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Jess Lee
Jess Lee

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Has your job impacted your physical health?

My main woes are wrist pain and strained eyes!

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Ryan Smith

Aside from occasional eye irritation, nothing too concerning here. I am very mindful of the potential issues and try to avoid them. Here are my tips:

  • Invest in a good chair. I have the Steelcase Leap which is not cheap, but worth the investment since being at the computer is my job and hobbies, so I spend a lot of time there.
  • Sit with good posture. Having the nice chair isn't enough, don't hunch over the keyboard or "zoom in" with your neck.
  • Invest in a comfortable keyboard. I prefer ergonomic keyboards because they more naturally fit your hands and wrists. Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard is not too expensive and has served me well. That fancy RGB-lit mechanical keyboard may be a dream to type on, but if you have to strain and contort yourself to do so, it isn't worth it.
  • Do wrist stretches every so often to help prevent carpal tunnel or repetitive stress injury.
  • Take a break every so often and go for a walk.
  • Exercise in your free time.
  • For the eyes, I have screen brightness set fairly low and use the night light overlay.
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Anower Jahan Shofol

Hi Ryan, I was looking for some recommendations about the chair. I always set my mind for a good chair but seeing the price, I am still away from it but my back hurts now and then. Can you show yours or recommend a good one as you said about the keyboard?

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ryansmith profile image
Ryan Smith

I'm not too sure about other chair recommendations as I have used the Steelcase Leap for a while. I think you may have to do some research and see if you can try sitting in some of them.

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Rick Mills • Edited

Couldn't agree more on the chair. I have a Herman Miller Mirra, which after trying the Aeron I found to be a lot more comfortable. It's got a hard plastic back which you'd think would be uncomfortable but is the total opposite. Combined with adjustable seat pitch, lumbar, arm wrests etc make it great.

I've had it ~10 years now and its still going strong. If you're sitting on one of the local staples / office depot fake leather things you're in for a world of pain in your future - a decent chair is absolutely worth the price.

Also the breaks thing is super important. Even getting up to make a coffee is better than nothing. I see people at my workplace sit without moving all day and its just the worst thing you can do. It also acts as a good way to force yourself to step away from your code - some of my best ideas and thoughts on how to do things come when I'm away from my desk.

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Nick Taylor

Ahh interesting, I was going to pick up a used Herman Miller Aeron. We had them at my last job and they were pretty comfortable. I might have to try a Herman Miller Mirra before going either Aeron.

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Zane Milakovic

Yep. Sitting is the new smoking. I have also found it difficult to loose weight.

I also have developer arthritis, but itโ€™s not clear if that is related.

My eyes have gotten a little worse, but itโ€™s stayed the same for a few years now. I think the better monitors and me choosing a better resolution has helped.

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Valentin Prugnaud ๐ŸฆŠ

Lower back pain. Still trying to get rid of it with a ton of exercise and physio. Sitting all day takes a toll on your health (recently got a standing desk at home though ๐Ÿ™‚)

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Anower Jahan Shofol • Edited

Back pain. Neck Pain. It was so painful that I had to take a break for a week last year.

  • The doctor advised regular physical exercise.
  • And also advised not to sit for a long time. Take rest after 20-30 mins. Stand, walk or do something for a while and then come back to sit again. But, it is hard to remember and maintain due to work pressure. But still trying to maintain it.

And, due to lack of physical exercise and a lot of sitting, obesity is almost at my home :/ In the last limit of normal BMI.

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flashnoob

Yes, aside from eye pain, it gave me wrist pain, herniated disc, tight hips. I'm working on those things. Please take care of yourself and have a good posture

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Cubicle Buddha

Yes, sadly I almost lost the use of my hands from overworking. It took years of Physical Therapy to bring me back to normal.

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Bruce Axtens

And let's not talk about mental health ...

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Prafulla Raichurkar

Yes, back pain. Would like some suggestions on the chair, it's really important for our profession.

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sibi profile image
sibi

I would like to mention the positive impact of my physical health in my current job:

  • My workspace is 6kms (3.7 miles) from my home and I prefer commuting by walk always which makes me cover at least 6 miles every day so that I burn a lot of calories even before I hit the gym at night time after the work. Bonus benefit, body fat dropped from 21% to 17% in a span of 3 months without even focussing on diet part(I know I should focus on that too ;) ).

  • I constantly run during my weekends, it started with 2 km run last year and now I can run up to 10kms in a stretch. I kind of addicted to it because I love the after run effect :D

  • Constant break and stretching during work every 30 mins for a short walk within the office helps

  • No Friday pizza parties or free sodas instead we have sports match often and a lot of devs are interested in sports that they formed a team to play badminton or football most of the mornings.

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theonlybeardedbeast profile image
TheOnlyBeardedBeast
  • The eye irritation as mentioned above. I use to have days that I don't use any screens after work. Also, I canceled my phone internet, now I have nothing to do on my phone, so I don't stare at it when I am traveling. I am planning to buy blue light blocking glasses.
  • Even if I am almost daily at the gym, I managed to gain 10 kilograms. But I connect it with more than just a lot of sitting. I have a better food schedule, then in times when I was in university, so I also gained muscles alongside fat. But I have to care more about what I eat. I started a diet and I am calculating my calorie intake and it works.
  • No neck or back pain, it cames up only if I miss the gym more than 3 weeks in a row, so my advice for people with back pain, do your deadlifts.
  • At the beginning of a full-time job I had wrist pain, but I stopped using the mac touchpad as a primary pointer device and I bought a heavier and larger mouse.
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_hs_ profile image
HS

Back, back, back, eyes, neck, wrist, elbows, lost muscles on my arms...

Anyway now, at work, I'm getting on 6th floor by stairs, trying to exercise each morning quickly before work, just push ups 15 to 20 for now but I think I need to dramatically increase quantity, and back of screens after work. It appears that my arms getting back in shape although not enough so I'll try doing more.

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aneeqakhan profile image
Aneeqa Khan
  • Strained eyes
  • Neck pain

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