stupid pain.
[WARNING: whiny entry ahead.]
I have 8 chairs in my office. 7 are nice chairs, except they aren't ergonomic. The seats do not adjust (so far as I know), and the armrests are too wide for me, so I wind up resting only my elbows on them. This started to get painful in April. The doctor said I was doing something to my left ulnar nerve, and recommended a pillow on top of the armrest.
Instead, I switched to the "other" chair. This one doesn't have armrests, but the seat is adjustable. This helped for a couple of months, but (due to the lack of armrests) I have developed this annoying habit of hunching forward, causing tightness in my chest and shoulders and, I suspect, contributing to my ongoing lower back troubles.
So yesterday I went back to an armrest chair. Wow, that was a mistake. Even with a pillow under my arm, by 4:30 pm my left arm was in so much pain I couldn't type. As soon as I got out of typing position the pain lessened, but is still there (admittedly, it's been less than 24 hours, and I'm hopeful things will be better by the end of the week).
Now I'm back to the bad, no-armrest chair and trying to remember not to hunch forward. But at least I can type without too much pain. Sigh.
I'm supposed to see a physical therapist in mid-July for my back. Doubtless she will recommend I get a better office chair. Anyone have ideas on where to shop? Somehow I don't think Office Depot will have what I need. Also, should I be doing anything else? Would going to a chiropractor help with this?
on the brighter side, thank goodness for U of C benefits, which are awesome. This whole series of hospital visits and therapy will only cost me $10/session, if that. I can't imagine having these problems at a company without health insurance.
And look, it's almost time for Tylenol! Yay!
I have 8 chairs in my office. 7 are nice chairs, except they aren't ergonomic. The seats do not adjust (so far as I know), and the armrests are too wide for me, so I wind up resting only my elbows on them. This started to get painful in April. The doctor said I was doing something to my left ulnar nerve, and recommended a pillow on top of the armrest.
Instead, I switched to the "other" chair. This one doesn't have armrests, but the seat is adjustable. This helped for a couple of months, but (due to the lack of armrests) I have developed this annoying habit of hunching forward, causing tightness in my chest and shoulders and, I suspect, contributing to my ongoing lower back troubles.
So yesterday I went back to an armrest chair. Wow, that was a mistake. Even with a pillow under my arm, by 4:30 pm my left arm was in so much pain I couldn't type. As soon as I got out of typing position the pain lessened, but is still there (admittedly, it's been less than 24 hours, and I'm hopeful things will be better by the end of the week).
Now I'm back to the bad, no-armrest chair and trying to remember not to hunch forward. But at least I can type without too much pain. Sigh.
I'm supposed to see a physical therapist in mid-July for my back. Doubtless she will recommend I get a better office chair. Anyone have ideas on where to shop? Somehow I don't think Office Depot will have what I need. Also, should I be doing anything else? Would going to a chiropractor help with this?
on the brighter side, thank goodness for U of C benefits, which are awesome. This whole series of hospital visits and therapy will only cost me $10/session, if that. I can't imagine having these problems at a company without health insurance.
And look, it's almost time for Tylenol! Yay!