavian furniture store in Columbia, MD. (between DC and Baltimore) https://www.indoorfurnitureusa.com/, however I don’t know if they still carry them. But they might be able to order or point you in the right direction.
It’s pretty cool and also makes a nice cat elevator to raise lower cats to/from the window sill. It is really refreshing to stand, especially for those of us that get restless easily. The other bonus is that it is easy to slightly raise or lower the desk so you can position your chair totally under the desk, like Grin likes, or more at waist level if you want to sit back.
Get one!
Jeff
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