Am I deformed?

Vinno · 18 Dec 2017 at 22:00

Hello,

Yes, the thread title is correct. I want to know if I am deformed.

I have been suffering with wrist, hand, and shoulder problems for almost 3 years now due to what I can only think is using the PC. I have given up playing any games where I need to use mouse and keyboard. So thats FPS mainly. For anything else I can just use a controller.

Having looked up correct posture etc a million times I have always come to the same issues....

For me to sit like the dude in the following picture is more or less impossible.

http://www.grafika24.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Computer-posture.jpg

** Do Not Hotlink images **

And here's why:

When I sit at a computer desk and allow my arms to hang freely whilst keeping my elbows at 90 degrees, they rest below the surface of the desk. If I then raise the seat up as far as I can, squashing my legs up to the underside of the desk I still find my elbows too low to sit as seen above. Using the PC like this means that I kind of have T-Rex arm posture where my elbows are below the mouse level with my hands above them.

When I use the PC for a bit in this position I inevitably get pins and needles in my hands and wrist and then it starts aching. If I just raise the arm rests so that my elbows sit above the desk I get terrible pains in my shoulders because I am shrugging them upwards.

I'm getting to the end of my tether to be honest because using a PC and gaming is pretty much the only constant hobby in my life and I'm starting to get too old/injured to do it

Is there any solution to this? Maybe some kind of fancy chair or desk? Or am I simply trying to sit incorrectly?

For the record I am using a DX Racer chair, yes I know its not great for posture but I dont see how it can be the cause of my problems since my arms seem to be too long for my body? lol....

Any help would be great...

Thanks

james.miller · 18 Dec 2017 at 22:10

Yours legs are up against the underside of the desk? Is your desk not too low then?

flea.rider · 18 Dec 2017 at 22:24

just because a picture says you have to sit a certain way ....you don't .. a raise your desk b: raise your chair move the arm rest
I sit with my feet on my desk shelf knees 2 inch below my keyboard .. back rest slightly back arm rest at keyboard level so i can reach the mouse and voddy
sort your **** out ..

Vinno · 18 Dec 2017 at 22:59

Yes my legs are touching the underside of the desk because my arms are too low. How can I get my arms so that they're above the desk? If I want them to be level or higher than the desk I need to move my seat higher right, which is impossible.

Maybe I need to draw a picture because I'm bad at explaining things

james.miller · 18 Dec 2017 at 23:08

Yes my legs are touching the underside of the desk because my arms are too low

Your legs are touching the underside of your desk because your desk is too low, never mind your arms.

How can I get my arms so that they're above the desk?

Raise the chair lol

Threepwood · 19 Dec 2017 at 01:20

If he raises the desk he also has to raise his chair. Catch 22. You guys; you hear but you do not listen! Don't you understand the man is deformed???

flea.rider · 19 Dec 2017 at 10:27

without being rude .. how tall are you ?do you have dwarfism
if so then you need a new desk one designed to fit you ..

~>Dg<~ · 19 Dec 2017 at 10:44

if i rest my arms on the table and elbows on the rest i will get pain cant sit like that

Vinno · 19 Dec 2017 at 18:25

Yeah exactly as Threepwood says, I can't raise the chair or lower the desk. As I am sitting right now at this moment, my legs are pretty much sqaushed under the desk and my arm rests are an inch lower than the surface of the desk. So it is absoloutely a catch 22 situation. My hands sit above my elbows which is why I think they are going numb/pins and needles. Ive been on the PC for about 30 minutes and I can already feel it.

I was just asking because in every "how am I supposed to sit at the PC" thing I see, the person is in a position which seems impossible for me to get into. Its like my upper body is too short or something...or my ass is too fat oh God.

And no im not a dawarf. Im about 5'6... so kinda dwarfey hahaha.

lude1962 · 19 Dec 2017 at 19:27

you raise the arm rests higher, not the whole chair
dxracer 'With a tubular steel frame, as well as comfortable and adjustable armrests'

geuben · 19 Dec 2017 at 19:29

Get a standing desk.

How thick is your desk? Is it just a wooden top (a couple of cm) that your legs are pressed right up to or is there over stuff in the way.

james.miller · 19 Dec 2017 at 19:30

Nobody told you to lower the desk? :confused:

Sit in your chair. Adjust the height so your feet are flat on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees just like in that picture. Can you fit comfortable under the desk? If not, raise the desk or buy a new one. When you've sorted your desk, adjust the arm rests on the chair to suit.

Vinno · 19 Dec 2017 at 20:12

james.miller said:
Nobody told you to lower the desk?

I only mentioned that because someone earlier (I think) said that my desk is too high.

lude1962 said:
you raise the arm rests higher, not the whole chair

If I raise the arm rests at all, my shoulders have to hunch upwards which is uncomfortable and causes pain after a while. Like I said, its as though my upper body is shorter than it should be lol.

geuben said:
Get a standing desk.

How thick is your desk? Is it just a wooden top (a couple of cm) that your legs are pressed right up to or is there over stuff in the way.

The desk surface inc mousepad is 2.5cm thick and there is a support bar under it which is an additional 2.5cm. So 5cm in total.

I feel like I'm being really thick over this but I can't see a solution at all. I never had this problem my whole life until about 6 months after I got this chair, but I dont know if thats a coincidence or not.

james.miller · 19 Dec 2017 at 20:16

Vinno said:
I only mentioned that because someone earlier (I think) said that my desk is too high.

I said it was too low twice, assuming your feet are on the floor of course.

do this:

james.miller said:
Sit in your chair. Adjust the height so your feet are flat on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees just like in that picture. Can you fit comfortable under the desk? If not, raise the desk or buy a new one. When you've sorted your desk, adjust the arm rests on the chair to suit.

Vinno · 19 Dec 2017 at 20:29

Ok sorry thats my mistake. I read some of the thread in a rush at work.

If I do that then I'd be worse off to be honest. I have a small footrest which my feet go on, if I lower my chair so that my feet are on the floor I do fit under the desk very easily. But then im reaching even further upwards to the desk. Adjusting the arm rests to that extent would mean I am permanently shrugging my shoulders.

As dumb as this sounds, could this be a seasonal thing? Could being a bit colder affect me like this?

I remember having this same issue last winter which cleared up around spring time. I just put it down to the fact that I stopped gaming as much and used a controller when I did game. In the summer I played quite a few PC games such as Deus Ex and never had issues... now we're getting to winter again its flaring up?

I feel like just giving up to be honest. I dont want to cripple myself trying to play games on PC.