Me, I have a disease which is kinda wiping out my connective tissue over time, which includes those lovely soft discs in my spine, dammit. Biggest current issue with that is that it’s getting harder and harder to sit at my desk for more than ~15min without lower back pain ratcheting up…
So I was wondering if anyone here with lower back issues has found a chair that helped them sit?
From L-R, T-B, chair #2 is a saddle chair, which looks kinda interesting. Chair #4 is one I used to have, which seemingly tries to keep the spine perfectly straight-up, but it was also hell on my knees.
Now, chair #3 kinda looks like a Star Trek-style bumper-car that I’d want to ride in my very last visit to an amusement park. 😄
(right-click as needed)
Switching to standing desk every once in a while. Motorized desks are very affordable these days.
What in the fuck is bottom left?
Standing desk, don’t be static, change positions often.
If standing is a problem the saddle stools are pretty good
PT/weight lifting really help.
Also metabolism has a big impact on joint issues and pain. If you have obesity, hypertension, snoring, skin tags, nafld, t2d, etc… they are all indicators your metabolism could use some improvement, and it probably will help your back too.
i usually do the asian squat instead of sitting down.
The only thing which finally helped my back was physical therapy. It was the list of 7 exercises she told me to do. I searched each on youtube and one of the videos included 2-3 extra beyond the one I was searching, and 1 of those extra exercises finally worked like a miracle! 😁 I still have the video bookmarked if you want me to search for it and link it.
100% this! When I was around 35, I got a herniated L5/S1; it was debilitating. I have a desk job, and years of bad posture and zero core strength caught up to me. I would get shooting pains where I had to grab something to steady myself to stand.
My doctor prescribed Dilaudid, a pretty powerful hydromorphone. I have addiction issues in my family and did not take any—and I’m really glad I didn’t. I’ve seen friends have to go to rehab for similar ‘doctor-prescribed’ opiates.
What helped me was exercise. First, just holding a doorway and kicking my legs backward to loosen up the area. Then leg lifts while lying down—one at a time at first, then both at the same time. Then pushups and situps. Then a gym routine of lifting heavy weights and cardio on a reclined bike where I also incorporate lighter 15 lb barbells.
I’m 47 now, in the best shape of my life with no back pain. Treat the root cause, not the symptoms!
Then leg lifts while lying down—one at a time at first, then both at the same time.
Were you lying on your back? Or lying on your stomach?
Sure pls, i would like to know this miracle exercise!
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkUNt4QBtA0
Specifically at 5:11 with the broomstick in between your legs
I use two chairs, a regular office chair and a kneeling chair. I switch between them regularly.
The cheapest possible office chair I could find, with the cheapest possible lumbar support I could find. Also some covers for the bottom. I think all in all they’re like 60-70 euro. Adjusting the pillow up and down as needed is key to me.
It’s seriously more comfortable than a chair that cost me 120 euro before this one. And don’t get me started on gaming chairs.
I sat on those herman miller ones with the fancy looking back spines at work for like 6 months at least. No difference to me. Those are better quality but the price is ridiculous. Could buy a billion of the cheap sets for that price.
I usually jam a hard pillow in there, to support my lower back, but the ability to adjust it seems pretty brilliant.
Bought a used Steelcase Leap chair 9 years ago to deal with pain caused by disc problems. It’s built like a tank, amazingly adjustable, and completely alleviated my lower back pain. Still using it.
Exercise balls. After my boss bought a dozen for the workplace, I realized how much less my lower back was hurting. If I make an effort to also move my hip in various ways, it hurts even less. I decides to buy one myself to use when gaming on my PC. Works like a charm. Does my back still hurt? Yes. Has the exercise ball worked better and been more cost-effective than any other option thus far? Yes.
My problem is some kind of hypertension after overdoing cycling about six years ago. At least that’s what they think. After having seen several specialists and doctors, they still don’t know.
I have exercise-induced hypertension too and the docs can’t figure that one either. It started around Covid. So did yours.
That though never occurred to me. What the… Have you seen or heard or read any articles that talk about back pain among those that have been infected by covid or that have been vaccinated?
Dang, I didn’t know about this…
Covid killed everything. Nothing has been the same since.
People are… different too, and not in a good way either. I think we all died and this is purgatory or some shit.
My problem is some kind of hypertension after overdoing cycling about six years ago. At least that’s what they think. After having seen several specialists and doctors, they still don’t know.
Damn, that’s confusing.
So when you scale back with that specific exercise and test your blood pressure with a home kit, does it seem better…?Exercise balls
In the States, we used to have those as “Hobby-Horses” for us little kids to ride. I wouldn’t even know how to choose one nowadays, nor what to do with one of those now, honestly.
A lot of gyms and physical therapists have them, sometimes they’re called “yoga balls” if you want to try one out. Just make sure you have something/someone to hold on to while you’re trying it.
Some are advertised as “anti-burst” meaning if it breaks it’s more likely to slowly deflate rather than pop - iirc bc it’s made of thicker material. I had one of those and used it to sit on sometimes - it was fun but I ended up going with another chair.
i bought an exercise ball as a temporary measure until i could afford a decent chair but found it so comfortable i never bothered replacing it, until after about five years it lost its shape and became a big egg with an arse print in it. the problem with that is when it’s warm you quickly get a sweaty undercarriage. so i bought a less complicated version of the kneeling chair in your fourth image like this one:
you can pay a fortune for a varier one or get one for a song from aliexpress etc. it has most advantages of a ball plus you can switch positions to have your feet on the floor, on the rails, on the pads, or some combination. i was worried i’d roll over my toe but it hasn’t happened yet
I have a rocking kneeling chair from Sleekform, which I found a nice middle ground price and quality wise. I’m hyper mobile and have ADHD, so I appreciate being able to sit in a variety of ways on it. I tend to perch with my feet on the knee rests, tbh (I wear slippers in my office). I also rock in it when I need to fidget.
SteelCase Leap was my favorite chair ever. I currently have a SteelCase Think. But honestly the thing more impactful than the chair, to me, is an adjustable height desk with an adjustable height monitor stand.
I’ve forgotten the name but this thing I found at goodwill has been great for my hips/lower back while working!!
That device actually exacerbates low back pain because it causes you to arch your back & scream.
That looks like it vibrates.
Yeah the vibrations relieve tension.
Yeah, I’ve never had such a good massage chair. Super lucky find!
Cornhole tension?
The worst kind of tension!
Not for my laundry!
That would do wonders for an itchy butthole, but I suspect it would wedgie my drawers so far up my asshole they would never be seen again.
I’m pretty sure they sell miniature versions that preclude this issue.
Fun story, there’s a sex shop in Orlando with one of those on the second floor. When you turn it on, the actual entire second floor balcony rumbles
I can only imagine. 🤩
I gave up trying to sit for 15+ minute sessions. I have a standing desk and two barstool-height chairs of very different designs, cycling between the three options throughout my workday.
Great that I can work from home. In the office I would look like a fidgety child.
Aeron was helpful for my bulging disc. Headrest is a big plus. Typically, in a desk work ergonomic scenario, you do not want any tension (which rules out exercise balls, saddle chairs, etc.) It also rules out “perfectly upright” chairs. Yes, it’s bad to sit that long, but holding a position for 4 hours is worse.
I’ll have to circle back to this one, as there are some things I don’t understand, at present. Later…
do you have a headrest attachment for the Aeron you’d recommend? I’m not sure if i need a headrest but maybe I don’t know what I’m missing out on?
There’s only one I’ve come across and it’s too expensive for my taste, but maybe one day. My back is healed so I don’t need it. Atlas Headrest
So I was wondering if anyone here with lower back issues has found a chair that helped them sit?
Yes and no.
Sitting is the/my enemy. So, I use an adjustable standing desk with the best standing mat I could afford.
When I can/wan to sit, I sit, while the rest of the time I have the desk at my usual standing height and use the standing mat instead of the chair. The standing mat is key to help reduce fatigue & stress (feet, legs and back). I may also put it at different heights from time to time, depending how… tired my back is.
At least as important, I try to never sit longer than an hour.
I will get up and walk (either going out for a real long walk) or just be standing and walking in my home office. I may even dictate draft notes to a pocket recorder while I’m doing that.As you can imagine, the chair is not the most important for me in that configuration but I do have one. It is one of those gaming chairs. Just a model for people that are well over my weight (so it’s rather firm). It’s ugly as hell (and quite large) but it offers all the adjustments I need : height and the ability to lean back as much as I wish (it can almost lay flat). I removed the arm rests that are rather… useless and cumbersome. When I sit, I also use a little cushiony stand thingy, on which I rest my feet at a slight angle. This seem to quite help my back too.
Imho, your doctor should be able to suggest you some better chairs than any random stranger online could… even if it’s me ;)
Still, I hope this can help you a little bit: I know too well how our back can be a bitch.
Interesting, thank you!
Do you also do specific exercises for your lower back?
Walk is my main kind of exercise. Daily walks. But I also wear orthopedic soles. As for real exercises I do some my osteopath taught me… The guy I was sent to by another doctor who I told when I sat in front of him: what I know of your practice makes me very doubtful you can achieve anything serious. I was wrong. So wrong.
I do like walking all around!
Unfortunately, people with CFS/ME commonly suffer a severe-payback upon walking ‘too much,’ so it’s like I must carefully walk ‘just the right amount each day, and nothing more.’ (we commonly get “post-exertional malaise” or P.E.M.)
It’s so weird… I can walk around happily, with the best intentions, but then lay myself up for many days in bed afterwards, with some of my worst depression ever… just by walking around too dang much. &^@#$
Right there with you on the chronic fatigue syndrome. I had a big collapse about two years ago and have been rebuilding slowly since then.
Maybe it will be helpful to you if I share my experiences?
I find it’s absolutely key to avoid outdoor walking for exercise, and do it instead on a treadmill with a timer and digital speed control. That way I can precisely track and control how long, how intensely, and in what environmental conditions I exercise. Little things like temperature, wind, air quality, social interactions positive and negative, waiting times at intersections, route changes due to obstructions, and sound levels add up fast as variables that change true time spent and overall energy expenditure.
And it gives me a true barometer of how I’m doing – I can sometimes detect incoming flareups before they start just by realizing I’m reaching my “stop now” level sooner than usual. I stop right away (never push past that feeling).
Then I can adjust my schedule (including skipping the next exercise day) and my commitments, to head it off before it gets worse, to plan for extra rest, and to just not feel so blindsided, guilty, and useless.
Going outside for fun is different – should still do that – I’ve just found that it’s too uncontrolled for the critical survival exercise I need to conduct.
This has made a major difference in my quality of life!
Thanks for sharing!
I have a bike trainer at home, and do something roughly along the lines you state, but less in terms of notes and quantifiables, and more in terms of interoception, which seems to work pretty well. Oddly, higher-exertion activities, such as riding that way, or dancing on my wooden floors, seem to be much better for me than walking, maybe because I get more of a heart workout that way.I had a big collapse about two years ago and have been rebuilding slowly since then.
Damn, that sucks. Mine has pretty much been a constant all my life, in which it distinctly doesn’t pay to get older.
Btw, in terms of CFS/ME, this chart kind of gives an idea of possible causes and research paths:
https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1568997226000571-gr1.jpgFrom this study:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997226000571Thank you for the links and for sharing, also! I’ve always had it too, but have had a few critical episodes in my life where it suddenly became a bigger factor. Once in my early teens, once in my mid twenties, and then now in my forties. But life is again improving so no complaints here 😆
My best to you, and I hope you have smooth sailing ahead!
Strengthening your core is there key to reducing lower back pain typically.
I do some exercises along those lines. Recommend anything?
Also, me old roommate was a huge Residents fan, if you want to recommend a workout song.
Try spinalis chairs, but to me it was less comfortable so it was harder to focus on the task
The last one in your image is terrible. I have one and it just made my knees and lower back hurt worse. HermanMiller is really the only way to go. My wife and I both have the embody. I can sit for an entire day and my back feels the same as it did at the start. There’s a reason people gush about those chairs.
I have one of those chairs as well. I like to tell people that it’s not the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in but I’m never uncomfortable no matter how long.
