Prolonged sitting.Its bad.(well..at least to me..)

[Zannen00]

Everyday when im not working,most of the time ill be spending my time in front of the computer,
wether to play games,drawing,or surfing the web.

One day my back starts to ache...thinking i might have sleep with bad posture,i just shrug it off..big mistake.

The pain keeps getting worse and worser..to the point i it keeps me up all night.
Once i go to the specialist,they diagnosis me inflicted with..muscle spasm on the lumbar sulosis(that how u spelt it?its near my waist,center spine backside)

Why?Bad posture,and sitting on uncomfortable chair for long periods of time(sometimes i played till 3AM lol)
After doing physio therapy,and a lot of meds..it took me almost a month to get back to work..and even then the pain still came back..

My advice?Anytime you feel uncomfortable,whenever you sit too long,take a break,have a proper cushioning on your chair/back,strech out your muscle..I didnt pay any attention to all that before..and i paid the full price of it...ouch.

How long you guys spend in front of the comp?Any similiar stories you like to share,whether yourself,relative or something you read on the net?

[DrSasquatch]

I spend most of my day at the computer for work. My back bothers me on occasion, but I've recently adapted my workstation into a sit/stand workstation. So now, I sit and stand pretty evenly throughout the day.

Have you tried going to a chiropractor? I absolutely love going to my chiropractor. Sometimes they can get to the root of the problem, whereas medications a lot of times, just cover up the problem.

My two cents.

[allenthomas]

I think I have similar back issues as everyone else. Sadly though I'm also sleeping on a couch, which is doing my back no favors. In the past few months I've started doing yoga, it surprisingly has improved my back and posture a bit. However when working at a comp for long hours the pain sets back in.

[puppetbomb]

I took private lessons for violin, so my sitting posture had always been good (back straight, looking forward, feet on the ground). I'm around three decades old and haven't had any pain in my spine other than one time almost ten years ago (not sure what caused it. I'm fine right now though).

But I also use an exercise bike for 45 min at least once a week, walk briskly 30 minutes 2-3 times a week, and have martial arts class for two hours once a week.

There's also standing desks that might help a bit. But yeah... exercise will help ^^;

[Wolven_Sister]

Yeah they say that prolonged sitting is physically bad for us. I don't mean to be a downer, but they say it causes a lot of back problems, ruins our posture, forms knots, and can be known to lead to arthritis. Basically being in front of computer for many hours is bad for us humans. I'm no exception, I do art and comics so I spend quite a number of hours in front of the screen. But I try to break it up into increments. If I've been on the computer non-stop for 2 hours, then I get up, stretch, walk around, do some chores then I continue with my work again.

I usually try to spend 3-4 hours in front of the computer but if I know I'm gonna be in front of the screen for 12+ hours because of a commission or an illustration, then I fall back onto intervals of breaks. And on those long days I'll even take a "lunch break" and go for a walk or bike outside for an hour, just something to keep my body from locking up and keep the blood flowing. But these are what I do, what I do may not work for others ^^; Though being a digital artist since 2011 has caused me some problems, if I forget to do the intervals my left knee locks up and I limp for a few minutes until it loosens again.

[MylCreates]

Yeah it's pretty bad for me.

[Himmi]

Stretching and taking a walk is such a great plan. I'm too familiar with lower back pain and neck strains when I'm drawing for long periods, especially before a deadline. ( ´∀｀;;) I make sure to take regular tea breaks now.

When I had a table at a con and was constantly drawing pen commissions without any breaks (for around 8 hours) I went home with a "pen claw" and found it hard to move my hands. Breaks are important y'all!

I started doing these stretches for my hands and my wrists regularly, and they seem to help a lot.

[AnnaLandin]

Ooooh yeah - I work at my desk, or my drawing table, or in front of my easel all the time, with the result that I have muscle-knots in my back that screw me over sometimes, triggering nauseating headaches.

However! Aside from those exercises @Himmi linked, my tip is to get up from your chair and stretch and move around a bit at least once every hour, if not more often (I tend to stretch every 30 minutes or so). It not only allows your muscles a moment to relax and move out of the position you've been in for too long, but also helps your bloodflow, which can be restricted by certain sitting positions.

I also try to go for long walks on my lunchbreaks. In my case, that means up to 5 miles of walking several times a week, with plenty of steep slopes and stuff, but just walking around the block helps a little. It's all about letting tense muscles relax before they turn you into a pretzel made of ouchies.

[Doubtcent]

Not only could sitting for a long time cause back pain, sadly, it can cause hemorrhoids. Sadly also, I've been suffering from them recently due to my occupation, my chronic knee problems which causes me to not want to stand up, playing video games, and art. So like 75%+ of my day is spent sitting down, which means more problems. I'm still young, darn it! Time to get active again!

[Spinester]

Build a standing desk. That's supposed to be a big helper in breaking that cycle.

[zelkats]

@Spinester
That works. But it's probably a good idea to work sitting and standing at short intervals. Working at a desk and warehouse line work both hurt my back when done for a long time lol.

(Also, your username is kinda appropriate for this topic XD )

[Spinester]

That works. But it's probably a good idea to work sitting and standing at short intervals. Working at a desk and warehouse line work both hurt my back when done for a long time lol.

(Also, your username is kinda appropriate for this topic XD )

Haha, very true! Trust me, I'm no expert.

[RiverKai]

I actually have a number of chronic illnesses that prevent me from sitting up for long periods of time (increasingly shortening too btw), so of course there's the irony in that I want to pursue art and art only... where prolonged sitting is harmful to even healthier people.
My crazy solutions so far are as follows:

-Do what you can, but you can/will start to realize when it has been way too long. Just like we (are supposed to) routinely look away from the screen to protect your eyes, taking a break is really helpful physically but can also help the creative process.
-Try to do some of it digitally on a laptop/cintiq/tablet computer to where it's portable and you can put it on a laptop tray on/by your bed. This is literally how I create my comics, or else I wouldn't be able to at all. (It's a lifesaver)
-Adjustable drawing tables where you can move it up or down. You can also use it for your PC if that's what you work on, and therefore can stand or sit and easily change positions. This obviously costs more money and I don't have one at home, but a relative of mine who works in an animation studio does this, and I've tried it out a few times. They're too nice.

Stretches, taking a walk, chiropractors (but only a truly masterful one), etc that you all mentioned are definitely useful too of course! I hope I could add a few more ideas through this.

[RetroOutro]

After reading multiple horror stories, I've been looking at investing into a standing desk solution, either converting one of my existing desks ( a la this $22 solution ) or maybe some very sturdy hanging shelves for my keyboard and monitor/tablet. I paint standing up for hours so when the weather warms up I'm also hoping to be spending a lot of my art day on my feet anyway. I've also been checking out these cute little treadmills for under $200, some are low profile enough to not get in the way infront of a desk. But yeah, I fidget and get up a lot when I draw, usually to do a chore ot walk the dog or something. It makes me feel like I'm not mlg, especially compared to streamers who stay in their chairs for five to ten hours straight, but... oh well, I am what I am.

[DeadAccount]

I'm having the same problem these days. Finally looking into a better chair, but also a standing desk solution. Now, I don't want to get rid of my regular desk, but I did come up with an alternative - might come in helpful for fellow Cintiq users on here (if there any?). I got an Ergotron mount and lifting it up to the maximum height allows me to use my Cintiq standing up (though taller people might want to look for a long pole version of Ergotron LX) One of my friends is using her chest of drawers as a standing desk, so I guess it's worth looking into.

[doraliu1008]

Here are some suggestions:
1. take a standing break every 1 hour and stretch
2. double check if your workstation is ergonomic: take a second to make sure your back is supported and your feet are resting comfortably. Then check that your monitor is an arms length away at eye level. If not, move things around a bit so you're more comfortable.
3. switch to a standing desk if possible
I'd recommend to add a FlexiSpot (disclaimer: I'm part of the team), a standing desk converter allows you to transit between sitting and standing without getting rid of your existing desk. The desktop is spacious enough for illustration artists.

Here are some pictures from on of our reviewers who is also a cartoonist

[shaylafarley5]

I'm the same way, on my days off I'm on the computer from 7am to 1st the next day. NO JOKE! But I use pillows for my back and arms when I lean forward to draw.
But my eyes are suffering a lot due to this, a few days ago a had a flashing ring in my field of vision for 2 hours. That was a sign to start taking 30min to an hour breaks in between