Oooouch... my neck...

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Cenobyte

New member
yeah... you\'re right: it hurts. and why? because i work as some IT troll - so i sit the whole day in front of a pc... and after that: i return home and start painting. and painting and painting. as time goes by: it begins... first only a small itch in neck, later a really serious pain in the whole neck, wich leads to soem really bad headaches. that isn\'t the worst point, but i can\'t paint that way anymore.... what to do? help me...

i paint on a standard desk and am quite large, so i have to lean over all the time...
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Cenobyte:
yeah... you\'re right: it hurts. and why? because i work as some IT troll - .......
I paint on a standard desk and am quite large, so I have to lean over all the time...
Click to expand...
Ok I work as an IT slave driver (manager), so I know where you\'re coming from. The key to your painting and neck problem is posture. (if you\'re hunched over it won\'t help a lot of things... Digestion being one of them.)

You may want to consider the height of the desk/table at which you paint. If you can find/make something to raise the level up enough so that that when you rest your elbows on it your hands are at eye level or close to it then you\'ll find an improvement.

Hope that this helps.
PS.. busted PC components make great 40K scenery..
 
F

Flashman14

Member
In general, Cenobyte touches on something that\'s been bugging me as well.

I have my chair at my paint table as low as it can go and use those industrial brown tables with the fold down legs.

But, in order to see what I\'m doing AND to be able to lean my wrists on the table edge to steady both fig and brush I find after awhile (especially after doing 15mm) my back will ache from the hunch.

I\'ve imagined that i\'d like to have a handicap rail installed on my table about a foot higher than the front edge of the table top so I have something to lean on in a more upright fashion. Or, on the contrary, maybe a foot stool would help raise the table surface relative to me so I don\'t have to hunch for hours.

I think however that the right answer is to take frequent breaks but at that frequency I wouldn\'t get much done!

(oh the reason I\'m in some pain more with 15\'s thatn 25/28\'s is because I have to get that much closer to really see what I\'m doing. )

And I don\'t like the magnifying lamp idea because I still have to hunch to steady my hands and the back of the brushes are dramatically hindered by the bulk of the lamp itself. (the non business end is always bumping against the lens.)

Is there a chair out there that can be adjusted low enough? (don\'t like this because I need an overview of my table contents for paint colors, tools, etc etc)

Should I put the table on blocks? (don\'t like this reason for the exact same reason as above)

Install the handicap rail?

Am I missing anything?
 
E

Errex

New member
Yep. As abhorrent as that notion is to all of us, IT people, excercise is the way to go to correct posture problems.

I have been told than doing crunches is a great way to strengthen your back, and if your abs are hurting from the excercise, it is harder for you to adopt a bad posture.

As for frequent breaks, yes, that would be nice too. I rarely devote more than 30 minutes per session on weekdays, although I sometimes have two or more sessions a day, when nothing is on the TV.
On the weekends I try for 1 hour breaks per 2 hour sessions.
 
Chrispy

Chrispy

Active member
I don\'t seem to have this back problem, and my mother has a history of back problems and I have to pop my neck joints into place after I wake up everyday. Then again, I\'m using a painting rig and move my light so I\'m not working hunched over something.

Maybe it\'s just I mind over matter thing, grasshopper.. :p
 
S

Sturmhalo

Guest
Now this is something that is problem for me as well. I paint all day, everyday (supposedly for a living!).

I found that by putting a cardboard box on my work table gives me something better to rest my wrists against other than the table edge. It\'s only about 4\" thick but it really helps stop me hunching over too much. I have though about making a simple wooden plinth to put on my table as a more permanent solution (though I\'ve been using the box for over a year I think!). Before the box I used to get really bad back and neck ache.

Dragonsreach is right (again!), bad posture also f**ks up your digestion! If you\'re hunched over all day at work and then spend the eveing slouching on the couch it soon feels like you\'ve got a football stuck in your gut and that ain\'t comfortable!

Biggest problem I get is with my thighs and especially my hands. Sitting most of the day just kills the muscle in your legs. Regular stretching really helps (I have one of those excercise machine things with the pedals and levers). Could do with some advice on my hands though! After a days work they can feel pretty stiff, sometimes slightly rheumatic around the wrists (where I lean on the box!). Any cures other than just flexing the joints regularly?
 
B

barkel

New member
back, neck and eyes

If you can afford it, I recommend Chiropractic adjustments. Not all chiropractors are out to bleed you dry. I\'m lucky enough to have a wife who works for one, so I get weekly treatment. It really helps the head aches and neck aches.

I do not work IT, but I do data entry almost all day long in a government job. Lately when I go home my right eye is fuzzy. This concerns me greatly. It caused such headaches last week that I was barely able to get any painting in. Only about 4 hours total.

The magnifying light is only good to bring things closer. If you are seeing fuzzy, that lense just makes it big and fuzzy. Plus, the lamp creates such heat, that it can dry the paint on your brush as you\'re using it.

I think, ultimately, I\'m going to have to cut back on my Coolminiornot use. I find that looking at the new pics on this site does more damage to my eyes that hours of data entry.:(
 
V

vincegamer

Active member
I don\'t think I can help much because I paint on the floor. Every so often I just roll myself out flat on my back and stretch. Strangely, sitting on the floor also helps because it\'s easy to get uncomfortable so I have to change my position frequently instead of being bent in the same slumped seating position for hours.
One suggestion that should help both posture and digestion: Yoga.
 
I

Impernouncable

New member
I paint on a drawing table with adjustable height, they are reasonably priced and this completely overcomes any problem related to hunching over. And on the odd day that it is cleaned off I can actually use it for drawing. :rolleyes:
I also see a chiropractor about every three months for unrelated back pain. It might be something for you IT folks to consider.
 
F

finn17

New member
Doublejointed or what?

Vincegamer! You have just joined my list of heros. I can paint on the floor for about 5 minutes before my legs and knees withdraw their labour. I suppose it must be a matter of practice and yoga must sure help.
I am going to subvert (enrich) this thread slightly now and say that whilst I don\'t suffer from neck/muscle problems whilst painting, my eyes more than make up for this. I have used all sorts of devices, jewellers eyeglasses, magnifying lamps and find they all make the situation worse. I have just invested in a seriously expensive magnifying lamp with a circular flourescent tube and whilst this helps when painting I find it takes ages for my eyes to re-adjust when I move away.
I am not an IT person but spend 5 hours or so a day at a screen and I am sure this also doing my head in.
If Charles Darwin\'s right, our progeny will all end up looking like Golemlol
 
F

finn17

New member
A slip of the tongue....

I shall light an extra candle on your shrine this very night to atone for my shortcomings....;)
 
P

paint me

New member
Well, the human body certainly wasn\'t designed for sitting on it\'s a$$ all day, especially hunched over a desk squinting at 25mm figures. So, exercise and stretching are a must. Change positions frequently. This is no different than any other job that requires repetitive motions or poor body ergodynamics.
As a chiropractor, I work on \"desk necks\" all the time. What I mean is, the posture where you\'re looking down at a desk for prolonged periods. Find a good chiro and ask about specific stretches and isolation exercises, and get that neck adjusted! Same goes for the low back. I paint for a hobby...mostly because it forces me to focus...so the most I\'ll paint is 3-4 hours straight. After that, my body\'s had it. And I don\'t paint every day. The moral is, if you\'re abusing your body like this, you\'re going to pay a price. If your neck or back hurts, your body is telling you to stop or do something differently.
 
M

mlavanish

New member
As a musician, I have to sit with my instrument for several hours a day. Posture is everything. And one of the most valuable things I learned, never adapt yourself to the instrument. Always adapt the instrument to you. The key is to start off with good posture, and then to find a way to work with that. I\'ll admit my painting posture isn\'t as good as my playing posture, but I do try to keep comfortable and to not hunch. The main thing there is to bring your work to your face, not the other way around. I often sit in a chair comfortably and hold my work in front of me (without hunching), having my hands or wrists resting on each other to keep me steady. It\'s hard to get used to, but painting for hours without trouble should make it all worthwhile.

Regular periods of rest are a must too, both for the body and the eyes. I would recommend 50 minutes on, 10 minutes off with stretching, etc.
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
Better Chair

I too work for IT trolls, but I made them get me an ergonomic chair. It is on the lower end of adjustable chairs: Seat tilt, height, back height & back angle with lower back support. Four levers on the bottom for adjustment plus the arms tilt & height and width. Ran about $300.

This has allowed me to go home at night and still be civil instead of growling abut my back & neck.

Next step is to get one at home so I can paint longer without killing back, butt & neck.

Other than that, exercise & frequent breaks from the bushes (& keyboard) (10 minutes each hour - do filing or real paperwork or something not on the computer) are a must to be able to do this for any length of time without developing further troubles.
 
O

Otter

New member
Originally posted by finn17
I have used all sorts of devices, jewellers eyeglasses, magnifying lamps and find they all make the situation worse. I have just invested in a seriously expensive magnifying lamp with a circular flourescent tube and whilst this helps when painting I find it takes ages for my eyes to re-adjust when I move away.
Click to expand...

Hi Finn. I visited an opthamologist recently and he warned against using any type of magnifying lens for closeup work. He told me that a major cause of permanent eye damage comes from magnification, where your eye is stressed but does not have to change its own lens shape. Not using magnifiers forces the lens to move, which helps it in keeping its flexability.

That\'s just what one guy told me (albiet with oodels of education), tho. I\'ve taken his advice and have backed off the vision gear, but I also get up and walk around several times an hour and I think this helps the eye to focus on things not an inch from the nose.

- Otter
\"Never send a ferret to do a weasel\'s work\"
 
S

smokey

New member
necks, backs, and boxes

This might run on. if so, I apologize, but hey, fair warning and all that...

My bad back comes from having (in the distant past) installed Hardwood floors for a living while being 6 foot 1. That was hell.

I find that after about 45 mins of painting I get neck pain. about another 30 mins after that, I get an unbearable pain in-between my shoulder blades, and that\'s the end of my painting for the day. If I stop painting for 15 mins at the neck pain stage and then pick it up again, not only do I get better looking figs (being able to concentrate on what I\'m doing and not the knifeblade between my vertebrae) but I can paint much, much more per day. I get a little bit less done in each sitting than I would if I painted for 75 mins straight, but the more sittings more than makes up for it.

If I wasn\'t wuite so broke I could go back to my chiropractor, but that\'s a little bit farther off.

Sturmhalo, what are the dimensions of the box you use? what\'s it made of? what\'s the overall height of your work surface? this sounds like a great idea :idea: and I have access to as much cardboard as I could ever use i ten lifetimes.

Smokey
 
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syco-pyro

Guest
whaaaa

hurry someone call the whaahhmbulance and use some flexall or icyhot! the only problem i get is i have to pop my back after paiting cuzz it gets stiff i usually do this by rolling back over the arm of my couch
 
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