Ergonomics Please

I don't mind working from my corner of our living room. The 'office' is fairly organized and I have a window view of all the street happenings down below. Our apartment is quiet and I have complete control of the thermostat so there's really not much to complain about.

Unfortunately, I have aged. My back has been screaming at me for some time to stop sitting on one of our hand-me-down wooden kitchen chairs and invest in something that would make the long hours at the computer more pleasant.

I'm no occupational therapist, but I convinced myself for quite a while that I didn't need an appropriate chair because sitting uncomfortably would provide an impetus to get up and move more often. Without the water cooler or conference room meetings, I needed all the excuses I could find to get up throughout the day.

I decided to shop around after getting a flyer on desk ergonomics at a health fair recently. Look at this happy, productive employee. I should look for a chair like hers:

Instead. I purchased this contraption on Amazon:

I won't bore you with the benefits of kneeling chairs. I know they're great. I just am not so sure they're great for me.

First of all, I built the chair when it arrived Thursday night. It's adjustable and as is evidenced by the photograph above, (office clutter aside) I wanted to sit tall at the desk. Perhaps a little too tall. I was so high I had to find a box and a photo album to put my laptop on. Then came the issue of the keyboard. My wrists are supported, but I have to hold my arms up to type while the mouse is a foot below on the desk. My shins are sore, my knees are blue, and I have serious doubts about the sustainability of this set up.

The pro: I stood more - a lot more. Since my computer was so high I could basically stand and work just as comfortably as sitting. Great.

The con: The pain relocated. Upper back to lower legs. I'm not sure which is worse, but I'm beginning to think I'll head back to the kitchen chair.