Tall People - Do you have back pains?

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Permalink Reply by Cheyenne Throckmorton on February 11, 2009 at 7:54pm

Yeah, I imagine back pain would be pretty prevalent in taller people. I try to make sure to stretch my back once a day. Really I should do more stretching (especially hamstrings) but I figure the back is probably the most important thing to protect.

Probably the biggest problem for the back rather than just ducking and such is your office furniture. You should really take a look at the ergonomics of how a chair and desk should properly fit. I was lucky that my boss recognized this need when I first got hired into the work force. He got me a desk specially built a foot higher and we also ordered a Dauphin chair from Tall Pauls Tall Mall.

That made all the difference in the world for me. In fact after I left that job about a year later I contacted the president to see if I could buy that chair off of them, since they weren't using it. Turned out he wanted me to sit in the chair, he just didn't want the chair to leave his office. So he made an offer where I ended up going back to work for them and sitting in my chair.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel M on February 12, 2009 at 2:55am

While I was in a pre-military boarding school, the beds were "Military standard" of 6' length. After requests, I had a special extension welded to my bed, and extra matrices to cover the bare metal frame. For years I was the only cadet that moves room at the dormitories carrying his own privet bed.
Shoes was a big issue too (Size 15) , as a cadet I spent the first months in a sport shoes, attracting so much un-needed attention from all higher ranks.
In the service too, more then a year, I was working in the flight line, where it is strictly forbidden, in a pair of sport/commando shoes. (Safety matter, a working boots, with protective metal inserts are mandatory).
I was barked on from all ranks above me. Till one day the base commander him self caught me , and prepared to lecture/process me. I simply said "find me a pair of shoes ! and he DID ! , some weeks later, I was called to the base HQ, an got my self a new
US made Pilot's shoes. (by the way, without those Metal protectors) :-)) but full protection from the higher brass.

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Permalink Reply by Jheri Olsen on November 25, 2009 at 9:36am

I think this is pretty common from all of the bending. I'm not as tall as either of you, but I do a lot of bending working around my apartment. Cooking, ironing and folding clothes and things like that can be painful after awhile.

I was able to find an extended height ironing board. Since I don't own my apartment and share it with someone is is much shorter, I can't put in higher cabinets and a counter. What I did was find a small wooden cabinet that lives on the counter and has a cutting board on top of it. My apartment mate can't complain as there is some extra storage space and the height is just perfect for me.

The ironing board took hunting, but I found one. For raising desks there are small risers that the elderly use for beds and chairs so they don't have to rise as much. I'm not happy with the ones I have, but there are many varieties out there and they aren't too expensive.

As Cheyenne pointed out, finding a good chair is very important. I found mine at a second hand shop and it was very cheap:-)

For work I travel a lot and negotiated with my employer that I need business class or better due to the medical issues with legs. This isn't back pain, although I have hurt my back flying, but it makes sense to talk with your employer about getting office furniture that fits.

I took a wood working class as an adult education class and learned how to use some of the power tools. I don't have a shop or tools, but this gives you a better idea of what it takes to make something and maybe some ideas. Then you can find someone who has a shop and just built it.

The other thing is to get exercise. I talked to my doctor about it and she had me visit a physical therapist who gave me some exercises just to deal with the problems of bending too much. These are very tailored to a person, but I recommend it for anyone who is tall.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel M on November 25, 2009 at 11:36am

The Market majority are "smaller" people. Tall people are, to my sorrow very scares.
What worse is that the majority of furniture, automobiles etc. are made in the Far East?
Where the average height is less then most members here, can tolerate.
We members are not considered as a market factor.
Try ANY hotel bed (and doors), standard kitchens (where you spend more time then by the ironing board), shower mirrors,
Tall people are considered to be kind and humble, why? Because they walk with their head down.
Or /and in bowing pose. Which is, in the animal world (human too) a gesture of surrender or peace seeking one…
We must pay extra for that comfy chair, higher custom made kitchen, larger car and cloths too.

But we have a better view 8- ))

Simple physics, lower back have to hold bigger weight, times (Much) longer torque arm.
Don't you HATE physics?

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 3, 2009 at 11:45am

I have had back problems all my adult life. Not ALL my life because I was actually a "normal" height kid. I have had some back injuries also that never really go away. But exercise is definitely the 2nd most important part of a healthy life after diet. Of course, I hurt my back during exercise, but I was just liting too much weight and probably not the best body position. I guess this is also affected by my body type being more torso long. This is good because I can usually find "normal" pants and just by tall shirts or XL instead of Lg. I'm very lucky in that regard.

I am actually in the process of making my counters about 6 inches taller than they are. Especially in the bathroom, it is the shortest counter in the house. I probably won't do this to the kitchen, as I think raising the counters will be quite expensive and affect the resale value of the house. I just can't wait to be able to wash my hands and face without almost getting on my knees. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Cheyenne Throckmorton on January 23, 2010 at 6:06pm

I hate how you have to think about the resale value of your house when thinking about raising counters and such. It's almost like we as tall people still have to consider the marketing value of the average person at our own expense.

Thats just the way it is, but also why I was so glad to see that Jheri posted the information about Colleens tall cutting boards. Kind of gets both birds with one stone.

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Permalink Reply by Marcus on December 16, 2009 at 8:53pm

I don't suffer from it but I do experience it, as in right now. I likely overexerted myself this weekend combined with a few nights of less sleep, yeah the lower back is hurting a little bit. Stretching is a part of my life I can not do without and I stretch throughout the day so typically I rarely ever have a sore anything for more than a few days. I am sort of an oddity though I have longer legs and a shorter torso, so I'm less likely to have back pain due to the muscles being more compact.

Good luck to you and I suggest adopting a thorough stretching routine

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Permalink Reply by Kimberly McDaniels on January 18, 2010 at 5:58pm

Lower back pain from the kitchen counter! I hate washing dishes because it kills my back!

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Permalink Reply by Cheyenne Throckmorton on January 23, 2010 at 6:07pm

Washing dishes kills my back!! It is by far the worst thing for my back pain. I never know why its so much worse than anything else, but it really is.

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Permalink Reply by Cheyenne Throckmorton on January 23, 2010 at 6:09pm

Just added a new article about "searching for the perfect office chair". I figure if we get lots of people talking about their experience with office chairs and looking for them, then we will get a good resource for future tall people searching for a good ergonomic tall chair for their back and legs.


http://www.thetallstreetjournal.com/profiles/blogs/tall-office-chai...

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