meanmom

My back and hips have been hurting and I know it is because I need a new chair and sit too long. Some days sewing the only time I get up are when I run out of water or need the restroom. I am shopping for a chair today. My chair slowly slips lower and lower. It is getting worse. When it is too low my shoulders and upper back hurt.

illinois

I have a mesh and flexible wire device that I got at the Dollar Tree. One dollar for this so it's certainly worth a try. I put it in my sewing chair and also use it when hand quilting. It works better than a pillow and certainly has helped my back when I'm working with quilts. It supports the lower and midback but is so that it conforms to you very comfortably.

Bubbie

Last year a man hit my car at a stop light, so I was unable to sew due to neck pain. I found that I missed sewing over the months, so I moved my machine to our dining room table (DH liked the look of a Pub table - now he doesn't, but that's another thing). With my machine on the table, I'm able to stand up straight and sew. NO neck pain! So I would say try another place for your machine. Kitchen counter (not as high, but higher than your sewing table), it doesn't have to be on the counter all the time. As others have said, you need to move around more. Good luck

Lady Diana

Do you have your machine tilted towards you? I found putting two rubber wedge door stops under the back of my machine has worked wonders with the strain and pain between my shoulders and my neck. My husband looked at my sewing posture while I was at the machine and asked me why I was leaning my head down to see the needle area of the machine....he said, your neck must hurt by the end of the day....he was right....my neck and between my shoulder blades. I saw one of those Plexiglas machine supports, but way too expensive....so I tried the door stops, works great.

mjhaess

Sounds like it is your chair. I use to have that problem until I changed chairs.

Bree123

I agree with those that posted about putting your machine on a tilt. I didn't have doorstops & definitely wasn't willing to "invest" in a manufactured tilt for my machine, so I just put a roll of masking tape under the back edge & that's been working fine for me. Helps a ton with neck pain. I also took empty chocolate boxes & taped them around my machine to make a platform & then stacked books under my folding table to put next to the old desk that I sew on. Having that extra space to rest my forearms was something that my pain specialist recommended & it has also helped a lot. Of course, I have to put shims under the back edge of the boxes so they match the tilt of my machine.

Also, make sure that the front of your chair is tilted down. If you can't make that adjustment, then either invest in one of those butt cushions that has the slots angled down for your legs, or else take one pillow & put it flat on your chair & take a second one & put it at an L-angle at the back of the chair (so it cushions your tailbone & forces your legs to angle down). I also have found that making an angled support for my left foot helps to balance me out, but I just saw a video with Leah Day that recommends putting a phone book under your right foot, behind the speed pedal so I'm interested in trying that.

Beyond that, I love the 8-hour stay-cold ice packs that you can find at Walgreen's or Wal-Mart and such by the pharmacy (heat only works for muscle pain; ice is for nerve pain/joint pain/inflammation, which are more often the culprits with repetitive motion). They come in a velcro pouch so you can strap them on & keep sewing. If it truly is muscle pain, then I use the ThermaCare heat wraps. Any kind of exercises that work your shoulders & traps will help with neck pain. Core work helps with back pain (I've even seen a few people manage to successfully sit and sew on top of those balance balls -- that is a skill in itself if you ask me! lol). And listen to your body. Don't keep working through the pain! We all stop the moment our machine starts moaning & groaning but will ignore our bodies when they do the same thing. Stop. Stretch. Reposition yourself. Check to make sure you haven't lost proper posture as you've become more fatigued. Switch to another task for a bit -- stand and cut fabric or sit in bed and work on applique or binding another quilt. If it's become darker, turn on some more lamps -- or buy extra lighting so you're not straining forward to see your stitches.

After 2 neck surgeries & 5 back surgeries and countless injections, pills, acupuncture, PT & chiropractic treatments, I completely sympathize with you and really hope you can find some options that work for you!

MargeD

I use a good office chair, but I still get back and neck pain if I do not get up and move around at regular intervals. I have arthritis in my neck, shoulders and back, so some pain is expected; but if I pace myself it gets easier and I have less pain. I used to do medical transcription for 8 hours a day, so every 15-20 minutes I would get up, get a drink of water or just take a short walk to the ladies room, which helped. I really wish that I could have taken that chair with me when I left, as it was fantastic. Oh well, leaving that job was more important to my well being than having that great chair. LOL.

elnan

Alikat, I am interested in the pillow you describe. I had to handsew two charm squares to "picture" it. That would have 8 corners. What is the advantage over a square pillow? The only pictures I found online were very small with a button in the middle. Thanks for any clarification.

fireworkslover

When sitting in front of your machine, your arms should be bent at a 90 degree angle, when your palms are flat on the bed of your sewing machine. If they are not, then your chair is at the wrong height. You might need some assistance to figure out what that height needs to be, then measure from the floor to the top of the chair seat. That's the measurement you need to know when you go to buy a new chair. Take the tape measure with you to the store.

Over time chairs seem to loose their ability to stay the same height, then it's off to find another. This makes me kind of mad, since there never is anything else wrong with the chair, it just won't stay where I want it.

kjdavis4

I sit on an inflated disc cushion in my chair. As others have said, change your position frequently. Move your head, neck and shoulders through different motions. Also, after you are finished sewing, a warm shower is a good way to loosen those muscles up. Here's the link for this product: http://www.flaghouse.com/Seating%2DD...D15-item-37851
You can probably find it at another site for less. Good luck!