[puma]

I just joined this forum today and feel very encouraged to seek inputs based on the posts I read here.

I am a 45-year old woman with a job that entails being at a laptop for about 7 to 9 hours a day. I had my first MRI last early month after a nagging back pain that got aggravated with any kind of forward bending, sitting, sneezing, and driving. My guess about the reason is that I moved heavy furniture (a 3-door cupboard) by myself. The MRI indicated that my pain most likely is due to an annular tear in my L5/S1 disc, which has a diffuse bulge. I have other issues like curvature not being OK, some disc bulges, and osteophytes.

My ortho doctor, whom I highly respect, suggested that I strengthen my back muscles with some stretches and swimming, to try and lose some weight (I am overweight by about 10 kilos), and to rest the back at least for some weeks for the annular tear. I took his advice and started doing some of these stretches, some yoga, a couple of exercises with a swiss ball, and some time on a cross-trainer/elliptical - a total of about an hour and a half every day. These seem to help and I feel a lot stronger. Even with the best posture on a firm good chair, I cannot sit for longer than two hours without pain though.

I have not had to take time off from work because my manager allowed me to work from home if I could. I manage to work on my laptop lying on my back very well. However, I do need to get back to my work place sooner or later. A standing workstation is not an option that I see as feasible for 7 to 9 hours day. I wish I could sit for many hours, interspersed by short walks. I have just ordered a stability/balance disc that I plan to use on my office chair. Would anybody have any suggestions about this or otherwise on how to be able to sit?

Thanks.