[RESOLVED] Need Something Homemade

[gypsy63]

This is my problem. I am 5'2" with short legs. I also have a very bad back and hips. Over the last few years it seems as if I have bought a new computer chair at least one a year--they all seem to wear out in no time. The last one that I bought and am using right now, has gotten so hard (the seat) that I can barely sit in it for pain. I have tried several cushions and pillows around the house and either they are too big or too small and don't relieve my pain (back pain). So the other day I ordered a special cushion for my computer chair that is especially for people with back problems, coccyx pain, etc. I received the cushion yesterday and immediately put it in my chair. It really does relieve all those problems--just as long as I have my feet flat on the floor and my arms resting at the right height on the chair armrests. My chair will not adjust any lower than it already is and now with the cushion my feet don't touch the floor any more. The cushion raises me up higher so that my feet dangles instead of resting on the floor. This is the cushion:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I really can not afford to buy another office chair right now--Christmas is very expensive when you have 8 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, so buying another chair is out of the question. I finally found something to solve the problem for my feet:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MS6XW8/...=IDW0B8IIXH4VW

That was the least expensive thing I could find that had great reviews. I put it on my wish list, thinking next I would find something to raise the armrests before placing my order. Maybe I put in the wrong search terms (tried several different ones) but I could not find anything that would work that I could place on top of my armrests that would add height to it--that I could afford. I don't want to spend so much money on these type things that would probably just about pay for another office chair, so I am thinking of something homemade for the armrests--something that I can put on top of the armrests that will allow me to comfortably lean my arms on at the right height. As it is right now I am hunched over whenever I lean my arms on the armrests. I have a padded armrest cover that I use on top of the original armrests and since it is stretchable I think I could probably stretch it over any padding I add to the arm rest to raise the height.

I need some inexpensive suggestions from you that I could try to make to raise the height of these armrests. The arms won't adjust any higher than than they already are, so that solution is out too.

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions,

[fink]

Besides adding more padding inside your existing rests you could use foam held on with any number of things.. twist ties, string, duct tape, Two sided tape. If you want it to look a bit better you could wrap the foam in some material that matches the chair and use strips of the same material to hold the foam in place along with two sided tape to stop them from sliding around.

Blocks of foam aren't expensive generally and you can get different densities. I would think a higher density would work better.

Something I did years ago was turn my regular desk into an L shaped desk by simply putting a small cabinet in front of the right hand side of the desk and I put my mouse on that rather than the main part of the desk beside the keyboard. That way my arm is always resting on the new "L" part of the desk for extra support and I don't have lean into the desk or reach too far to use the mouse. I find that set up much more ergonomically supportive than always reaching out to use my mouse.

See pic (Maggie likes the added space too )

[gypsy63]

Thanks Fink: I have to go to Wal-Mart tomorrow and will look for some high density foam there. I think that my stretchable pad would go over it---thus, holding it in place. I also have some double sided tape that I could put under the foam to make it even more stable. Will let you know if this worked out if I can find the foam tomorrow.

I already have things on both sides of my computer--a short bookcase that I keep my supplies in and on the other side is a small table that I keep a lamp on so an L-shape would not be work for me.
Thanks,

[jdc2000]

You might be able to use something like this to increase the armrest height:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/6-Foam-Pip...of-50/39109621

You don't need 50 of them, you should be able to buy them individually, and 1 should be enough.

[fink]

That's a good idea. Makes me think a pool noodle could be cut up and used too. If you can get a hollow one then a single slice to open it up would allow you to slip it over the existing arm rest and that would make it extra secure.

[gypsy63]

jdc: Tried to find individual foam wrap and couldn't find any, but I like the idea of the noodle that Fink suggested. This time of year they should be inexpensive. My hubby just came in the house and suggested he might have some foam out in the barn--we will see! If so, I will be able to cut that in the shape I need to use. I will let all of you know.
Thanks,

[jdc2000]

Home Depot or some other hardware store should have individual sections of pipe insulation.

[Train]

Pipe insulation, foam type, comes slit down one side.
Used to raise chair arms. Measured the arm and , for my situation, 1.25 insulation worked when cut to length.

1 inch by 6 ft is $2
http://www.homedepot.com/b/N-5yc1v/N...atchall&NCNI-5

[gypsy63]

Train: Thanks for that information. I have to go to Wal-mart tomorrow and Home Depot is right down the street from it. But I have to tell you, now that I have used this new cushion all day, it is not as comfortable as it felt when I first started sitting on it. For one thing, not only does it raise me up so high my feet dangle, but also now I am so high that my knees hit the drawer for the keyboard. I can't type on a keyboard that is on top of the desk the way I see most people type, I learned how to type with a keyboard in a drawer and I can't do it on top of the desk. So I can't get rid of the drawer. And the outer edges of the cushion seems to be bearing hard into my legs--it is as if the cushion is not wide enough. With all the problems I am having with getting comfortable, it now seems the only solution will to buy a new office chair. Don't know how I will swing it, but I don't think I can work out all the different problems with what I have with this office chair and now my desktop too. I guess I can save the pillow for when my great-grandchildren come and visit me. They always want to get on my computer and they are 4,5,6 & 9 years old. This pillow now feels as if it is kid size because it does feel too narrow--or maybe I just have a big back-end--LOL!

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions but I think I will just have to make do with with I have for now and maybe next month I will be able to buy another office chair. I will keep an eye out on the sales. End of the year sales are about to come up.

Appreciate all of you--and a Happy New Year!

[fink]

Happy new year to you too!

[Train]

Happy New Year!

[gypsy63]

Been doing some research and I think this is the chair I will probably get--will keep searching and maybe I can find this same chair somewhere else on sale:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/5824879#about

One of the things I really like about this chair is that in the product description it states you can also adjust the seat depth. This is very important to short people with short legs because if the depth is too long then your knees won't go over the edge of the seat! Had to send a task chair back one time just because of this problem. That returned chair was not the kind you could adjust the seat depth.

Just thought all of you might be interested in what I was considering.

Thanks,

[Train]

I would try it before I would buy it. As the seat may be to high.

You are taller than my wife by 4 inches. And that was what we had to do.

[fink]

Furniture is one of the things I won't buy without a hands-on test (and by "hands" I mean "butt" LOL).

I'm about average height for a guy, at 6'0, and I still find lots of chairs, sofas etc aren't comfortable or easy to sit on because of bad or inadequate design.

[gypsy63]

Train: I thought me and my mother were short (she was 4'11") but after hearing your wife is even shorter, I won't complain any more about being short. Since I have gotten older (senior citizen) I have an expression, "I'm not fat, I'm just short for my weight!"

The chair I am now using I bought at Sam's--and I tried it out before I bought it. Now the chair won't adjust it's height & feels as hard as a brick. So now I am concerned with finding a quality chair and one that feels comfortable. After looking at that chair at Wal-mart, I found the same exact chair on Amazon--with free Prime shipping. One of the reasons I love shopping on Amazon is because of customer reviews. Unlike the company that makes the products the cutomers will tell you honestly weather something is any good or not--the pros and cons. Unless a product has good customer reviews, I won't buy it. They also tell you little things like, "this is not made for short people" so I always find that to be one of the things I look for when ordering things like clothes or office chairs. So after reading the reviews for this chair, I ordered it. Hated to put it on a credit card but I really needed a computer chair since I am on my computer a lot due to retirement.

Fink: One of my biggest pet peeves are the chairs in doctor's offices. I hardly ever find a chair that I can sit in comfortably because the chairs they supply in the waiting rooms go so far back that the seat hits me on my calves instead of at the knees. With that problem added that the chairs/sofas are so soft that when I have to get up it is like trying to be an acrobat to get out of the chair!

I won't get the new chair until Jan. 8th & I will post back here after I get it and let you know what it was like. Sorry I could not post here yesterday but our ISP went down and we only got it back today.
Thanks,