Return-Path: Received: from a.gp.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa07754; 16 Sep 92 16:50:23 EDT From: Ken Rosenblatt Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 16:49:18 EDT To: bovik@CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Back chairs Dr. Bovik, Here's some more info on "back chairs" to stick in the >health>back> class. The consensus seems to be that they are not comfortable for sitting on for long periods of time. I think I will use a lumbar support on a regular desk chair instead. Ken ---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ---------------- Subject: Back chair Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 14:24:41 -0400 From: Timothy_Freeman@U.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU I had one for a wdile. You have to train yourself slowly to sit on it. If you simply move out the old chair and move in the new one (like I did) you'll hurt your back in the short run. Tim Freeman CompuServe ID 71045,2267 checked occasionally. **************** Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 14:31:55 -0400 (EDT) From: David Greene Subject: Re: Those knelling chair thingies I believe they are called Balanz (Balans?) chairs. I like mine, I use it with my computer at home. I got one with wheels so I can move around and I find that a very convenient feature. It was from Star Products (or some such firm) which advertised the chair in the back of Omni magazine for (~$49.00 6 years ago). The quality was so-so. You could probably find one locally these days. Lisa Simpson (of the "Simpsons") uses one :-) -David **************** From: Nick Thompson Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 15:01:41 EDT Subject: Those knelling chair thingies I've heard them called "back chairs." I tried one for a while and eventually stopped using it - although it was comfortable enough for short periods I would eventually get tired of sitting in the exact same position. It's possible to shift around a fair bit in normal chairs so you aren't always sitting on the same spot - I found this to be a lot more difficult with the back chair. Of course, I had a cheapie one since I was just trying it out. There may be better ones at higher prices in the same way that you can get better chairs of the standard design. Nick **************** Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 17:00:34 -0400 (EDT) From: "Robert J. Havey" Subject: Re: Those knelling chair thingies i had one. balanz (sp?) chair. i bought an inexpensive one for ~$150. it was quite uncomfortable to sit in and after some use it just fell apart. junk. i don't plan to buy another. good luck, bob **************** Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 07:43:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Jonathan Caulkins Subject: Re: Those knelling chair thingies I'm not sure what the official term is, but I often hear them referred to as "back chairs". I got my first one a few years ago in Boston when I was putting stress on my back because of the way I was lifting weights. Within a couple of months it had strengthened my back muscles enough that they were no longer sore. Last spring I picked up one here as a preventative measure. I got a cheapo version for about $45 at the Office Depot in the Edgewood Town Center Mall. Jon **************** Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1992 09:17-EDT From: David.Simon@IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU To: Ken Rosenblatt Subject: Re: Those knelling chair thingies In-Reply-To: Ken Rosenblatt's bboard message of 15-Sep-92 13:45 Ken, I've got one of those chairs at home (a Balans chair) which I use on a fairly regular basis. (I believe that Balans is the name of the company which first designed the chair. I'm not sure of the generic name.) One place to buy them around here is a store down on Murray Ave called My Aching Back. They're not cheap, but the quality of their products is good - and the sales people are very helpful and eager to please. I think that I paid about $150 for my chair. You might want to post on the market bboard looking for disenchanted owners. I'm sure that there are one or two out there. I have mixed feelings about the chair. It generally doesn't bother my back, but after long periods of sitting in it, my knees begin to ache. After a while, I tend to sit in it improperly by extending my legs, which I'm sure isn't good for my back. I don't think I could sit in it all day. I've found the a conventional chair with good lumbar support is more comfortable for me than the Balans chair. You might look into buying a lumbar support which you can add to a conventional chair. It's much cheaper than buying a kneeling chair. David ---------------- End Forwarded Message ----------------