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I tried this ~15 years ago, based around a Novus Zero Gravity Recliner. At the time I had been having a decade of upper back pain that just wouldn't go away.

I tried this ~15 years ago, based around a Novus Zero Gravity Recliner. At the time I had been having a decade of upper back pain that just wouldn't go away. At one point it was so bad I could hardly get out of bed. At that point I went to an osteopath, on the recommendation of a physician friend of mine, and he gave me some isometric exercises for my neck, and the pain was instantly gone. I'm not kidding, if he'd dome some slight of hand with chicken parts, I'd totally believe in that psychic surgery crap. But before that, I created a mount for a laptop and second monitor that would clamp into my bicycle maintenance stand (Ultimate Support Classic), and I could rotate the arm around to bring the screens to a comfortable location. The biggest problem I had was that there was very little arm support. I could rest part of my forearm on the chair's arm rests, similar but less so than what the article has. Maybe in his case that's fine, but for me it was like holding my arms out in front of me at a 45 degree angle and after maybe an hour it was pretty painful in my shoulders. I probably would have added some additional armrests to it if my back problems hadn't been solved and I decided to abandon it. I was happily using a Thinkpad keyboard with trackpoint at the time, so the mouse issues didn't impact me. One could also imagine a counter-weighted mouse, with the weights hanging off the back, via a pulley sort of system. I also found being entirely static for hours at a time wasn't that comfortable, and that sort of "bucket seat" really doesn't lend itself to anything but one position. Maybe a decade after that, I tried another experiment that worked pretty well. This one I guess I'll call a "lounging desk". I got a nice leather club chair with ottoman, and a big, heavy entertainment center that I put to the side of it. On the top of the entertainment center I had my laptop and one 30" monitor, and then a monitor arm holding another 30" monitor. This was in front of a window so I could look outside. I could swing the monitor in front of me, and the club chair allowed me to sit or recline or curl up, lots of different positions. This was actually a pretty nice setup, and if I hadn't shortly after that moved jobs to an at-the-office setup, I'd probably still be using it. These days I find switching between sitting and standing to be very comfortable.

programmertote 6y ago
If you don't mind taking a picture of that set-up, I'd like to see it. If you don't feel comfortable, I'd understand as well. :) I have back-pain and have been looking for a (cheaper/affordable) way to have a lounging work set-up like that for two years now. Every decent option I see would cost me ~$5000 and I cannot afford that right now. Thank you.
- linsomniac 6y ago
  I'm afraid I no longer have any part of either of those setups except for one of the monitors, the bike maintenance stand, and the monitor arm. I looked through the oldest photos I have online, and it looks like they are all after that setup, or at least don't include any photos of it. With the exception of the two monitors, which were $1,100 each, the setup boiled down to roughly: $300 for super duper monitor arm, $250 for the entertainment center (close out from fancy furniture place), club chair I already had, but was $350 from a going out of business furniture place. Also $50 for a couple USB hubs I sticky tape mounted conveniently located on entertainment center (computer was back behind entertainment center).
  - programmertote 6y ago
    Got it! Thank you for replying with the details. :)
- randycupertino 6y ago
  You might like this "pillow pal" which I use on long flights. It's three inflatable pillows and they attach in various shapes with velcro. What is so ingenius about it is you can blow them up inside the space you need for arm or foot support- they're great for long haul flights but I also recently dug them out of my travel bag and used them as a footrest and arm rest for when I am working on the couch. https://www.amazon.com/Flypal-Inflatable-Blow-Up-Cushion-Flights/dp/B074T9CP81/ https://www.amazon.com/Flypal-Inflatable-Blow-Up-Cushion-Fli...
christophergs 6y ago
Could you talk more about the isometric exercises he had you do for your neck?
- linsomniac 6y ago
  So I'll prefix this with saying that an Osteopath had checked me out before suggesting these, and that if there were other neck problems this could make them worse. I'd recommend seeing an Osteopath if you have similar issues and would like to try it. Situation: When I was ~17 one night I slept kind of oddly twisted. I was kind of stretching my back and fell asleep and woke up with a sore neck. It stuck with me for years at some low level, massage would help a bit but it would never really go away. The pain was largely in the area where my neck and shoulders met, say around the size of a salad plate. I woke up one morning when I was around 30 and it was so painful I couldn't sit up from a laying position to get out of bed. That's when I saw the Osteopath. A physician friend recommended I see them. They gave me these "super ibuprofen" and isometric exercises, and literally it cured me basically immediately. Solution: The exercise involves standing up straight, and using your hands to put opposing force against the different muscles in your neck. Your head needs to remain unmoved, neck straight, it was recommended that it be done in front of a mirror so you could make sure you weren't bending and remained straight. Isometric exercises are exercises you do where your joints and muscles basically stay static. If you put your hands in front of you, like the praying position, and press equally with both hands, that is an isometric exercise. Lifting something is not. In all cases you gently start pushing and gradually push harder, and similarly at the other end start pushing less hard until you are not pushing at all to end it. The exercises were: - Clasp your hands behind your head and oppose tilting your head back. - Ditto on the front, trying to look down. - Hand on one side if your head by your ear and try to tilt your head to that side. Ditto for the other side. - Palm on your forehead and try to turn your head that direction. Ditto for the other direction. Again: See a medical professional before you do such a thing, but in my case it solved a chronic upper back pain as if it were a miracle. Literally a decade of pain was gone after spending 5 minutes doing this. YMMV. On the other hand, my non-genetically related mother had terrible bone deterioration and several surgeries including cervical fusion and added metal bits to her back, and if she had tried these exercises she'd probably end up in the ER. If this guy had spoken in tongues and pulled out chicken parts hidden in washcloths, while doing similar exercises on me, I would absolutely, 100% believe in psychic surgery. It was miraculous.
kweinber 6y ago
I ended up getting a Zero Gravity Recliner (used off of ebay) with the laptop tray attachment (also used). It saved me until I could get back to a standing desk.

programmertote 6y ago

If you don't mind taking a picture of that set-up, I'd like to see it. If you don't feel comfortable, I'd understand as well. :) I have back-pain and have been looking for a (cheaper/affordable) way to have a lounging work set-up like that for two years now. Every decent option I see would cost me ~$5000 and I cannot afford that right now. Thank you.

linsomniac 6y ago
I'm afraid I no longer have any part of either of those setups except for one of the monitors, the bike maintenance stand, and the monitor arm. I looked through the oldest photos I have online, and it looks like they are all after that setup, or at least don't include any photos of it. With the exception of the two monitors, which were $1,100 each, the setup boiled down to roughly: $300 for super duper monitor arm, $250 for the entertainment center (close out from fancy furniture place), club chair I already had, but was $350 from a going out of business furniture place. Also $50 for a couple USB hubs I sticky tape mounted conveniently located on entertainment center (computer was back behind entertainment center).
- programmertote 6y ago
  Got it! Thank you for replying with the details. :)
randycupertino 6y ago
You might like this "pillow pal" which I use on long flights. It's three inflatable pillows and they attach in various shapes with velcro. What is so ingenius about it is you can blow them up inside the space you need for arm or foot support- they're great for long haul flights but I also recently dug them out of my travel bag and used them as a footrest and arm rest for when I am working on the couch. https://www.amazon.com/Flypal-Inflatable-Blow-Up-Cushion-Flights/dp/B074T9CP81/ https://www.amazon.com/Flypal-Inflatable-Blow-Up-Cushion-Fli...

christophergs 6y ago

Could you talk more about the isometric exercises he had you do for your neck?

linsomniac 6y ago
So I'll prefix this with saying that an Osteopath had checked me out before suggesting these, and that if there were other neck problems this could make them worse. I'd recommend seeing an Osteopath if you have similar issues and would like to try it. Situation: When I was ~17 one night I slept kind of oddly twisted. I was kind of stretching my back and fell asleep and woke up with a sore neck. It stuck with me for years at some low level, massage would help a bit but it would never really go away. The pain was largely in the area where my neck and shoulders met, say around the size of a salad plate. I woke up one morning when I was around 30 and it was so painful I couldn't sit up from a laying position to get out of bed. That's when I saw the Osteopath. A physician friend recommended I see them. They gave me these "super ibuprofen" and isometric exercises, and literally it cured me basically immediately. Solution: The exercise involves standing up straight, and using your hands to put opposing force against the different muscles in your neck. Your head needs to remain unmoved, neck straight, it was recommended that it be done in front of a mirror so you could make sure you weren't bending and remained straight. Isometric exercises are exercises you do where your joints and muscles basically stay static. If you put your hands in front of you, like the praying position, and press equally with both hands, that is an isometric exercise. Lifting something is not. In all cases you gently start pushing and gradually push harder, and similarly at the other end start pushing less hard until you are not pushing at all to end it. The exercises were: - Clasp your hands behind your head and oppose tilting your head back. - Ditto on the front, trying to look down. - Hand on one side if your head by your ear and try to tilt your head to that side. Ditto for the other side. - Palm on your forehead and try to turn your head that direction. Ditto for the other direction. Again: See a medical professional before you do such a thing, but in my case it solved a chronic upper back pain as if it were a miracle. Literally a decade of pain was gone after spending 5 minutes doing this. YMMV. On the other hand, my non-genetically related mother had terrible bone deterioration and several surgeries including cervical fusion and added metal bits to her back, and if she had tried these exercises she'd probably end up in the ER. If this guy had spoken in tongues and pulled out chicken parts hidden in washcloths, while doing similar exercises on me, I would absolutely, 100% believe in psychic surgery. It was miraculous.

kweinber 6y ago

I ended up getting a Zero Gravity Recliner (used off of ebay) with the laptop tray attachment (also used). It saved me until I could get back to a standing desk.