You (Probably) Don't Need an Ergonomic Chair

Summary: Folks suffering from desk job derived repetitive stress injuries (RSI) could see significant improvements from lifting weights over expensive ergonomic equipment

Since 2007 I’ve spent most of my day sitting at a desk and looking at a computer. Since 2016, I’ve also spent a significant amount of that time in pain. My wrists would hurt from typing, my chair would give me back pain and I’d end the day with a sore neck. The wrist pain was especially debilitating, with shooting pain that prevented me from lifting a mug or gripping a pen.

The widely accepted solution was to implement an ergonomic office setup, something that looked like the figure below. In practice, it amounted to a series of very expensive purchases (split mechanical keyboard, wrist support bands, vertical mouse, convertible standing desk, multiple monitors, a Herman Miller chair) and strict working style modifications. This arrangement helped me manage discomfort, but I finally broke down when even short driving trips gave me knee pain.

It took a while to get a physical therapist appointment, but I did finally get a diagnosis - weak muscles

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Weight Training

Jeff Nippard’s video on this topic is a good explainer of the cause:- You Can’t Fix Your Posture, Here’s Why Essentially, sitting at the desk all day maintaining roughly the same posture adds immense strain on the body’s musculature and untrained muscles develop soreness because of it. The solution wasn’t costly equipment that would let me work with some ideal posture but fundamentally strengthening my muscles.

I’m currently six months into a whole-body resistance-training program and the change I’ve noticed is radical. I can work just on my laptop for extended periods without pain. I can drive long distances without breaks. I can sleep in a new bed without worrying about a sore neck. It’s unthinkable how much of a quality of life improvement i’ve had from just lifting weights three times a week for an hour. The program itself was pretty basic - a mix of dumbell exercises for my upper body and compound barbell exercises for my legs. I enjoyed doing barbell squats the most because it was a single movement that strengthened my knees, back and neck!

If you’re skeptical - there are a number of clinical studies and meta-analyses ^{1 2 3} that have shown (with varying levels of certainty) a reduction in pain and discomfort from resistance training programs. It is however easier to just try it out for 3 months and measure the impact. It’s certainly cheaper than an ergonomic chair.