Ergonomics of Herman Miller Embody

balanceballs

balanceballs

balanceballs

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26 Aug 2011
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I've got a Herman Miller Embody, the Logitech branded one. Whilst it's been great for my back, I've recently been having trouble with shoulder pain. This is since Battlefield 6 came out, funnily enough. I can't fully blame it on the chair but it's one of the most important parts of a desk setup and this seemed like a good place to post this. If it's wrong please move the thread.

  • My desk is height adjustable.
  • It has a decent width & depth (120x70cm).
  • Both my (27") monitors are on arms so can be positioned pretty much anywhere.
  • I've recently changed to a tenkeyless keyboard to bring my mouse further left, to reduce shoulder/arm strain.
  • Mouse and keyboard are wireless so can be moved anywhere on the desk.
  • Generally speaking I try to sit with good posture as much as possible but sometimes end up slouching a bit.
  • The top of my monitors are just below eye level.
  • I have a tendency to lean forward whilst playing games which is probably adding to neck and shoulder strain.
  • I've tried making my desk a bit lower, that seems to have helped a bit but it's still not quite right
I have tried various combinations of chair/desk/monitor height, but if I play any sort of FPS for more than 30mins or so I get really bad shoulder pain on my right arm (mouse arm). When just working or browsing it's not painful.

I've adjusted the chair to be a bit more supportive & tried having it in these positions:
  • Chair arms are pushed up against the edge of the desk - always feels like i'm a bit too far away and the chair then isn't "straight" relative to the desk because the arms are never quite mirrored position wise
  • Chair arms just under the desk - seems better but less support because there's the depth of the desk to consider before placing my elbows on the desk - probably adds strain due to the non-neutral angle
  • Chair arms all the way down (so I support my own elbows/wrists) - I then tend to push my arm forward on the desk for support and it causes more strain
I just can't get the right position. For size context I'm about 6'0" tall & weigh around 90kg.

Any tips for being more comfortable whilst playing? Perhaps a video showing some adjustments or ways to measure things so they're in the right place. I've found some stuff but not a lot specific to gaming. I never used to get these issues - must be getting old!
 
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I don't think there's really any good solution to this particular issue. The issue of keyboard and mouse control, is that the mouse is inherently in a position that forces your body to position the arm/shoulder(/and maybe back) into a weird position, that over time - depending on the person and how often you take breaks and supportive exercices to keep it in check, will eventually cause problems.

Other options include using controllers instead, since it positions the controls into a fairly neutral position for both arms and shoulders, reducing the amount of work the right shoulder has to perform alone (or your back if you haven't found that suitable position for yourself yet).
 
"The top of my monitors are just below eye level"


put the middle of your monitors at eye level. Its likely that your head is looking down so your neck is straining to support your head. raising your screen will naturally force your upper back and shoulders into the correct position that the chair will support.

This is probably a huge % of your issue. If you don't have a monitor arm then get one. your elbows being on the desk gets the shoulder pain to go away.
a monitor arm gets rid of the monitor stand being in the way so your arms can be further onto the desk and removes any tension.

I had this issue when I worked at home and smashed CSGO all the time. the week my monitor arm arrived and I raised my screen, issue solved itself quick
 
I have the same chair, drop the arm rests below the desk level and have the chair close to the desk. Mouse and keyboard way back from the edge and rest my forearm (mouse hand) on the desk.
 
balanceballs said:
I have tried various combinations of chair/desk/monitor height, but if I play any sort of FPS for more than 30mins or so I get really bad shoulder pain on my right arm (mouse arm). When just working or browsing it's not painful.
Click to expand...
This implies it's the intensity of movement that's causing the problem.

Try taking a break after 20 mins, and do maybe some gentle movement of the shoulder, and see if that helps.

Otherwise, keep tweaking the setup one thing at a time to identify what might be causing the issue.
 
Thanks all. Raising my monitors up a bit seems to have helped a lot. They're on individual arms so it's very easy to do.

I've tried the arm rests under the desk tactic a few times but it never quite feels right.

After a lot of messing around with monitor, desk and chair height I think I've got to a reasonably comfortable place and can play BF6 without any pain now. Aside from the pain of being terrible at it.
 
I don't have a Herman Miller embody but I've also had similar problems with right shoulder pains when FPS gaming. What helped me was lowering my desk more than I thought I'd like. It's now 65 cm from the floor and roughly the same height of my belly button while I play. I also chucked my arm rests in the cupboard as they don't go low enough. Last thing I did was stopped sleeping on my right side. Seems like youve fixed your issue but i hope this helps.
 
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