Like many of you know, being confined to a car for 2 hours a day can be a painful experience.  After two years of commuting to work I was given a parking spot in the building’s nearby parking lot. This change cut out about 1 hour of combined walking time from my day. It resulted in a total sitting time of about 10 hours per day. One week later I started feeling a discomfort in my lower back. The discomfort only grew worse as I sat and squiggled in my chair. Relief only came when I got up to walk around. This was the beginning of my chronic lower back pain.

After a few months, and getting an ergonomic assessment, new chair and various other alterations my lower back pain remained. The only thing that could take the bug out was  getting up and standing. I realized I needed a standing desk. Or better yet, a Sit-Stand desk. After three weeks of workplace political maneuvering (which I will explain in a later post) I was awarded a Sit-Stand Workstation. Aww… the relief. It was a beautiful feeling. Being able to glide up or down at my own discretion and still being a productive member of my team. This is how I reduced my lower back pain by 80% in 1 week. If it were not for this standing workstation, I would have had to quit and find a new job that allowed me to stand.