Deskbound | Kelly Starrett | Talks at Google

I've been a software engineer for over 15 years and so have been working at a desk for just as long. For the first few years I never thought twice about it, just sat all day long, no big deal. Eventually that started to catch up with me and my health began to noticeably decline. I eventually made a conscious effort to combat the sedentary nature of knowledge work and have since seen significant improvements in my health, both physically and mentally. I now have this dichotomous relationship with computers: on one hand I love programming but on the other I can't stand being sedentary and I don't like that the default mode for computer work is sitting at a desk completely stationary. So I'm always looking for the most effective way to maintain my well-being while also working at a desk all day and I've been writing about it on my blog. It's rough at the moment but am actively working to improve the content and quality; but I think this article in particular may be of interest: link . I think there are the obvious answers like: go for walks, go to the gym, do active things, etc. I'm 100% for all of those, but for the most part you can't really do any of them while working. But movement is the key and so I think the most important thing you can do at your workspace is to create a movement-rich environment where you are constantly able to shift positions and fidget. Ideally get a standing desk; this sets the foundation... you'll have a difficult time being sedentary while you're

I realize you're interested in hearing from others dealing with the same problem; I, myself, am not, however, I am extremely interested in our general health as deskbound hackers and would like to offer some thoughts that may prove helpful: 1. Reduce optional sitting. Sitting for extended periods of time compromises our musculoskeletal system and in particular our spinal health. When we sit, the muscles in our lower body basically turn off leaving only our core to support our spine which is not sustainable. We eventually collapse into poor posture with our shoulders rounding forward and hips rounding backward putting the body into a c-shape. This position adds a ton of extra pressure on our vertebrae which can lead to various amounts of pain. Plus, the more we sit the less we move; and we need to move to keep muscles engaged and blood circulating. 2. When you do sit, choose the right chair, and sit properly. The ideal chair is one with a wide square seat made of wood or metal. It may sound uncomfortable, but that's the point; the goal is to encourage movement, a chair shouldn't encourage you to sit all day but to simply give you a place to temporarily rest. The square shape allows you to sit along the edge without sliding off which makes it easier to maintain a neutral upright position. And the hard surface allows for great mechanical feedback; you get uncomfortable which reminds you to move. Before you even sit, engage your core to stabilize your spine, then sit without coll

I suffered from mild bruxism about 10 years ago and have had several bouts of TMJD where I couldn’t close one side of my jaw. For me, the key has been poor posture induced by stress; these bouts coincide with heavy laptop and mobile phone use (neck angle forward and down). What fixed it for me was switching to a good desktop set-up whenever possible and self-treatment via Kelly Starrett’s Becoming A Supple Leopard (there is whole section in the second edition on neck and jaw). He has good general advice in this video as well - ▶ this video I haven’t used the mouthguard now in probably 5 or more years.

As someone who has made huge progress on posture over a long period of time, my first recommended steps for you would be: 1. Watch the "Deskbound" Google Talk by Kelly Starett ▶ this video 2. Read and do the exercises in Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais. 3. Get into the habit of wiggling and shifting your body throughout the day. And get into the habit of devoting regular time to being more conscious of where your muscles are and how you are using them. 4. Trigger Point Therapy is amazing for self-treating body pain, if you are willing to experience short bursts of pain during the treatment.

Love Starrett! He also did a talk at Google ( ▶ this video ) and near the end someone asks about stand up desks. The problem the author has might not be due to the standing desk but more with his posture. The standing desk probably exacerbated the problem.

Here's another useful resource regarding posture and sitting [1] by Kelly Starrett, who's probably well-noted in strength training circles for his MobilityWOD project. He explains how to sit and provides guidance on several related topics such as shoulder/hip mobility and hydration. He also illustrates some massages and stretches you can do to take care of your junk through hours of prolonged sit-and-keyboarding. For what its worth, I've been following along with his MobilityWOD project [2] for some time and it has immensely helped with my strength training pursuits. [1] ▶ this video [2] link