Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
I Finally Found a Foot Rest That Actually Fixed My Lower Back Pain
30
items Sitting at a desk eight hours a day was wrecking my lower back. I tried lumbar pillows, standing desks, even a yoga ball chair. Nothing stuck. Turns out the missing piece was literally under my feet the whole time. This is everything I added to my de...
Sections
5
Foot Rests That Actually Relieve Lower Back Pressure
Lumbar Support That Pairs Perfectly With a Foot Rest
Seat Cushions That Take Pressure Off Your Tailbone
Desk Accessories That Encourage Better Sitting Posture
Stretch and Recovery Tools for Desk Workers
Foot Rests That Actually Relieve Lower Back Pressure
My physical therapist told me my legs were just dangling off my chair all day, pulling my pelvis forward. The second I propped my feet up at the right angle, something clicked. Literally felt different by lunch on day one.
Grab this if your feet don't touch the floor when your chair is at the right height. I'm 5'4" and this filled that exact gap. Two days in, I stopped reaching for ibuprofen at 3pm.
Everlasting Comfort Memory Foam Under Desk Foot Rest
Switch to this from a flat footrest. The adjustable tilt lets you find the angle where your knees hit 90 degrees. A coworker borrowed mine for a week and then ordered her own.
ErgoFoam Adjustable Under Desk Foot Rest
Keep this one around if you like rocking your feet while you work. The curved bottom gives you subtle movement, which my PT said helps circulation. Fidgeters, this one's yours.
Customer reviews for Mind Reader Foot Rest
Use the height settings to dial in exactly what your legs need. I started at the tallest setting and worked down as my posture improved. Solid pick for anyone who shares a desk setup with a taller partner.
Free Shipping! Mind Reader Adjustable Office Foot Rest
Toss the wobbly plastic one you got three years ago and try this instead. It glides with your movement so you're never locked in one position. Pricier, but my back hasn't seized up at my desk since I got it.
Brand New Humanscale Foot Machine 100 Foot Rest
Snag this if you want memory foam under your feet without overthinking it. I stuck it under my desk the day it arrived and forgot it was there until I realized my back hadn't hurt all week.
ComfiLife Adjustable Foot Rest for Office
Lumbar Support That Pairs Perfectly With a Foot Rest
A foot rest alone helped a lot, but adding proper lumbar support turned my terrible office chair into something I could actually sit in for hours. These two changes together did more than anything else I tried.
Pair this with a footrest and your spine basically gets a hug from both directions. I was skeptical about a pillow fixing anything, but three weeks later I donated my fancy ergonomic seat cushion because I didn't need it anymore.
Everlasting Comfort Lumbar Support Pillow
Try this if you run hot. The mesh cover breathes way better than leather or vinyl. I work from home with no AC in summer and this doesn't turn into a sweat trap.
TISHIJIE Memory Foam Lumbar Support Pillow for Car
Grab this for your car too. I bought one for my desk chair and then another for my commute. Anyone driving 30+ minutes each way, your lower back will feel the difference by Friday.
Samsonite Ergonomic Lumbar Support Pillow
Use this if every foam pillow you've tried goes flat in a month. The grid material keeps its shape and I've had mine over a year with zero sag. Worth it for anyone who's tired of replacing cushions.
Purple Back Cushion 15.75“ x 9.25“
Toss this behind you if you have a chair without built-in lumbar support. The strap keeps it from sliding down every five minutes, which was my biggest complaint with the three pillows I tried before this one.
Customer reviews for PharMeDoc Pregnancy Pillow
Get the extra dense version if you're over 200 lbs. Regular lumbar pillows compressed to nothing under me. This one actually pushes back and holds its shape through a full workday.
Cushion Lab Extra Dense Lumbar Pillow
Seat Cushions That Take Pressure Off Your Tailbone
Before I fixed my setup, I had this deep ache right at my tailbone by 2pm every single day. A good seat cushion redistributes your weight so you're not grinding bone into a hard chair surface.
Swap out your flat chair pad for this. The grid flexes under your sit bones but supports everything else. I went from shifting in my seat every ten minutes to forgetting I was sitting at all.
Customer reviews for Purple Royal Seat Cushion 17.5“ x
Bring this to the office if you're stuck with those awful standard-issue chairs. The U-shape cutout takes pressure right off your tailbone. My sciatica flare-ups dropped from weekly to basically never.
Everlasting Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion for Office
Try the gel layer if pure foam gets too warm for you. I sit on this for 6-8 hours and it stays cool the whole time. Perfect for anyone whose home office is also their non-air-conditioned spare bedroom.
Comfilife Gel Enhanced Seat Cushion
Use this if you've got a bigger frame and regular cushions feel too small. It's wider than most and doesn't slide around on mesh chairs. Took it to my coworking space and three people asked me what it was within a week.
Xtreme Comforts Seat Cushions
Snag this for hard chairs specifically. I used it on a wooden dining chair during my work-from-home phase and it was the difference between agony and actually finishing my workday without wincing.
Bonmedico Orthopedic Booster Seat Cushion - 18 x 13 x 3.1
Grab the combo pack if you're starting from scratch. Getting both matched pieces saved me from mixing brands that didn't work together. Solid starter kit for anyone whose entire chair setup is currently just a folded towel.
PERRYHOME Tailbone Pillow for Chair
Desk Accessories That Encourage Better Sitting Posture
Once my feet and back were supported, I realized my monitor height and keyboard angle were still forcing me to hunch. Fixing these last few things is what finally made the whole setup click.
Get your screens up to eye level so you stop craning your neck down. I mounted mine on a Sunday afternoon and by Monday I noticed I wasn't rubbing my neck at the end of the day for the first time in months.
Vivo, Dual Monitor Desk Mount, Fits Screens up to 30"
Use this if you work on a laptop without an external monitor. It raises the screen to a height where you're not folding yourself in half to read emails. Looks clean on a desk too, which is a bonus.
Rain Design mStand Laptop Stand - Black
Pair this with a raised monitor. The split design keeps your wrists neutral and the built-in wrist rest means you're not bending your hands at weird angles. Typing actually feels relaxed now, which sounds fake but isn't.
Logitech ERGO Series K860 Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard
Switch from a flat mouse if your wrist or forearm aches after long sessions. Holding it feels like a handshake instead of pressing your arm flat on the desk. Took about two days to adjust and now regular mice feel wrong.
Logitech MX Vertical Wireless Mouse
Try this simple riser if a full mount feels like overkill. It bumps your screen up a few inches and gives you storage underneath. I keep my keyboard and mouse under it when I'm done for the day to clear the desk.
Amazon Basics Adjustable Monitor Stand Riser
Toss this in front of your keyboard if your wrists rest on a hard desk edge all day. The gel doesn't bottom out and it keeps your hands from going numb during long typing sessions. Wish I'd grabbed one years ago.
Kensington ErgoSoft Wrist Rest for Standard Keyboards
Stretch and Recovery Tools for Desk Workers
All the gear in the world won't undo eight hours of sitting if you never move. I started spending five minutes before and after work with these and the stiffness I used to wake up with on weekday mornings is basically gone.
Use this on the floor for five minutes after work. It digs into the spots between your shoulder blades that a foam roller can't reach. First time I tried it, my back cracked in about four places and I felt like a new person.
Chirp Wheel Plus 3P - DTC (12", 10", 6") HSA/FSA Eligible
Keep this next to your desk and roll out your hip flexors on lunch breaks. Sitting all day makes them tight, which pulls on your lower back. Two minutes on each side and you'll stand up straighter without even thinking about it.
Customer reviews for TriggerPoint GRID X Foam Roller
Grab this for the end of the day when your traps are concrete. It's small enough to keep in a desk drawer. I hit my shoulders and lower back for three minutes before dinner and the tension melts.
TheraGun Mini 3rd Generation Massage Gun
Wear this for 30 minutes while you work if you catch yourself slouching constantly. It's not magic, but it trains your muscles to remember where they're supposed to be. Took about a week before I started self-correcting without it.
Posture Corrector
Try this before bed if your hamstrings are perpetually tight from sitting. Tight hamstrings tilt your pelvis and wreck your lower back. I do three stretches with this thing and sleep noticeably better.
Customer reviews for The Original Stretch Out Strap
Snag this if you carry all your stress in your neck and upper back. Hook it over a door frame and lean into it. Feels like someone is giving you a deep tissue massage without the $100 appointment.
Back Wheel Massagers Massage Tools