I find it hard to sit for very long (increases my pain), and wonder what other people have found helpful.

Hey Steve

I wish I knew..I can never seem to get comfortable sitting anywhere. I can last a whole 5 minutes at the computer desk. Driving is painful and even sitting on the couch...forget it.

The only thing that seems to help is a heat pad...soemthing to prop my feet up and then after while I'm laying down. Laying down seems to be a solution but even then I can't get comfortable.

Hopefully someone has some good advice cause I have tried everything...I even layed on the hardwood floor the other night cause I couldn't sit and watch TV...btw...that didn't work either..lol and my family thought i was nuts

I'll let you know if I figure anything else out...take care..today is a crappy day for me...back to having trouble swallowing...neck is flared up again!

i'd ask your PT for help. mine gave me good ideas.
where is your pain from sitting?

some things that have helped me--
- sitting on the inflated PT ball with spine erect for working. sitting in motion as opposed to stagnant.
- reclining but trading off reclining with laying flat or standing. reclining in a chair that supports weight of head and back. but getting up frequently
- using a V shaped pillow to support arms. this can be gotten at a back support store. put the point of the V infront of you.
-putting some sort of support between shoulder blades if sitting against a chair or recliner back or even when lying down if nec. rolled up towel or long pillow or rolled up bubble wrap 6" long and diameter about 1.5". find what works for you. experiment
- a really good ergonomic chair -- one that fits you

- putting a pillow or something to rest arm/s on while driving. hold steering wheel near the bottom.possbly using a neck support in car if needed. again, ask PT. a good one will sit in the car with you to find solutions.

weather long or short

1. Peter Edgelow diaphramatic breathing
2. Keep the spine loose and flexible
3. Breathe, breathe and breathe some more
4. Sit with a rolled pillow along your spine when diving, sitting
5. Sit up and straighten your spine every minute, like a string pulling your scalp upo towards the sky
5. Sitting with your hands at the creases of your thighs
6. The exercise ball is great as "fern" states
7. Neck strrengthening and modalities
8. Long periods of time like at a movie or theater - drugs

All about posture

Was doing some research about ergonimic things to help relieve some of the posture/pain symptoms so many of us have with TOS & stumbled upon this product. I wondered if anyone had seen them/tried them & what was the critique? Anyone's PT/OT suggested them, maybe?

I know I love sitting on my exercise ball & really am intrigued by this product....seems someone's "lightbulb" really lit up with this idea.
Would love to hear what you's think of it.



Vixen

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Hi, i had problems sitting for more than 20 mins, if I had to use a desktop computer, the arm symptoms started after 5 mins. At a workplacement for my rehab. the opportunity to use an ergo chair happened. i bought my own, it folds up, i take it to both my workplaces always. it was great, my capacity to sit increased many fold, the arm symptoms minimal. I wondered why1) sitting made things worse compared with standing 2) Why the sitting on this chair was better than sitting on a normal chair . i deduced that sitting placed greater pressure on the diaphragm. (and we all know how TOS sufferers chest breathe, you should really try the medication to fix the breathing) and the ergo chair (picture in one of my posts) allows you to sit without placing upward pressure on the diaphragm. RIBCAGE theory. see you later Towelhorse.

VixSparebitz: that chair looks awesome. My alexander teacher suggested I sit on one of those ball-type things. I was thinking of building something just like that! lemme know if you ever find it. send me a private message if you do!!

Towelhorse: I’ve learned from this group that many of us do chest breath & before becoming a member I hadn’t really thought that much about my diaphragm, actually, but I sure do now & you’re right. I am, however, very curious about a medication to fix the breathing?? (new to me, but so much of this new-found knowledge on this site is these days) Here I thought improving posture would’ve been that answer, but meds for that too?
Going to look for your previous post on your ergo chair after this reply….thanks.

jaldridge6: I thought it was a brilliant idea too!! It was on the net that I found the ball chair in the first place when I was doing research on safe ball exercises & those little Magic Ball Method thingies. I’d asked the question in here, as the only assessment I’d read had been on the website (their own customer testimonials) & wanted some of us “real peep’s” thumbs up/down opinions, you know? I liked that the wheels can be locked, too...nice feature. I will be more than happy to send you the website/URL in a private message that I found it on, hun....glad someone else thought it interesting.

I was looking for ergo chairs yrs ago and found the Swopper, have you seen it?
http://www.sitincomfort.com/swopper.html
I liked it but 500+ dollars was to spendy for me.

I found a luxurious executive LazyBoy Office chair at a thrift store of all places 30.00 and it was mine
I also have a Panasonic shiatsu massage recliner. {a high end resale store purchase}

I DO NOT usually promote products, but I have purchased a chair such as the one you showed a picture of, however I did not purchase that exact one. My chiropractor has a couple of that model and I was able to try it out in his office. I discovered quickly that it was just too tall for my short legs. So I went out and purchased this model instead: FitBall Exercise Ball Chair with Ball (about $80)




What's really cool about it is that the legs are height adjustable, as is the lumbar support, so you don't have to worry about it being too tall or too short. It took a couple days to fill the ball up completely, but it was worth it. It also doubles as a holder for your exercise ball, so you can just pop it off and do some exercises, which is a nice space saver. I don't use it as much as I should, mainly because I have an S1 nerve problem, but it definitely gives me better posture than sitting in my regular computer chair.

Another chair I've purchased was by Kline Design http://www.kleindesign.com/. They actually make their ergonomic lounge chairs and couches to your preference, though they are a bit spendy and only come in a few styles. I also just use a lumbar support when sitting in chairs that are too cushy, though usually I just try to avoid those (have not sat on my couch for over a year). Anything that makes my spine curve forwards, which pushes my shoulders and head down, is awful.

Take care,
Melissa