Ive gone into work this morning, taking into account i retire in 4 months, and im suffering badly today, the back, hips, knees, wrists ankles, and neck all feel as though someone is working out at the gym solidly for the past week. Aching, stiffness, cramps and of course where wouldnt we be without the pain too.. its making me walk as though i crapped myself. Sitting at a desk in an uncomfortable chair. Is there anything i can do to make sitting a bit easier.. employers will get me a chair, but by the time they've processed it, ordered it etc,, i would of left.
Has anyone got any advice, hints or tips, please..
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Peder
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perhaps get an orthopedic cushion. We have recently purchased one for a fibro volunteer in the office and she finds it useful. As people are all different we cannot recommend them for everyone but for our volunteer it has helped.
I use a remote operated Tens machine, which means it’s battery operated and wire free. You can get it at Lloyd’s paharmecies for about £25, £30 well, well worth it. Hope this helps
Short of physically locatying a suitable chair and pressing the above case with it's current occupier/their boss, a series of cushions are your best bet for a short term fix. I suggest you try a variety, even better if you find a store to try them in but I find Amazons return policy favourable enough to have never had trouble returning an unsuitable bit of gear. It's a matter of trial and error as to what is best, and it'll probably change every day you'll a new niggle. You'll be taking a big bag in every day if you can't store your cushion collection at work, and not only will this give you the ability to adjust your chair properly, but to suit it each day to what you need that day. Also a footrest if your are under 5'6". Unsure of your jurisdiction but the employer is required to provide you with equipment to do your work that is not detrimental to your health. If lugging a wheelbarrow of cushions in each shift doesn't get their attention, your union rep or health and safety officer should be informed; we should not even be talking about you having to get cushions into work due their bureaucratic inefficiencies. You are close to retirement, and they can't touch you. While you could make do experimenting with cushion and support arrangements A) these should already be available from your employer; they want you to work, it is in their interests to give you the tools to do so B) It gets expensive fast, especially if you get caught up in the hype of the hot new miracle support wedge, wrist support or footrest C) You are in a strong position to get this issue at your workplace resolved,; you'd be doing a good thing ensuring those colleagues left, who are far from immune to work related strains, stresses and even injuries, even more so every day they use unsuitable equipment. Your department/organisation had a purchasing policy designed to deprive their workers of their health in the long term with insufficient consideration of employee health, generally as well as in your specific case, if your immediate line manager can not see the urgency in providing you with the tools you need to do the work that keeps the company going, you need to look elsewhere to address this systemic issue. If you don't do this now, you will after it rains heavily while your carrying your dripping, ruined and now useless $400 pillow collection into work, and it will be rather strongly worded.
thank you..im being assessed for a chair, a new desk thats higher (im 6ft 2), new monitors..so theyre doing things.. i just wish id done it sooner or someone should of realised i would need adjustments..
Got my chair in 24 hours after my reasonable adjustment meeting - it can be done - boss just grabbed the company credit card from accounts, phoned the order through and hey presto new chair. Might have been delivered quickly but persuading colleagues it's my chair is a totally different matter!! I purchased cushions for car seat and my home office chair from careco.
You can have reasonable adjustments such as special chair desk ergo arms flexibility in breaks I only work 2 days a week now as my company where not doing what they are legally meant to do I got access to work in and they made them make the correct adjustments first speak to you direct manager and book yourself in with occ health for a report make sure you join the union if you have one also I have a 2 day break in between each day I work due to recovery time from working a full day at a desk like your self the pain when working one day is horrendous good luck don’t give up although I walk with a walker and in a lot of pain work sometimes feels like the only normal thing I still do even though I hate my job lol 😂
Hi Pedar try and keep a food diary and if you wanted to try the anti inflammatory diet such as the Jason vale one or look up Robert redfern and perhaps get his newsletter as it may help. I am highly allergic to food and when I did a detox I noticed my joint pain would ease up or on some days just disappear then other days it would come back and I would crawl into bed. Get your dr to get you a physio therapy appointment to see what they can suggest. Keep a food diary to see if there’s a connection. I find when I had any form of unnatural foods such as sugar, additives or wheat etc my pain was severe when I cut them out of my diet then they calmed down. See what if you can get a massage chair and some wrist supports and see if you can get a steroid injection as that may help you. Also try a magnesium hot bath or a wheat bag popped into the microwave. I hope you find something that helps you because pain is exhausting.
Have you tried a gel seat or a special seat pad that can take the weight off your spine that’s got a hole in the back. Plus something like a rubber door mat to put at your feet to take the pressure off your feet.
im a serving police officer... i will get a lump sum pay out and a pension. the lump sum is estimated at 144k. if i leave early it drips it to 80k.. ill just grin and bear it for 4 months..im not going to cut my nose off to spite my face if you know what i mean
lol... extension to house will take most of it... ground floor bedroom with ensuite so i dont have to climb stairs, kitchen being made bigger so that i can get wheel chair in n redesigned with lower sides so i can reach them, back doors being widened and flat patio, so i can access the garden, ramps and widened front door.. new car etc and wife and kids all wanting a share of it...
Working helps fill our mind and helps us think of things other than our pain, I suffer the same as you, as though my body has done a super workout when it hasn't, the pain is unbearable. Having said all of that, I keep myself as busy as possible so not to focus on something I cannot change, instead I change the the things I have power over. I too have retired but am as busy as if I worked full time. Sadly Peder this is your life and things will remain the same, work through it now and when retired remember to keep focusing on doing not thinking how bad it is. Wish you the best. It's all about the power of positive thought. I will not give in to it.
Like someone else said if your boss is sympathetic and your company not overly bureaucratic you should be able to agree and purchase a new chair pretty quickly. But even with one you might experience pain and discomfort - I do. I take in my heated pad and plug that in - helps a lot with my lower back and hips. I also take one decent break in the day where I lie down - at the moment in a sick room, but am currently negotiating to get a casual chair that’ll fold out into a bed. So if you’ve somewhere you can lie down make use of that.
I know what you mean about the chair.
I sat in my new chair for 2 whole days before I left. It took so long to process, despite efforts of management.
I just found getting up and walking around helped a little. I too looked bent over like a little old lady but to be honest, I didn't care in the end. It felt better to walk around with a piece of paper/file, rather than sit constantly.
I wish you well for now and your retirement.
I must admit, since retiring through Ill health and having a much slower life, I am more able to manage the pain.
Thanks for all your comments.. i am being assessed.....looks as though im getting a new chair, a new desk as the one i am on is too low, also bigger monitors for the comp as they are small 19inch monitors, and i have 2. Im looking down at them when my eye level apparently should be in the top 1/3 of the screen. And to top it off, hopefully my newly purchased tens machine comes today...yay....oh how joyous one feels to finally be in less pain....possibly..but one never knows where fibro will strike next..
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New wheel chair
wheel chair / stick
Oh my couldn't stand on a chair if I wanted to!
Where did you get your chairs? 
Does anyone else regularly doze off on the sofa or in a chair?
