Ask Lemmy

I have messed up my back so bad a few years ago that I couldn't even stand or sit on a couch or normal chair for very long without pain for over a year afterwards. Fortunately I got better after a slow recovery but it never fully went away.

I sit at a desk for most of the day so solutions had to be explored. I've tried many things during that time. I've found out that what worked best was to be sitting with my legs not fully at 90 degrees with my body and my back held vertically, supported only by my core muscles.

Exercise balls worked fine if you sit more on the front edge of it, but you have to resist the urge of moving around and bouncing on it because that will absolutely wreck your back.

I've settled on a kneeling chair without a back support. The one I have you can adjust the angle so you can decide how much of your weight is on your knees and how much is on your butt.

Both of these require an adjustment period to get your core muscles used to be engaged for so long. Stretching your quads and hamstrings to gain more hip mobility so you can sit with your legs at 90 degrees without having to tilt your hip back and stand without tilting it forward helped a lot too.

The saddle chair does look like it would help too I might try it one day.

I don't personally run into it, but I'd imagine that you'd be better-off in a more-reclined position, since that'd put less pressure on said discs.

I'd probably try sitting in a reclined position for an extended period of time and see if that's less of a problem.

If mitigates it, I'd probably try to find something that can recline a long ways. Probably armless, like a sunlounger.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sunlounger

If you use a computer and can't sit at a desk while reclined that far, maybe get:

• A split keyboard. You can put each half on one side, each on some flat platform like two adjustable-height small, low tables or similar.

• Something to hold your laptop or monitor up in front of your face. For monitors, you're looking for something with a VESA mount that supports tilting downwards; this will screw into the back of most monitors.

  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vesa+mount+arm

  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vesa+bed+mount

  Note that these will have weight limits, so you'll need to know what the monitor will weigh.

For me it was getting rid of the chair and just sitting on the floor + floor desk. I am very naturally changing positions often and for some reason check my posture a lot more than when sitting in the chair. There are some communities online related to this. But it does take some getting used to. Same with sleeping on the floor, that was even more important for my back. But I cannot do it at work and I guess it requires that your legs and knees are still OK.

I used a ball with sand in the bottom of it for a long time. Helped roll my hips forward and give curve inwards to lower back. Then i saw a herman miller aeron chair being thrown out on my street and fixed it up and use that.