So, I had a thought last night as I was trying to sleep (I wish these thoughts would come to me when I'm NOT trying to sleep). There is one thing that has been my source of comfort since the day I bought it: my recliner. When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I had had a VERY bad week. As a matter of fact, what caused me enough pain to see the doctor was sitting in a bad chair for too long. Bible study used to be held at the local college. One night we borrowed a classroom to watch a movie. I should have known better than to sit in those horrid chairs, but I didn't want the embarrassment of leaving early; the well-meaning, but piercing looks of concern.
So, I stayed, and flared, and eventually got my diagnosis, but it was a painful realization that all it takes to send me crashing is a bad chair. It wasn't long after my diagnosis that I decided to invest in a better chair for home. I realized there was only one comfortable chair in the house, and grandma was usually sitting in it when I got home, so since I haven't the heart to kick grandma from her chair, I got my own. I figured I'd do a little looking around and eventually find one. I budged about $400 for a quality chair.
My first stop was Costco; turns out it would be my last stop. I went straight to the furniture section (after oggling briefly at the flash drives). I slowly passed the dining set and a sofa and saw a handful of chairs. I sat in one that almost swallowed me. It made me uneasy to sit in and it's footrest didn't support my legs well. I tried out a few other chairs until I found the perfect chair.
It was a beautiful coffee brown and when I sat in it, I felt every muscle sigh with relief. I reclined the chair and the footrest was perfectly supporting my legs. Well, I certainly wasn't going to buy based on first impressions. I must have sat in that chair for half an hour before I decided this was the one. And for a mere $250, it was well below budget. I've used it ever since.
Now, I can ensure perfect comfort when I'm home, but it wasn't until recently I did the same for work. I, for whatever reason, always figured this "ergonomics" thing was just another way for big companies to talk you into spending more money. But, for the last 6 months, I noticed a trend. After 2 hours of sitting in my chair, my lower back would cause me unbearable pain. Many days, I couldn't work longer than 2 hours, even if I took breaks.
I started seriously considering an ergonomic chair for work. I talked to my chiropractor and found out what I needed to look for in a good chair: not too soft, good lumbar support, and something I could sit in for a few hours. With Dad offering to buy it for me, I started looking around. I tried several chairs, and was surprised how little the "chiropractor approved" chairs matched with what my chiropractor told me to look for. So many chairs were too soft, too uncomfortable, or had no lumbar support. But, finally I found a good one, and for only $150.
I'll tell you what, it makes a huge difference too. I have almost no back pain, and even on days I do, it doesn't set in until later in the day. I can't believe that I ever worked without a good chair like this. Combine this awesome chair with the new 23.6" monitor on my desk, and I'm living in heaven. We ended up getting it so large because, on top of it being so reasonably priced, it lets me see what I need to without leaning in to see it.
Next purchase: an awesome mattress.
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