Savannah Knightly

After the last few weeks of working on the book before and/or after work, my hands have started cramping off and on, and my back, shoulders, hips, and neck get stiff and achy. A lot. The cause is pretty obvious (I sit too much). The solution? I’m not so sure.

How Do I Reduce Pain from Sitting?

I’ve been brainstorming how I can try to sit less or at least not hurt so much. Here’s what I have so far:

Write Less (Nope!)

Even if it seems like the obvious option to write less and add something more active to my schedule instead, I’m not willing to do it.

I can’t cut work hours without cutting pay or changing jobs, and this is 100% the wrong economy to be trying that. And I’ve just started making good progress. I don’t want to lose momentum now!

Try A Standing Desk

I’m not sure how well I would write standing up. Theoretically, my brain should still work in that position, but I’ve never really tried it.

I’m definitely not going to buy one before I know I can do it though. Have you seen how much they cost?!

What I think I’ll do is try putting my laptop on a box on the counter where I’ve been working. If that works for me, I’ll look into more permanent solutions.

Take Stretch Breaks

If I can’t change the position I sit in, I can try to make sure I move around a bit more. Maybe, I can put on a timer and make sure I move at least once an hour. Is that enough?

I looked up stretches for writers, too. While those seem pretty basic, that’s probably all I need. (And they get bonus points for coming up with “writer’s butt”).

Get a Cushion for My Chair

Speaking of writer’s butt… I’ve found that shoes with support make a big difference with back pain when I’m standing for a long time. So a cushion when sitting for a long time, should work the same, right?

I could also get a new chair, but I think a bit more cushion might be enough (and cheaper).

Use Heat Therapy & Menthol

Have you seen the different hand wraps and heated gloves that people use for carpal tunnel? (Like the toast usb gloves and heat wraps) I may look into those more to see if one seems worth buying. If not, I’ll stick with a heating pad.

Maybe, if I use heat and icy hot, I can keep the aching down. It’s probably worse right now because I’ve been writing more than usual, and I haven’t been stretching. So if I can use heat to get the knots out, stretch breaks might be enough to keep it from happening again. Or at least happen less often or less severely (maybe🤞).

What Else?

That’s all I have. I’m all out of ideas for how to sit less – or at least get less stiff and achy. If you have suggestions I haven’t thought of, please, let me know!