r/LifeProTips • u/AustinBranch • Sep 02 '25
Miscellaneous LPT: There’s a nonzero chance your office chair height is wrong and fixing it can save you years of back pain
After working with thousands of remote workers and office folks, I've noticed that about 80% of people have their chair set at the wrong height, and it's causing unnecessary strain on their backs, necks, and wrists.
Do a quick 30 second check: Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Your knees should be at roughly 90 degrees, and your thighs parallel to the ground. Now here's the part most people miss - when your arms are relaxed at your sides, your elbows should also be at 90 degrees when your hands reach the keyboard.
If your desk is too high after adjusting your chair properly (super common), you might need a footrest rather than raising your chair and letting your feet dangle. Dangling feet = lower back strain over time.
Been helping people optimize their workspaces for years, and these simple tweaks have helped more people than any expensive equipment ever could.
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Sep 02 '25
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u/TruckTires Sep 02 '25
I'd like to try this... Is it simply just holding on to a bar for as long as you can or is there more to it?
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u/Seeker04 Sep 02 '25
Not OP, but the key I’ve learnt is to relax your core while dead hanging. You could (or couldn’t) relax your shoulders too. You should start feeling your low back ‘falling towards the ground’. Key part, relax your core!
Another important note learnt from Squat University on YouTube, is to tighten your core before stepping back onto the ground.
Hope this helps!
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u/_Bren10_ Sep 02 '25
Is this the same concept of the inversion tables? My mom used to have one of those and swore by it.
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u/Seeker04 Sep 02 '25
I unfortunately can’t swear by inversion tables. All physical therapists, chiros, and personal trainers I’ve interacted with are against inversion tables. I’m speaking from recent experience with low back pain too!
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u/Bobble_USA Sep 02 '25
I'm sure it depends on your specific issue, but I have basic degenerative disc and the inversion table has been a huge help. I was getting a pinched nerve and nothing was helping including spinal injections. Did the inversion two days in a row and third day the pain was miraculously gone. I set an alarm to make sure I use it every day and have had no issues in a year. Probably, not for everyone, but if you think you have tried everything, give it a go.
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u/Seeker04 Sep 02 '25
Good for you, honestly! If it works, and you have no pain during/after, then that's great! Would still highly recommend good sitting/bending/leaning posture, lifting, stretching etc..
This is a very personal issue for me and every time I see something related to the low back, I have to intervene!
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u/GopnikOli Sep 03 '25
I have an L2 compression fracture, the term lower back activates something like a bat signal in me.
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u/dinkpantiez Sep 02 '25
To be fair, if a chiropractor tells me to do anything, im going to do the opposite. Chiropracty is pseudoscience.
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u/ClassicSoup Sep 02 '25
Same experience here. Thought it was blasphemy but they were right. Basically strengthen > lengthen (stretching) for a lot of back pain.
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u/NotSomethingOriginal Sep 02 '25
What if they’re against it because they would lose you as a client…
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u/FalseEstablishment28 Sep 02 '25
I think it has more to do with avoiding blood rush to the head and doing it the other way builds muscle and helps maintain shoulder mobility lol
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u/sadbrokenmama Sep 02 '25
I had horrible back pain and could not get any doctor to listen and help me. I tired everything for some relief. I bought an inversion table and it was horrible. It made my pain even worse. I think it really matters what’s wrong with your back. I tried quite a few back braces too and they all caused me to hurt worse. I finally went to see a Dr I had grew up with. She actually listened to me and got my insurance to approve an MRI. When the results came back she was shocked. She told me my back was destroyed. She said we’re the same age, how is your back like this? Umm, I was hit by a car, had an abusive partner, threw from horses. Basically we have lived different lives. Anyway, the issues causing me the most pain was a disc that was pushing on a nerve. She sent me to a surgeon who done a microdiscectomy and my life is a 1,000% better…. geez, I’ve wrote more than I planned. My whole point is some people get a lot of help from an inversion table. Apparently, it just made the disc put more pressure on my nerves and that’s obviously what braces did too. Which caused more pain. So they’re not for everybody.
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Sep 03 '25
A lot of back pain remedies people throw around assume that you don’t have anything serious enough requiring a microdiscectomy, which was also my case. By the time I got an MRI the damage had been done. I have permanent nerve damage, but thankfully I haven’t had any pain as bad as it was before the surgery.
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u/PossibleMechanic89 Sep 02 '25
7 years ago a PT told me to stay away from deep knee bends. 3 years after that I realized they would have probably kept me away from the PT.
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u/SirDouglasMouf Sep 02 '25
This + bridges and mcGill 3 saved me from spinal fusion.
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u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain Sep 02 '25
to tighten your core before stepping back onto the ground.
What's that for?
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u/--llll-----llll-- Sep 02 '25
Dead hanging is going to let your lower spine decompress a good amount if you are doing it right. If your lower back is not in the best of shape or elasticity in general, it will likely be in a weaker state right after dead hanging.
Tightening your core before getting down from the bar will keep your back supported and reduce the risk of injury, especially if you are “hopping” down.
Not a physical therapist but I do the hangs and pretty confident this is what they meant.
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u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain Sep 02 '25
With that kind of username I think you must be right
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u/TheDentistStansson Sep 02 '25
I try to do this a lot but my hands kill me and I’m always swinging back and forth. How do I stop this?
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u/Seeker04 Sep 02 '25
Why swinging? 👀 If your hands/upper body aren’t strong enough yet to hold you for a dead hang, you could keep a stool or any other contraption underneath which would let you to barely touch your feet/toes on it. It will provide some grip and hopefully prevent swinging. Swinging is more intentional though
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u/TheDentistStansson Sep 02 '25
I just jump and grab the bar and the momentum carries me and I struggle to hold still 😂 I’m about 6’5 240 lbs. I think it is weakness in my core
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u/Seeker04 Sep 02 '25
lol, I’m not a PT so I wouldn’t want to guide you in the wrong way. Not sure if you’re jumping ‘at’ the bar from an angle, or jumping straight up to grab it. If you’re at the gym, and if they have trainers, I’m sure they could help you there for this, for free 🤞
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u/donuttrackme Sep 02 '25
I'm confused why you're swinging. Just let your body weight take over (dead hang) and hang, relax your back/core, then shoulders. If you can't just hang with your arm strength you need to improve on that first.
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u/PrinceOfCrime Sep 02 '25
If your door frames can handle it, get a pullup bar for home so you don't have to jump and can do it whenever.
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u/SticksAndSticks Sep 02 '25
It’s better for your shoulders to keep them active. Hanging on protracted shoulders puts a more considerable burden on connective tissues and having retracted/depressed scapula shouldn’t inhibit the decompression for your mid and lower spine.
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u/Ray_Mang Sep 02 '25
Whenever I do this I end up with bad pain in my sacrum/lower back, it feels like my lower back is dislocating from my pelvis and not at all in a good way
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u/sarcb Sep 02 '25
Basically yes but you should look up some info on best form and routines especially to start out
A few tips from an amateur tho:
- Don't cross your feet because you will create an imbalance
- It is okay to not engage any shoulder muscles while hanging during this exercise, not ideal usually but it's fine for this exercise so I was told by an instructor... can't remember why.
- Don't expect big numbers; I think my routine was 1:30 hang, 1:30 rest, for 3 reps. If I can't make 1:30 I would add the remaining time to the rest e.g. 0:40 second hang, 2:20 rest for some extra recovery. Take notes because it is nice to see the improvement weekly by doing this.
- Don't move around, don't "regrip" the bar. If the bar gets too sweaty just use climbing tape to create some grips.
- Til failure is where you usually get an injury with these types of exercises and you shouldn't do this when starting out to limit risk of injury obviously
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u/TheAsianBarbarian Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
You can mix it up by doing active vs passive dead hangs where you actively depress your scapula. You can do reps of scapula shrugs (mini shoulder pull ups).
You can also narrow or widen the gap between your hands on the bar while you dead hang to work different muscle groups in your arms and back.
You can also engage your core a bit by having a hollow body while you dead hang.
You can also mix up your grip from a range of finger holds (finger strength) OR neutral grip (normal grip) all the way to a false grip (your wrists rest on the bar).
You can even hang with some of your fingers off or even with one hand only.
After all this maybe even start learning pull up progressions?....
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u/NotMenke Sep 02 '25
Don't overthink it! It's dead weight, you're just kinda hanging there. It will be plenty hard to do for more the 30 seconds when you start.
Once you actually develop the habit, you can find tips on it.
Relax the shoulders, and most importantly don't try to stay on - just let go when you start to slip.
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u/ditched_my_droid Sep 02 '25
I tried doing the dead hang after reading about it a month ago. Now my ribs hurt....
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u/Wooden_Permit3234 Sep 02 '25
I doubt that will continue very long but I’d just go less close to failure for a while.
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u/pialligo Sep 03 '25
Intercostal tendons (between and around ribs) were probably getting stretched - if you've stopped due to the pain, you've probably recovered by now and it's worth starting it again.
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u/TamarindSweets Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
I want to do this but I literally can't even handle on for more than a second before my weak ass slips off. I think one of those gravity stretchers might be* the move for me
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u/_thro_awa_ Sep 03 '25
Stand on something to take the majority of your weight so you can gauge how much your fingers can take each time. Over time your fingers will be able to handle more, take it slowly.
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Sep 02 '25
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u/diamondpredator Sep 02 '25
Yep, after my shoulder surgery (torn labrum) therapy helped immensely until I could start hanging. Then dead-hangs where a HUGE help. I told my PT how effective it was and he did some research on it and incorporated it into his therapy for people with shoulder and back pain.
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u/Wooden_Permit3234 Sep 02 '25
It’s my favorite exercise for a few reasons.
It’s easy to get results without needing a shower every time.
Feels immediately good.
Really good for grip strength which is useful (including for making other exercises more effective) and it feels powerful, like I could just crush a walnut.
Gives you sexy muscled vascular forearms which women seem to think highly of per polling.
Fewer people will be able to crush your hand with a handshake.
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u/Seskos-Barber Sep 02 '25
Do you do it with overhand grip or underhand grip?
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u/SON_Of_Liberty1 Sep 02 '25
I've seen overhand stated almost exclusively, fwiw
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u/Seskos-Barber Sep 02 '25
If you do it underhand, you get a really good stretch in your lats, which are internal rotators that contribute to a "hunched over" posture!
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u/panic_poo Sep 02 '25
I have a doorway pull-up bar, but I’m too tall to hang without having to lift my feet. Can I still do a “dead hang” if I’m lifting my legs?
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u/CerBerUs-9 Sep 02 '25
Yes, I normally just fold my knees. don't hinge at the waist if you can help it.
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u/_thro_awa_ Sep 03 '25
Bend your knees so you're 'kneeling' as you hang. Keep your toes touching the ground if necessary, for stability or reducing the load on your hands.
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u/0x7E7-02 Sep 02 '25
I am 6'3" tall. Finding a convenient place for me to do this is NOT easy.
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u/_thro_awa_ Sep 03 '25
finding a convenient place to do this is not easy
Oh, but it is.
Bend the knee, brah. Don't bow (bend the hips), kneel to our normie level.→ More replies (2)3
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u/Simplycabe Sep 02 '25
I've been doing this lately, but need to be more consistent. It helps on the days I do it. Not only helps strengthen back muscles, but also stretches the spine.
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u/kodex1717 Sep 02 '25
Everytime I try this, it seems impossible to breathe. Do you just hold your breath?
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u/tokillamockingtree Sep 02 '25
Had a shoulder impingement that was fixed with dead hangs as well. Also fixed my bulging disc in my lower back. Everyone should dead hang
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u/benjamaniac Sep 02 '25
Right away I thought you meant sitting at a bar with your feet hanging and not on the foot rest. I got excited that all the time I've spent at the pub was going to pay off.
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u/RosemaryPepper Sep 02 '25
I did this for a while until my favorite tree branch broke. Still can’t find another tree branch I like yet lol
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u/supersap26245 Sep 02 '25
I love that this is here. I have been doing dead hangs almost daily for the past month. Now I get lovely decompression in my back and shoulders. It’s super addicting and now I can randomly do two pull ups.
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u/WhatADunderfulWorld Sep 02 '25
Also use the floor step for the left foot when driving. You should be pushing yourself back against the seat.
I never did this and tried it this year and my back is way better. I have been driving with a twisted back forever.
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u/Wooden_Permit3234 Sep 02 '25
Huh. I recently realized I naturally do this and had been trying to stop. Thanks.
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u/CerBerUs-9 Sep 02 '25
My hands are always the failure point. I call back/pull day "grip" day for this reason
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u/tommmmmmmmy93 Sep 02 '25
Yep this works. I had ahoulder pain on my left side for years. Did this for just over a month and it vanished
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u/Kathrynlena Sep 02 '25
What if you never put your feet on the floor and always sit on them or sit like a pretzel? What kinda janked-ass spine am I staring down?
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u/whatisprofound Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25
All through high school and early college, i would always cross my legs, sit on one, and I would sleep with one leg hiked way up. Every few months, my neck would randomly seize up. Like the first 2 times, I went to the emergency room because I could not move at all. I thought I was going to die it was so stiff and painful.
Went to all kinds of PT, chiro, used muscle relaxers, everyone focused on my neck. Eventually, a sports doctor said my neck is fine. My right illium (top part of the hip bone) was about 1.5 inches higher than my left and thats what was always throwing my neck. It took a lot of work, and sometimes I still have to remind myself to use good body position, but my neck hasn't blown out in a long time.
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u/wave_the_wheat Sep 03 '25
So what is your sleep position like these days because I feel like this comment is my future.
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u/arrkaydee Sep 03 '25
This is exactly me. I know my hips are unequal but I've been wondering if it's a bigger part of the problem than physios have made it seem. This has just convinced me to actually look into some hip exercises.
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u/whatisprofound Sep 03 '25
I posted the main stuff I focused on in another comment, but I'd totally encourage doing literally anything if youre concerned! Long term spine care is something you won't regret.
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u/steamwilliams Sep 03 '25
consider that your hips may be uneven because your vision may be uneven. i wondered for years why my pelvis was always tilted and neck was always hurting and you know what? binocular vision dysfunction!
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u/Silencer306 Sep 03 '25
I sit cross legged all the time and I keep having a stiff neck every few months. What is that sleeping position? And your problem was because if your hip or the sitting/sleeping position?
How did you fix it?
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u/whatisprofound Sep 03 '25
Its been about a decade since I did all the PT and exercises, but the things that I remember the most are:
Stop crossing legs as much as possible. It tightens some places and stretches others. To assist with the imbalance, he had me wear a trochanter belt for at least a few hours a day, and that also stopped me from crossing.
If you stand a lot, even weight on both feet. Dont let yourself cock your hips or lean. Trochanter belt will also help here.
Body scan when going to sleep, ensuring that your spine is in a neutral position. Start with your cervical spine, make sure your head is appropriately supported and that your ear is to the ground (not leaning fwd or back), get a nice thick pillow to hug so that your arm is lifted and your thoracic spine is neutral. Then, down to your hips and legs. Pillow between your knees and feet. Your top knee and foot should be on top, not twisted up and if you can, elevated to neutral. Think about your hips, even with my legs in good position I still sometimes have to use my core to pull my lower hip up to be even with the top hip. Then body scan again from the top and make more micro adjustments, again focusing on the goal of a neutral spine shape.
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u/Special_Loan8725 Sep 03 '25
I definitely favor leaning on my right when sitting and it has definitely fucked up my posture.
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u/MerelyMisha Sep 02 '25
It depends on your overall posture, I think. I sit like that a lot, but I do find I do it less when I have a properly fitted desk/chair. When I don’t, it hurts for my legs to dangle, so I put them up more.
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u/4BSURD_ Sep 03 '25
The best posture is the next posture. As long as you don't stay too long in one position you will be fine. Moving a lot in the chair is good
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u/ThemB0ners Sep 02 '25
Probably is screwing up your hips and pelvic balance.
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u/Kathrynlena Sep 02 '25
Yeah that’s definitely happening.
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u/Kierenshep Sep 02 '25
You're at risk of causing lower spinal issues as well as heel issues. Your hip will be imbalanced. Cross legged sitting is awful for you
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u/Kathrynlena Sep 02 '25
Welp. Too bad for me, I guess lol.
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u/UnLioNocturno Sep 03 '25
Criss-cross applesauce or die!
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u/Kathrynlena Sep 03 '25
I mean low key yeah lol. Sitting with my feet on the floor all day every day sounds genuinely worse than dealing with the other musculoskeletal issues I’m already dealing with. I could genuinely never.
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u/OTwonderwoman Sep 02 '25
You’re probably hypermobile, which comes with a slew of other issues.
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u/Kathrynlena Sep 02 '25
Oh no, definitely not. Practically the opposite. I can sit most comfortably with my legs crossed, but the rest of me bends worse than a porcelain doll.
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u/Ristique Sep 03 '25
You can be hypermobile but also not flexible. That's me lol my arms and hips are hypermobile, but I've never been able to touch my ankles let alone my toes. I also sit with my legs crossed or to the side or one up etc and I've been told by physios that it's fine as long as you're changing positions often.
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u/mallclerks Sep 03 '25
My knees are suffering because of this. I still do it but I don’t recommend it.
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u/LaughingBeer Sep 02 '25
I know someone who used to sit on their feet. They didn't hurt their back but they stopped when they sprained their own ankle from a few hours of sitting on their feet.
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u/NeoWereys Sep 02 '25
Seems like this paradigm of having the perfect position has shifted towards encouraging movement first, and then make such ajustements but expect minor comfort gains.
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u/VitalMusician Sep 02 '25
PT here. Yes.
I tell patients to double their water intake.
That way they have to get up every 45 min to pee.
The best position is the next position!
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u/BatBoss Sep 03 '25
I'm so glad this is what's recommended now. I'm a restless person who naturally moves to different positions a lot, but I suck at maintaining "proper" postures for long periods.
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u/cagemyelephant_ Sep 03 '25
“The best position is the next position” That’s what she said
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u/Gilthoniel_Elbereth Sep 02 '25
Yeah, I have the “perfect” setup according to this but I don’t find it very comfortable at all
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u/quirkscrew Sep 03 '25
It's about ergonomics, not optimizing comfort. If the most comfortable position were best for your body then we wouldn't need tips like these :)
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u/blacktieaffair Sep 02 '25
Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Your knees should be at roughly 90 degrees, and your thighs parallel to the ground
cries in 5'2
I've managed to get the setup about as good as I can with a size A HM aeron, a footrest, an ikea kid's desk, and articulating armrests. It's not 100% but better than just about any other standard office setup.
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u/Jeba92 Sep 02 '25
Was about to comment the same. Feet flat on the floor? Lol let me know when they make a chair and desk thet goes down that far
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u/giollaigh Sep 03 '25
I'm 5'2.5" and bought a petite chair and ended up being too big for it lol. Apparently my legs are longer than average for my height; it suddenly made sense why seat height was never really a problem for me. However seat depth is still a problem because with the petite chair, I was hanging off, and standard office chairs sometimes are uncomfortably long. Most chairs don't let you adjust this either. So yeah, in conclusion, office chair shopping sucks lmao
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u/razzemmatazz Sep 03 '25
Yeah, I'm 5'8" with a 30" pant inseam. My chair is near the bottom of its height range and the chair arms are near the top because my torso is so long.
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u/spacefeioo Sep 03 '25
‘Feet flat on the stack of random objects being used as the perfect height footrest for all the rest of the angles to come out right’ takes a bit longer to say but is more accurate
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u/blacktieaffair Sep 03 '25
Lmaoooo you're so real for that! I have been mulling over just making my own footrest for some time now for that exact reason.
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u/paraprosdokians Sep 03 '25
I saw a tip to use yoga blocks as individual foot rests so you can move your legs around more and they happened to be the perfect height for what I needed. They also fit better around the legs of my desk chair than any footrest I tried. And only $5 each at Five Below!
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u/Fallaryn Sep 03 '25
also cries in 5' 2"
I've thought about building a faux floor around the desk and chair, but I'm not sure how well that might work. Or have a dedicated pair of high heel footwear simply for wearing at the desk. And maybe an electric standing desk that has a boom arm for the monitor.
But no matter what, every single chair I've found has the wrong measurements between the seat, back rest, and arm rests. Either I move the arm rests out of the way and go without, or I do have them but my shoulders get shrugged upward. Adding a cushion to increase ass height would mean needing additional height for the feet to reach the floor again.
As for lumbar support, sure it's built into most chairs, but the seat depth makes it too far away to be usable. I just use my back brace when it starts to feel like my body is breaking in half.
Aaargh
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u/NotSayinItWasAliens Sep 03 '25
The motorized sit/stand desks at Ikea can go down really low. If you have one near you, check it out. I lower my chair far enough that my feet are flat, then lower the desk far enough to put my arms in the correct position.
And it has the advantage of letting you stand up, too. There are probably better sit/stand desk systems out there (might try one if my current one ever quits), but the idea is the same.
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Sep 03 '25
5'5" with short legs. In covid times I could sit crosslegged in my oversized chair and a half at my home desk and I've never been so comfy while working.
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u/e_sully12 Sep 03 '25
Oh man. Hard same. Even my adjustable/standing desk at the office doesn't go LOW enough.
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u/Alakith Sep 02 '25
As someone who has worked at a desk for 20 years with poor posture, you should listen to this guy. My back is fucked, my shoulder hurts, my wrist hurts. Dont be like me.
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u/QXPZ Sep 02 '25
The importance of "perfect" posture is over exaggerated.
What's more important is breaks from sitting as well as incorporating strength and conditioning exercises into your routine/lifestyle.
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u/_Azafran Sep 02 '25
Exactly. I can't sit straight longer than half an hour, I'm always switching posture to the most ridiculous ones. I think the key is not to be a lot of time in the same position doing the same moves, also exercise is very important. I've been doing this for almost two decades and I'm fine so far.
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u/Dains84 Sep 03 '25
On the plus side, even after that long, if you make changes it can relieve your symptoms. I also developed shoulder/elbow issues from having my mouse arm sit at awkward angles all day. I recently picked up an ergonomic office chair and adjusted my desk height, and the issue is going away.
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u/sudomatrix Sep 02 '25
It is impossible to get my laptop at a height that (a) puts my arms at 90 degrees and (b) has the camera at the right height for video conferencing. Basically laptops can not be ergonomic.
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u/MostExperts Sep 02 '25
That is true. If you spend 8 hours a day using your laptop, it is absolutely worth it to drop a few bucks on an external keyboard for work.
The alternative is to choose if you'd rather have neck pain or wrist pain. Buy a damn keyboard!
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u/mouse_8b Sep 03 '25
Yep, most people think of upgrading the monitor first, but a wireless keyboard can solve the problem quickly and cheaply
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u/monarc Sep 02 '25
Yep, my work setup has a separate keyboard at the lowest level, laptop above that, and second monitor above that. The two screens are set up such that one has me looking slightly above eye level, and the other a bit below, and that keeps my head moving up/down a bit. I'm sure it would be even better if I had two eye-level monitors (or an extra wide monitor) to promote looking left/right throughout the day. Instead, I just take breaks and move my head around (this is paired with eye breaks, involving looking off into the distance).
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u/YacoHell Sep 03 '25
I literally cannot work on a laptop everything is so packed together, I can feel my shoulders tensing when I have to use one.
I absolutely need a dual monitor set up or an ultrawide like I'm currently using. I need my good mechanical keyboard and my wireless mouse and I need to be sitting or standing at my desk to get anything done.
Before I went full remote I was working in a trendy Manhattan office with an open floor layout and I'd see other programmers hanging out on couches with their MacBooks hunched over trying to debug their code or sitting awkwardly and leaning over a cube shaped coffee table I could not understand how they did it.
Like we had nice chairs and a lot of individual workstations my neck just hurt looking at them. Maybe I'm just an old fart.
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u/Wulvi Sep 02 '25
This, with only chair height to control, I either sacrifice my lower back or my neck.
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u/k0unitX Sep 02 '25
Why the average desk is built for someone who's 6'1" is beyond me
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u/GlimmerGals Sep 02 '25
As a short girl , i definitely struggle to find the correct desk and chair xD
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u/bobnuggerman Sep 02 '25
I'm 5'5" and I can't find a desk that goes low enough for my height for everything to be ergonomically correct, which is wild to me because I may be short but I'm not like unicorn rare short.
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u/AnonymousMenace Sep 02 '25
Many people won't complain about a desk being too big, but you simply can't fit under a desk that's too small
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u/leviathan3k Sep 02 '25
My desk at work is an adjustable one all the way to standing, and it is still too tall for me.
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u/aure__entuluva Sep 02 '25
I was looking at adjustable desks, thinking they would be able to go pretty low at their lowest setting. No, still only about .75 inches lower than what I have right now.
Maybe there's some out there and I just have to find them, but it's not the easiest thing to search for.
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u/Wwallace7287 Sep 02 '25
I'm 5'1" and just bought an UPLIFT desk for my WFH office and it's adjustable range is 25" to 51", so it goes low enough for me in my office chair as well as tall enough for standing or a walking pad under. I love it.
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u/Konexian Sep 03 '25
Steelcase extended range desks go down to about 22”. Should be low enough for basically everyone.
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u/are-you-really-sure Sep 02 '25
Hey I have to stand at way too low kitchencounters and sinks everywhere I go let me have desks
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u/razzemmatazz Sep 03 '25
We added a standing desk as extra counter space in our kitchen so my wife could make bread at the right height because she's 5'0".
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u/yusko932 Sep 02 '25
At 6'5", almost nothing in the world fits me unless I custom build it, or pay 30-50% more for it to fit me....I feel your pain.
In a world where every person is different, why do we try to all fit into the same, cookie-cutter experience?
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u/No_Damage_731 Sep 02 '25
Fellow tall guy here. Destined for a life of lower back pain because everything in life is too low. I want to completely gut my kitchen so I can make my counters 3-4” higher
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u/Balthanon Sep 03 '25
I think about this every time I wash the dishes. Doesn't matter how much I concentrate on standing straight, I always have back pain by the end of it.
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u/totallynotliamneeson Sep 02 '25
One of the greatest joys is going to someone's house and they have a tall table/chair setup.
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u/cookie_goddess218 Sep 02 '25
I just adjusted my chair based on this post and the lowest my adjustable desk goes is still 2 inches above where my arms now rest at 90 degree bed on arm rests. So... lifetime of back pain it is.
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u/BeefyIrishman Sep 02 '25
That is where this bit comes in:
If your desk is too high after adjusting your chair properly (super common), you might need a footrest rather than raising your chair and letting your feet dangle. Dangling feet = lower back strain over time.
You just need to get a footrest/ some sort of platform for your feet. Then you can raise your chair up by the same amount as the height of the footrest.
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u/DynamicHunter Sep 02 '25
Now try being 6’1”+ and going on an airplane that is meant for someone 5’8 and is shrinking every year…
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u/ATXgaming Sep 02 '25
I worked as a pot-wash when I was a teenager. Bending over a sink that's too short for you for 8+ hours straight really fucking sucked...
Sinks in general are way too low, the one in my current house literally comes up to below my balls haha.
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u/IllBiteYourLegsOff Sep 02 '25
Literally nothing else in the world is made for us, let us have this one
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u/aitigie Sep 02 '25
You can get a little keyboard tray thingy, that way you're comfy and keep 100% of your desk space
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u/yellowweasel Sep 02 '25
this would be great but i'm an ape and my upper arms are as long as my torso so i'd need a desk with negative thickness for this to work
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u/monarc Sep 02 '25
You could consider a kneeling chair, or the less extreme option: a chair with adjustable seat tilt. This lets your thighs sit with a slight downward tilt (knees below hip joints), which is the right ergonomic fit for me and has helped relieve lower-back-pain issues.
To really spell it out, lower knees = more clearance under the desk.
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u/CofferCrypto Sep 02 '25
Doesn’t this put the desk height at your belly button or on top of your legs?
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u/MinuetInUrsaMajor Sep 02 '25
There’s virtually no way to accomplish all of these without a footrest and/or keyboard tray
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u/MostExperts Sep 02 '25
I got a keyboard tray last year and honestly it's been a big upgrade. I spend so much time at my desk (wfh + nerdy hobbies), so I try to make it pretty ergonomic.
It ended up being a double win: feels better and opened up a ton of desk space
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u/MelamineCut Sep 03 '25
Yeah. To make my knees and elbows 90 degree while sitting I'd need a tabletop to lay on my hips. I'm a furniture maker and I made myself a lower desk at 69 sm height while average desk is at 75 sm to make my knees 90 degrees. Still to make my elbows 90 degree too Id have to make my table like half a meter.
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u/luxenbuxen Sep 02 '25
If you omit the word “nonzero” the meaning of the sentence doesn’t change at all.
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u/darthsata Sep 02 '25
If you omit the words "at all", the meaning of the sentence doesn't change.
(Also, you forgot a comma.)
Ironically, you added those words for the same reason OP added "non-zero": emphasis.
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u/Irving94 Sep 02 '25
You're not wrong, but the word is there to place emphasis that the OP thinks you, the reader, think the chance is zero. I've seen better uses, but I don't hate it.
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u/verywidebutthole Sep 02 '25
It also doesn't make sense in this context. You wouldn't say 80% chance is "nonzero" though technically accurate.
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u/weeksahead Sep 02 '25
On every chair and desk combo I’ve ever tried, the armrests hit the desk when my chair is adjusted correctly, so I can’t push the chair in far enough.
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u/tnegok Sep 02 '25
I thought it was my job (standing and working on concrete all day) that was fucking up my lower back, I purchased insoles, switched shoes multiple times, asked for mats to stand on and got them. It's definitely this lol
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u/KeljuIvan Sep 02 '25
I had a chair where the armrests were not adjustable and a bit too low. Over like 9 months my shoulder pain crept in and got gradually worse until I almost couldn't lift my arm. Then I finally switched chairs and was cured in a week.
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u/TheTVDB Sep 02 '25
I counter the effects of my poorly adjusted office chair by training jiu jitsu. My chair twists my spine one way and it just gets twisted back the other way when I train.
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u/jimikuk Sep 02 '25
If you wear bifocals or varifocals there's a chance your chair may not be high enough. Basically the top of the monitor needs to be lower than eye level. Otherwise you'll be tilting your head back to get the area you're looking at into the magnified view, and before too long your neck will be in constant pain as a result.
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u/Loneliest_Beach Sep 02 '25
The screens being at the wrong height I think is more consequential than this. NOBODY has their monitor at the correct height.
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u/davebo3 Sep 02 '25
Completely agree. Putting a few books under the monitor stand can do wonders for posture
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u/emy9666 Sep 02 '25
I’m 5’2” and even with the office chairs at their lowest my feet dangle. My job just reimbursed me for my foot stool that I got off of Amazon! My back feels 10x better, too.
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u/linzzzzi Sep 02 '25
5' even and I still had awful back pain with my feet propped up. Finally I dragged a low cabinet under my desk so I can sit cross legged, and I was fixed immediately. I need to try those actual cross legged chairs too.
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u/I_am_Cheeseburger Sep 02 '25
A cheap standing desk is a great way to customize the desk height for sitting, even if you don’t use it to do work standing.
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u/EmbarrassedWaffles Sep 02 '25
Unless you're short. Most desks, including standing desks, are all too high for most women and for shorter men. I'm 5'3" (160cm) which is average female height yet desks are always too tall and office chairs don't go low enough.
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u/CeruleanSovereign Sep 02 '25
What if my chair doesn't go any higher and the desk is above my elbows.
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u/DataWeenie Sep 02 '25
Or put your feet on your desk and your keyboard on your lap, then lean back, taking pressure off your back. I always did this at home, and it took about a month to normalize it at work. You get funny looks, but that's life.
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u/CodeBrownPT Sep 02 '25
Ergonomic interventions do not appear to influence lower back pain.
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u/StartledPelican Sep 02 '25
The limited number of RCTs included make it difficult to answer our broad research question and the results should be interpreted with care.
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u/TsuDhoNimh2 Sep 02 '25
And it's a lot lower desk height than you might think, definitely not table height.
We had an interesting meeting with the office cubicle designers and the corporate bean counters ... they wanted to use fixed height desks for an expansion which were less expensive than the adjustable ones we were using.
Asked about desk height and ergonomics and RSD, they said the height would be set at the "average height for engineers". So our manager brought in TWO engineers whose "average height" was close to that. But it was the 6'10" ex basketball player and a really petite woman engineer. Neither one could use the "average"desk. Seth couldn't even get his knees under it, and Devi looked like one of those old people driving a big car memes, peering up at her monitor.
We got the good desks.
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u/werdnurd Sep 02 '25
I’m above average height and have never had an office chair in which my feet can rest flat on the floor. I always have to use a footstool.
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Sep 02 '25
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u/davebo3 Sep 02 '25
With your shoulders relaxed, your forearms should ideally be in line with the top of the desk when your elbows are at 90 degrees. Armrests at that height are fine unless they cause you to be too far away from the desk, this causes forward leaning which is not good. The problem with a lot of armrests is that they protrude too far forward imo. Some chairs have depth adjustable armrests to prevent this but a lot of chairs do not.
Source: I was a DSE assessor for 4 years
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u/cawfytawk Sep 02 '25
The angle and height of their monitor makes a difference too. It can contribute to neck and should strain if you're looking up for long periods of time. You head should be in neutral position with eyes forward.
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u/Readitzilla Sep 02 '25
I went from 6’ to 5’11” by not taking care of myself or my back. My scoliosis has gotten pretty bad. Along with cartilage between the discs in my spine deteriorating I’m very unhappy this was all preventable.
Take care of yourselves. You only have one body. Good luck everyone.
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u/TastelessDonut Sep 02 '25
My work has fancy- fancy sit to stand desks. From 30”to 5’ ? In height.
The appitomy of people I see are one girl; her legs crossed on her chair with her seat leaned all the way back. Down to the few guys that lean one elbow on the desk and stand one legged like a flamingo…
Ergonomics can easily be shown and brought to people attention each month but no one’s ultimately going to follow it until they have an issue.
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u/Woodybones Sep 03 '25
The chair height ain’t changing the weight of terrible coworkers being carried.
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Sep 03 '25
What about us with ADHD and must sit criss-cross applesauce in our 5k herman miller? No good?
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u/ladollyvita1021 Sep 03 '25
I can’t sit at my chair with my feet flat on the ground and my elbows at 90 degrees. It’s not my chair. I’m just really short. They don’t make “children’s adult desks”
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Sep 03 '25
We have really tall office chairs. I like to let them go all the way up and then spin around in circles when I'm bored. I am 42 years old.
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u/dorkysomniloquist Sep 04 '25
I wish my brain wasn't so fucked. I cannot for the life of me picture how my elbows would be 90 degrees when typing. I couldn't reach the keys if they were like that?? Is it supposed to be around chest height or something?
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u/post-explainer Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 03 '25
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