After all is said and done, I'm a standup kind of guy. Literally.
When I asked my doctor why I was having chronic back pain, he asked me how I sat at the computer. I slouch, he observed, which is causing pressure on my lower back. He prescribed a sit-stand desk, which moves up and down. When I start getting fatigued from standing, I lower the desk to a sitting level.
After some research on Amazon.com and other websites, I settled on the ApexDesk. The six-foot-wide desk has room for a PC with a 25-inch monitor, an iMac with a 27-inch monitor, a printer and a few smaller peripherals, including a scanner. This model, which is motorized, can go from 30 inches high to nearly 5 feet. My doctor cautioned me not to get a manual, or crank, model because the exertion of raising and lowering the desk might cause another kind of back pain. The table has memory settings.
I hope you're sitting down for this: The 71-inch ApexDesk model costs $629 from Amazon. If you don't have room for a 6-foot-wide desk, smaller, less expensive models are available. If you already have a large desk, there are "risers," which stand atop the desk and have limited up-and-down ranges. Some of those are in the $200 to $300 range. You also might consider a monitor arm (more about those in a future column).
I also bought a $35 rubber mat from Amazon. The mat reduces fatigue when I'm standing. I move it so my chair can get up close to the PC when I'm sitting.
My son, who has average technical skills, assembled the desk in less than two hours. Expect to pay around $100 to have a pro do it.
Take it from a standup kind of guy: get a sit-stand desk. Your back will thank you.___
ABOUT THE WRITER
Harold Glicken is a retired newspaper editor. He can be reached at harold.glicken@helpware-online.com and a collection of his columns can be found at www.helpware-online.com.
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