
Ask HN: Do you have physical ailments from sitting all day? - hluio
I would like to ask you something that has been bothering me for a while.<p>I develop software for a living and have been doing that for a few years now. I developed leg pain on these past (full time sitting) years. I get this pain specifically where it makes contact with the chair, and then it eventually spreads all over the leg. The pain goes away if I walk around, but almost immediately comes back if I sit again after a short while.<p>When to have it checked at the MD, but nothing came out of it, he just told me to adjust posture and stretch.<p>Nowadays, if I am in front of the computer for more than 4 hours per day, the pain starts getting worse and worse. The only solution that seems to work for me is to limit my time in the computer to those 4 hours per day and do other stuff during the day, like exercising for example.<p>I was afraid this was messing with my circulatory system, so because of that discomfort I quit my job and now I fear cannot&#x2F;shouldn&#x27;t comeback to a 8 hour+&#x2F;day software development gig.. I also have zero experience in freelance, which seems to require almost 8 hours per day as well to be done properly, or am I wrong?<p>I am fairly young, I’ve invested numerous hours in software development, it fulfils me, it is the best thing I know how to do, not to mention that it is the only thing I have to pay my bills.<p>I am feeling lost and increasingly depressed by this whole situation. Your peer experiences would be of most value to me. Do any of you have similar experiences? How do you handle it? Did you switch careers because of this?
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hopefulhelp
Please don't make the mistake I made! I was working my first software job, and
I started developing tingling and numbness in my feet that would gradually
move up my legs if I continued sitting throughout the day. I tried to ignore
the symptoms and push through it, and after a few months the buzzing/tingling
in my feet and lower legs became permanent. I now live with constant tingling
in my lower extremities, and I've had to reconsider career choices. I simply
can't sit normally in a chair anymore for any extended period of time, due to
discomfort. A career where I'm on my feet moving around a significant portion
of the time is probably best for me.

I have what is called small fiber neuropathy, and I can't say for sure that
sitting caused it, but I am certain that sitting and trying to ignore the
problem at least exacerbated the symptoms and allowed them to become
permanent. Unfortunately, my neuropathy is idiopathic, meaning the cause is
unknown despite a 'million dollar' workup involving multitudes of tests,
imaging, and various specialists. It's still not completely clear whether my
case is a circulatory problem, a nerve entrapment problem, or both.

While I don't think you necessarily need to give up a career in software, I
urge you to prioritize your health! I developed depression, due to both the
health problems and the realization that working in software may not be a good
idea for me. I still feel a bit lost, and a bit bitter, but I've improved, and
at the end of the day, my health is more important. If you continue to have
pain, keep trying different ideas to try to correct the problem, and seek out
help from others, including doctors, physical therapists, ergonomists, etc.

~~~
camkego
Why did you refer to it as a "'million dollar' workup"? Can you explain the
costs?

~~~
hopefulhelp
It's just an expression some of the doctors have used when talking with me,
the costs haven't actually approached a million dollars. Basically, I've gone
through all the tests and investigations the physicians can think of that
might explain my neuropathy.

In terms of actual costs, it's totaled several thousand. This includes lab
work, MRIs, seeing specialists, nerve tests, etc.

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soneca
Other comments here seem to be more detailed and could help more, but I have a
simple check to do. Is your chair at the right height?

If the chair is too low, your knees stay higher than your ass, and you ass
sustain all of your upper body weight.

If the chair is too high, your knees stay lower than your ass, and your thighs
sustain most of the weight. I suspect that what is happening to you as you say
_" I get this pain specifically where it makes contact with the chair"_.

Ideally, your knees form a 90º angle and you can feel the weight more
uniformly distributed between your ass and your thighs.

If I were you I would reposition the chair's height so it is a little bit too
low, purposefully relieving your thighs from the weight. Check if it helps
with the pain. If it does, you can gradually adjust to the perfect 90º (or you
will soon have the same pain in your ass).

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jabv
Hi! I had serious problems from becoming gradually more sedentary through a
desk job and less laborious lifestyle. I didn't have the same type of pain you
describe, but I had some issues particular to my shape and proportions.

My life (as far as comfort, basic strength in daily movement, eliminating
chronic back pain) was literally changed by Eric Goodman's Foundation
Training. I simply cannot recommend it enough. Use the free stuff on YouTube
for a while and see if it helps. If so, the DVDs have plenty of extra value.

I am not affiliated with Goodman or his company in any way.

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bonniemuffin
I have a long track record of RSIs and other injuries that have affected my
ability to sit and work at a desk, so I'm unfortunately very well-qualified to
tell you what's worked for me. Despite it all, I still happily work a full-
time desk job with the help of these coping mechanisms.

First, standing desk. You don't need to stand all day; in fact I don't
recommend it. You just need to switch it up at least once an hour so you're
never sitting for more than an hour. Find excuses to walk around, too -- a
5-minute stroll around the block is great for thinking.

Second, have you had an ergonomic evaluation? There may be something about
your setup that's all wrong, and a professional can help you correct it.

Finally, consider going to physical therapy for your leg pain. A good physical
therapist can identify posture problems that contribute to your pain, and give
you exercises to correct it.

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Michie
Hi Hluio, it's possible that the chair you are using is not ergonomically
designed for your built.

Suggestions:

1\. Find a right chair for you - a wrong chair can impede blood flow or when
your sitting, it is actually pressing too much on your Sciatica Nerve. When
you pressed on your Sciatica Nerve for a long time, you generate that tingling
sensation that you are mentioning.

2\. Stand up every hour (Use Apple Watch Reminder or anything that reminds you
to stand up every hour) - this has the same concept of you sitting in a plane
for a very long time. The circulation of blood is either being impede by your
sitting position or it is not circulating properly due to sitting. As some
would suggest, pump your feet, pump the blood from your foot up.

3\. Use a standing desk

4\. Ask for a recommendation of a Physical Therapist or go to a Doctor that
specializes in Rehab Medicine. They know what to do. :)

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helen842000
Yes - I've had back, shoulder, leg & sciatic pain in the last few years all
caused by a sedentary desk based career.

Physio and simple rehab exercises got me to a point where I could do
structured exercise again. Then I built muscle tone back up through
weightlifting and a better diet.

I can sit a full day now but notice that it isn't good for me. It's
sustainable because I have a good chair, make sure I change position
regularly, walk and stand hourly, take a longer break to get outside at lunch
and put the hours in to keep muscles strong.

Having been there myself I know it's a struggle to need to work but also need
to be able to get better too. If you would be interested in freelance projects
I have a few things you could work on at your own pace while you work on
improving your health. My e-mail is in my profile.

~~~
kakarot
Could you point me in the direction of any good resources you've come across
for managing sciatic and lumbar pain? I have had sciatica since high school,
and it has caused me problems with employment in the past. Labor jobs severely
aggravate it so even if I didn't love software it's still the best choice for
me. It seems to feel a lot better the last few months but it comes back often
without warning and sometimes prevents me from being able to walk.

My L4 and L5 are also fusing, and I have pain from my toes to my shoulders.

I don't have reliable means of transportation, so I'm limited to at-home
exercises. But I need to do something about this before it gets even worse.

Thanks in advance~

~~~
helen842000
Sciatic pain is the symptom, you will need to address the cause. Please don't
do any exercises that aren't tailored to you. You could make things worse. If
you've had it since high school then it really needs addressing by a
professional.

Fortunately for me there was no underlying injury and my root cause was a
combination of sitting posture, walking gait, muscle tone and genetics (nerve
going through glute)

Having the regular physio sessions were by far the most helpful start and the
at-home exercises just re-inforced the improvements made.

A couple of general resources I found helpful are the exercises on fixing
forward head posture on YouTube and the videos by Kelly Starrett on fixing
sitting posture.

For anyone suffering with chronic back pain - please give physio / chiro a
chance. Don't just take painkillers for the rest of your life. It can get
better.

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auganov
Used to have all sorts of discomforts. Got a high-quality mesh chair (make
sure the sitting part is a mesh too) and I swear I never had any ever since!
Easily spend 14h on it everyday.

I also almost always sit in a lotus-like position[0]. Not sure if I have
before, so perhaps that's a factor too.

[0] I'm sharing that as trivia but my other fav way is to fold one leg under
my backside so that you're literally sitting on your foot, while the second
leg is crossed over the other. The point is I'm pretty creative with my
sitting position haha.

~~~
pcmaffey
Can you share specifically which chair you bought?

Sitting lotus in most chairs is untenable...

~~~
auganov
[http://ergohuman.com/](http://ergohuman.com/) , all mesh. Perhaps the lumbar
support is significant.

Just so we're on the same page, that's how I'm sitting right now:
[https://imgur.com/a/OvYO0](https://imgur.com/a/OvYO0)

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anotheryou
I got problems from clicking ever since I'm wroking on apps in emulators. The
doctor said it's not dangerous though and if it gets more than just a bit
annoying I assing the mouse-button to a keyboard key.

I love my chair: hag capisco
[https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bi...](https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.Mbbbe62ae5538e9caaf9c164d04c78cb0o0%26pid%3D15.1&f=1)
sadly slowly falling appart...

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RikNieu
Sounds like Sciatica.

I had it a couple of years ago due to a lot of desk-sitting. The cure is
simple, start exercising.I can personally recommend deadlifts and squats, and
yoga or taijichuan.

And make sure your seat isn't too high or low. When sitting place your feet
flat on the floor. Your heels shouldn't lift( and feet shouldn't hang) and
your knees shouldn't be higher than your butt.

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0134340
I've had arthritis issues in the past and the best thing I can recommend is
make room in your day for 30+ exercise, eat decently and invest in a good,
ergonomic chair. I know it's vague advice but just a vague diet and exercise
routine, putting at least some thought and effort into it, was good enough to
improve my health.

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GoToRO
If you do interviews just ask about what kind of chairs they use and look at
their surprised face.

What can you do? ask to bring your own chair. Lift weights plus others sports.
Take a break regularly (I drink water so I have to use the bathroom
periodically).

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tixocloud
Yes, I experience it as well on a daily basis. What I've found really helpful
was attending physiotherapy and deep tissue massage sessions along with deep
breathing exercises. I do plan to exercise more and maybe take up yoga to see
if it is completely healed but otherwise what I mentioned gets me through the
day.

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michalpt
I invested approximately $400 into a standing desk. Probably the best $400 I
have ever spent. It helps me with my horrible neck pain (developed from
leaning towards LCD all the time) and the added bonus is better alertness and
focus.

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taway_1212
Not exactly physical ailment, but I don't sleep well if I spend most day just
sitting and thinking.

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iMarv
My boss uses a desk which allows him to easily change its height. If he needs
to stand for a while he just moves it up and can work while standing.

I think this might be a viable solution but depends on the company you are
working at, as these desks obviously are more expensive.

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deepakhj
Lift heavy things and do yoga.

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afarrell
I just use a and adjustable standing desk to alternate between sitting and
standing during the day. When standing I'll adjust my position frequently.

The cost is $300, but that's cheaper than long-term health problems.

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hitsurume
I'm curious if people here that have issues with sitting are also overweight?
Also possible issues with dehydration and not getting enough sleep / exercise?

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meric
What about standing desks? Have you tried taking breaks every hour?

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spacemanmatt
Ashtanga yoga kept me from a necessary career change. Sitting is very bad for
me when I don't do anything to maintain low-back strength.

