Ergonomic office chairs for back pain and better posture
Check out the New York Times pain-free furniture checklist before buying your next sofa or chair. Read the article here.
Your furniture should be firm! Read the New York Times article about the ergonomic sofa.
Switzerland
It certainly seems that North Americans are WAY behind when it comes to choosing a bed. Check out Hüsler Nest
Watch this TED Ed video by Murat Dalkilinç about why sitting is bad for you. Then review and learn more here!
Looking for a car with a really good seat? Check out Recaro’s original equipment listings. Mostly offered as options, but occasionally as standard equipment, like in the Honda Accord, Integra and NSX, the Mazda RX-8 and MX-5 Karai, and the Ford Focus and Fiesta. Learn more here
If you are looking for an after-market automobile seat, Recaro has a good search function for its suppliers.
Watch a video by Recaro about adjusting your driver’s seat:
Read these articles about new ProBax® seats in the August Wilson theater in NYC. Made by NuBax, “the patented ProBax® cushions reduce back ache and muscle fatigue from sitting.” Read more here (from the New Yorker) or here (from Playbill.com).
Watch this video about the StandX, a chair developed by a scientist at MIT that is designed to solve the problems of bad posture and immobility while sitting.
Read “Everything that’s wrong with high heels” on The Washington Post blog.
I used to struggle with my luggage. I could almost guarantee that I would leave for a trip in pain, because packing is the flexion-inducing activity of all time. I used to plop the suitcase on the bed, and approach it in the only way I could, with straight knees and a stooped spine. After talking to Stuart McGill, who helped me realize that an overabundance of flexion was my enemy, I searched the SkyMall catalogue, stuffed with items for people with bad backs, for an item I was certain had to exist — a significantly taller luggage rack. There was no such thing. I expanded my search to the Internet and learned that although there were hundreds of styles, not one of them stood more than 23 inches tall — at about the height of my knees. If I wanted such a rack, it would be up to me to create it. It would be simple to build, but I was short of time, so I located John Hession, the proprietor of Exotic Savannah Woodworks, who agreed to make such a rack for me, to my specifications, for less than $100. For several days, I considered the best height for my 5’ 10” frame. At some point, would excessive height make it unstable? I chose 32 inches, which I estimated to be hip high. When it arrived, it was perfect — glossy white with black straps. I unfolded it, placed my Rimowa roll aboard on top, and started packing, with queenly bearing. The next morning, as I left for the airport, something was different. Nothing hurt.
Check out this graphic in the Washington Post about the dangers of sitting and recommendations for what to do instead.
This article, by the Boston Society of Architects, discusses the history and problems with chairs:
http://www.architects.org/architectureboston/articles/sitting-still
Learn more here about how one MIT’s researcher’s robotic chair will solve back pain while keeping you on your toes, literally.
Anyone with a four-legged friend knows the ache of stooping to pick up after him/her – not to mention the messy accidents that can happen even with the inside-out-bag method. With Clean-Pick, you can not only avoid “handling” your dog’s business yourself – but you barely have to bend to attend to it. The contraption is at once a leash, a bag dispenser, and a mechanical hand to use instead of your own to perform this duty.
Focal Upright Furniture has a great solution to the standing/sitting desk dilemma: the Locus workstation is a desk you can lean at, which “pairs the comforts of sitting with the health benefits of standing.”
Martin Keen, who designs a terrific line of outdoor footwear, saw a need and filled it. That’s using your delightfully bald noggin, Martin.
Watch the WSJ video about Focal Upright Furniture’s seats and how they strive to promote better posture.
Wish you could use a standing desk occasionally, but don’t want to be bothered with dealing with one all the time? (Studies show that in most cases, people spend a lot of money for a desk that goes up and down – and alter its position twice before giving up.) Uncaged Ergonomics has a nifty, and decently-priced, addition to the office that could be the answer to your prayers.
