I was thinking the other day…how much money have I spent to correct my poor computer posture?
It would not be easy to estimate. Because the dollar amount would be A LOT. 💸
From 2002 to 2015, I made a living while sitting at a computer full-time (40+ hours a week).
In 2011, I finally started taking accountability for my bad computer posture.
I’ve done a lot of professional treatments since then.
These include chiropractic care, acupuncture, physical therapy, deep tissue release, cryotherapy, the list goes on…
I won’t list everything I’ve done.
I can’t give an estimated dollar amount either.
But it’s definitely in the 5 figures range. Easily more than $20k, since 2011. 💸
Quick disclaimer: This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. Bad posture also decreased my mental clarity, energy level, and work productivity.
All the desk worker health tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
Cost of Bad Computer Posture: How I Spent $20K Fixing Desk‑Induced Pain (and the Free Habits that Work Better)
Years ago, I was going to see a physical therapist who was fresh out of college. It cost me a $60 co-pay, 3 times a week, for 4 to 6 weeks.
This person really didn’t help me much at all. 😡
In theory, everything she had me do was good for my overall health.
But, I’d go right back to my computer desk the next morning. All my bad posture habits would immediately wipe out any work she had me do during my appointment.
I could send you a list of all the healthcare professionals that helped me. And some of them really helped me a lot.
But, it would be a huge money (and time) investment to go see these people.
Making appointments, taking time off work, co-pays, payments not covered by insurance, etc.
More important than professional therapies, we need to focus on correcting our own behaviors first. What we control on a daily basis.
There’s dozens of ways we can improve our computer posture on our own.
And those should all be a priority of ours.
The best place to start is by taking accountability of the mistakes we are making throughout our work day (8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 2000 hours a year).
We need to stop the bleeding, before investing money on supplements and treatments.
We need to decrease the repetitive strain we are putting our muscles and tendons through at our computer.
I’m a big fan of Dr. Andrew Huberman’s work. Generally speaking, he lists treatments in this order of priority.
1️⃣ Behaviors
2️⃣ Supplements
3️⃣ Medications
Behaviors of Good Computer Ergonomics
Let’s focus on behaviors for an athlete, who sits at a computer desk full-time.
We’ll refer to these behaviors as computer ergonomics.
✅ Posture is an important behavior of ergonomics.
Click here to learn about my experience of what happened after sitting at a computer for 9 years.
➡️ But posture is not the only way to decrease computer-related pain. There are other crucial behaviors in my computer ergonomics process.
✅ Sleep quality
The earlier we get tired in the day, the quicker our posture fails.
Click here to see some articles I wrote about sleep.
✅ Hydration
The more dehydrated we are, the more it negatively impacts our muscle recovery.
Click here to learn how hydration is an important behavior for better computer posture.
✅ Breathwork
Shallow breathing increases my mental stress, which has a negative effect on my physical computer posture.
Click here to improve your posture by breathing more effectively.
✅ Nutrition
Eating clean, organic, real food has improved my health tremendously, which obviously promotes better computer posture.
Click here to learn about the foods I eat.
Or…
Click here to learn how I cook without seed oils.
All these computer ergonomics “behaviors” are directly related to how much computer-related pain I have.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce computer-related injuries by improving your posture. That’s something to be very proud of!
If you liked this article on the cost of bad computer posture, check out my free ebook titled 3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately!
>>> Click here to download your free copy
This ebook is a great supplement to the article you just read. In this ebook, you’ll learn 3 of the most painful, poor computer posture mistakes. Then, you’ll learn how to fix those mistakes immediately with 3 simple changes to your ergonomic computer desk setup.
Go to SittingPosture.com/ebook to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
