[chaibiker]

Working on a better solution to sedentary health and sitting caused back pain at work. No one posture is the answer, so there is probably an optimal amount of regular postural variation during deskwork that wouldn't interrupt focus. That is what a chair should do for you to protect your health, so making a smart dynamic chair for standing desks.

Had a cycling accident years ago, became much more sitting intolerant afterward, probably made me quit coding as a career.

Have been testing prototypes for a year, people have done hours long stretches on a 2-3 min interval feeling no pain or stiffness at the end. A study showed the same strong results.

Website: https://www.movably.com/ Early user review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUjkbMc_xBw&t=1s

[v8xi]

This is a great idea. On a related note I just read this ~2000s article[0] by an anthropologist about natural sleeping/resting positions amongst humans/primates. An interesting take he had was that having the chest firmly on the ground during sleep was ideal because breathing causes constant motion of your spine and prevents stiffness.

[0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/

[chaibiker]

Interesting, that fit's one of the lines of research on disc health because the disc are nourished indirectly mostly through the porous vertebrae, it takes motion to create the pressure variations to facilitate blood flow. This may be why most active chairs don't move the needle enough, the motion is both limited and usually only triggered when a person is prompted to move by discomfort.

[mensetmanusman]

I wonder if a chair that allows muscles to relax for hours on end can be a solution.

I went the ‘standing as much as possible’ route and am thankful to have made the move from a health standpoint.

[otsaloma]

Really interesting. I too had a bicycle accident four years ago and have been really sensitive to bad ergonomics and spending too long in one position since. Just understanding what makes things worse and what better has been a big challenge. Coincidentally, just today I ordered a Håg Capisco chair, which serves the same purpose of allowing a variety of different positions with a standing desk and also makes it practically impossible to slouch. I'm hoping it'll help.

[chaibiker]

The Capisco was the last chair I had before diving into this and it actually worked pretty well. I mostly alternated legs, with one standing while the other was draped on the chair. The only drawback was the friction of repositioning and I think the trick is to minimize friction so frequent movement is easy.

[evex]

I had a similar issue, it started 5 years ago, I was training and got a spasm in my back, it happened a few more times over the next year.

The spasm would take 10-30 seconds to fade, but it left behind a discomfort in my back, and the discomfort wouldn't go. especially when I approached work. if I was gaming or having fun, the pain would go.

it was chronic, stayed with me for 3-4 years, until I couldn't sit for longer than 5 minutes without my back killing me.

I tried posture exercises, sitting straight for long periods of time with a good posture, shoulders back and down, 90 degree elbows, 90 degree knees, monitor right infront of my eyes instead of looking down on a laptop.

But the pain only got worse, and I got depressed, then had to quit coding for 1.5 years.

until someone here I think mentioned a book called "Heal your back", I thought it was BS but read it anyway, and I found a cure to my back there. Turns out its in a totally another place.

I was extremely stressed, and I was not taking care of my psychology, and my perfectionism was contributing lots to the stress and therefore more pain.

It's called TMS "tension myositis syndrome", basically when stress becomes real pain that you feel in your body. and now I'm seeing more and more therapists for it, search Pain Reprocessing Therapy on youtube

I hope this helps someone :)