Little-Ease
Here one can neither stand nor lie nor sit…
– T.S.Elliot, The Wasteland
Mediaeval dungeons often had a cell called the “little-ease”, devilishly designed so that the prisoner was unable to find any comfortable position in which to rest.
I feel like I’m in such a place now. I’ve “done my back” – the penalty of years of sitting badly while I program, I fear. I’ve damaged something in my lower back and for the last four weeks I’ve been in some pain and often find myself in a situation where I can “neither stand nor lie nor sit”. Which makes it hard to write software or to blog, or … well, do most things. It’s a nuisance.
Anyway, my physiotherapist and doctor are both working on the problem for me. The key, it seems, is to keep moving at all costs. And regularly do targeted exercises to build up both abdominal and back muscles.
The moral of this lesson to younger programmers (I’m nearly 58) is – be very careful how you sit at the computer.
If you slouch and don’t pay attention to how straight your back is, you may not suffer now, but in years to come you may well be as broken as I am. Get a good chair and sit properly. When your teachers told you to “sit up straight” they had your best interests at heart!
