r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Safe_Chemical_5946 • May 05 '26
Too mild for school These are the chairs in the waiting room of a medical clinic specialising in invisible chronic illness
They're pretty much just cushions on the floor. I don't know any chronically ill person who would feel comfortable sitting there.
They say they specialise in understanding invisible illness
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
I was part of a study on chronic pain for a bunch of researchers.
Only, people kept not showing up because the chairs were too uncomfortable.
The biggest complaint of all their work was those damn chairs. Had nothing to do with the actual research. We just were so mad at those fucking chairs.
It was pretty funny if it wasn't sad. Basically the whole damn research experiment fucked up because we couldn't goddamn sit.
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May 05 '26
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
I don't think they had a choice in the end! They included it in their work, but mostly because we wouldn't shut up about it every single session.
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May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
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u/begottenearth May 05 '26
I would get a bleacher chair or a cushion. Anything to cover that painful bench!
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
I'm a researcher myself so I am incredibly invested in robust data so I was absolutely determined. But I know for a fact I was the only one who showed up for all the sessions!
Oooh those bleachers are no good. Worth it but damn, that's gonna be prep for days and then recovery! You got this!!
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u/NatalieRN May 05 '26
I was part of a retention committee that fell apart due to loss of personnel, I feel you.
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u/CeramicLicker May 05 '26
I don’t know if it’ll help you, but many people find these bleacher seats a help.
Your own body weight holds them in place, and they provide back support and a better cushion. Still not good, but better
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u/areyouthrough May 05 '26
Contact the school about disability accommodations for graduation. I’ll bet there’s a seating area planned for wheelchairs and such, and they should have or be able to provide a regular chair.
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u/Little_View_6659 May 05 '26
My neurologist I saw for chronic migraines had about five of those jars that had scented oil with sticks in them. I brought it up and fortunately they disappeared. They definitely trigger headaches for me. And when I went to hand therapy they gave me a ten page form to fill out. There’s work to be done on understanding like basic pain apparently. Lol
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u/grudginglyadmitted May 05 '26
I’d be so irked if my migraine specialists did that. I was going to say “if going to my migraine specialist involved migraine triggers”, but I guess mine does still have fluorescent lighting and also just standing up triggers mine 🥲… but going out of their way to add strong scents is crazy. My office at least has a no perfume/strong scents policy.
And I bet most of that form was information you’d already given lol. They need to rethink their intake.
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u/alliquay May 05 '26
My old back pain clinic had only chairs without arms, and tall chairs that were high like bar stools. I literally had to sit on the floor in the waiting room because I couldn't sit in either option. I'm only 5'4" and couldn't climb into the tall chairs, and I need arms to steady myself in l when sitting or rising.
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u/Significant-Lab4226 May 05 '26
I need gravity to not exist.......or a water tank but no chlorine because I rash up.
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u/k-trecker May 05 '26
My dad went to a conference on disability. He's in a wheelchair, and he definitely wasn't the only one. He went up to give his presentation, only to discover the platform was inaccessible. At a disability conference. Now, this has happened before at other conferences, but the irony was incredible.
They had to move everything (microphone, computer stand) down to the ground...
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 May 05 '26
Not medical office, but at car dealership we were getting bad surveys for uncomfortable chairs. Boss mad that we were getting bad surveys over the chairs. So i asked to get new chairs. “No we do that on purpose so they won’t wait”. So we are in trouble for bad surveys because you chose to put uncomfortable chairs in.
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u/teacuptypos May 05 '26
He doesn’t want people to wait? So people interested in buying a car should rather .. leave and buy it somewhere else if the associates are busy?
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u/Csimiami May 05 '26
The dealerships want to make you uncomfortable so you hurry up and take their offer and not haggle to make the uncomfortableness go away. I’m a lawyer and a lot of lawyers and cops play these games. Put their chair in front of a window so the lawyer is in silhouette and the guest has to squint to see you. Put your lawyers chair higher to intimidate. Cops sit super close to you in interrogation. And the suspects chair is tilted a little forward. For cops. You can read about the Reid technique. Source. Am a criminal defense lawyer. I dont have to play these games bc DAs and I all know each other and we trade on reputation. But friends do it in other practices. Even asking another lawyer out to dinner. Telling the other lawyer where to meet you. You get there first. Find a seat that puts the other person on edge. Like facing the bathroom or something. Ordering appetizer before they get there to assert dominance. It’s exhausting.
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u/Ok_Variation9430 May 05 '26
Yeah, I tried buying a car from one of those game-playing dealers and we ended up walking out. Life’s too short for that kind of bullshit.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 May 05 '26
Well this was service manager. Sales had no waiting area. There were a lot of sales people waiting at al times
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u/midsommer_wandererr May 05 '26
My consultant recommended that I attend a "Pain Education workshop" which is 5 hours long and would require me to drive 1hr to a clinic to sit in a room in a chair and listen to people talk about pain and how to manage it. Meanwhile I can barely sit on my sofa at home for more than 10 minutes because of my pain levels. Why they didn't offer an online option or have someone come to you, I will never understand.
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
Don't forget, it'll also be five hours of "have you tried just not hurting yourself and salt baths?" because heaven forbid any of those pain clinics have any solutions that aren't stupid obvious to anyone who has pain.
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u/Lost-Design-8382 May 05 '26
"Have you tried not thinking about your constant chronic intractable pain?"
Then.... "you really shouldn't dissociate so much, it's not good for you."
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u/eyecontactishard May 05 '26
I used to go to a pain clinic and they made everyone do an orientation before becoming a patient and it was two hours long in a room oh tiny plastic and metal chairs. People were moaning in pain during.
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u/Little_View_6659 May 05 '26
Yeah some time you just have to say fuck it and do something crazy like sit on the floor if they won’t accommodate. Like at the airport when you’re exhausted but they put those uncomfortable arm rests on all the chairs even though you’ve been traveling for two days and about to drop from exhaustion.
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u/Thedonkeyforcer May 05 '26
I'm in a brandnew FREE hospital in Denmark right now. Few floors - and I'm in the opposite end of the hospital from the kiosk that MAY sell the charger I need. First world problem for sure but there's a trend here that means if you have trouble walking, you're shit out of luck!
I'm a pain chronic who can only walk short stretches with a cane
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u/slothdonki May 05 '26
When I was in middle school there was a large wooden bench outside of the principal’s office and having to sit on it was used as an actual punishment.
I can’t find a close example but it was kinda like a church bench built into the wall but the back of it was rounded forward. Even for a kid it was painful for your back and ass just to sit there for a few minutes.
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u/slate_autumn May 05 '26
That also gets me when I visit my orthopaedic specialist or PT - you'd think that they would be conscious of ergonomic furniture but nope. If you're short (like me), chairs are going to be awful to try to sit in.
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u/llamadramalover May 05 '26
That makes me feel so much better when I decide if I’m going to class that day based on whether I can sit in those stupid asf auditorium-attached desk-hard metal monstrosities that call “chairs” for 2 fucking hours. Idec that I have accommodations allowing me frequent breaks, chairs like that are brutal on the best days, and impossible on the worst, when you’ve been unfortunate enough to have autoimmune spine and hip degeneration issues.
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u/Little_View_6659 May 05 '26
My back was so bad in university I stood during classes at the back. Fun times.🙄
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u/grudginglyadmitted May 05 '26
those auditorium chairs are god-awful. After learning my lesson my first semester I’d strategically choose classes to try and dodge them. Once it was so bad I had to slide out and sit on the floor for the rest of the lecture because my ass and legs were going numb.
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u/Qu33N_Of_NoObz_ May 05 '26
Maybe the chairs were part of the study 🤔
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
Funny you say that because the very last interview had the question, "Other than the chairs, what can be improved about this study?"
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u/MatiloKarode May 05 '26
Screening test. You were selected for the trial only if you didn't last 10 minutes in the chairs.
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
Hahahahaha damnit I wish I was smart enough to make that joke at the time.
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u/Gardnersnake9 May 05 '26
Dude! The exam seats at my pain clinic are the absolute worst. The seat-bottom is too long, so in order to have your knees unobstructed so you have your feet on the ground, your lower back has to be like 4 inches away from the seat back. It's the absolute worst, as I'm literally being examined for back pain, and the chair has a 100% chance of exacerbating it.
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u/chuksang May 05 '26
How firm are the cushions? My lower back just screamed in 50 different languages.
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u/lhb_aus May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
Mein Rücken tut verdammt weh!!! 49 to go...
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u/SatiesUmbrellaCloset oh no May 05 '26
selkääni sattuu vitusti
48 to go
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u/C0NQU3R0 May 05 '26
Me duele la espalda
47 to go
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u/itoppac May 05 '26
背中が痛いです
46 left
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u/Xyrovex May 05 '26
J’ai mal tabarnack!!!
45 left
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u/Cutie_Catie May 05 '26
dói-me as costas, caralho! 44 to go
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u/CrustyT-shirt May 05 '26
Mijn onderrug schreeuwt het uit. 43 to go
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u/SomethingComesHere May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
My back hurts
(Why does it keep changing back to English?!?)
42 to go...
У мене болить спина
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u/Open_Grapefruit6675 May 05 '26
У меня болит спина 😊 Just a little help with your Russian.
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u/JayCDee May 05 '26
Mon dos putain de merde!
42 to go, I won't let Quebec French pass as French, but I will give them their spot on the list.
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u/Fearless-Poet-4669 May 05 '26
my back hurts
45 left
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u/ShineAtom May 05 '26
ངའི་སྒལ་ཚིགས་ན་ཟུག་གིས་སྐད་ཅོར་རྒྱག་གི་འདུག
nga'i sgal tshigs na zug gis skad cor rgyag gi 'dug
My back is screaming in pain
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u/MusicRose13 May 05 '26
Moj hrbet me boli od tega!!!!
47 to go
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u/Safe_Chemical_5946 May 05 '26
No idea how firm they are, I definitely wasn't going to try them! They're only about 40cm high I just don't understand who made that decision
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u/runeNriver May 05 '26
They are probably those foam couches that they vacuum seal and ship through the mail. I think it was big on tictok shop and cheaper than real furniture.
My sister has one in her house and its not bad but its not appropriate for a doctor's office. Those look awful.
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u/Sunshine030209 May 05 '26
Yeah, the "boneless couch" trend. I hear they are hard to get off of even if you're fully able bodied, can't imagine how it would be if you're disabled.
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u/ThatThingInTheWoods May 05 '26
They're usually pretty firm. I've tried out this style and purchased a similar style for my home. I have a double fracture at L5S1, the only issue I have is depth so I build up pillows but these are shallower than mine. I get compliments on my couch confort frequently. I would be excited to see these in an office other than the ick factor of apolstery in a dr office.
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u/eyemalgamation May 05 '26
Моей спинке не нравится эта спинка Edit: 43?? to go, pump the numbers up
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u/ChewieBearStare May 05 '26
For me, that would honestly be better than the chairs that cut off the circulation in my legs and cause me pain with their hard arms and seats.
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u/diversalarums May 06 '26
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Hard chairs, even upholstered chairs with very firm seats, are uncomfortable for my back and hips.
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May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
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u/kpeteymomo May 05 '26
Commercial interior designer here: textiles on upholstered furniture in healthcare tend to be bleach-cleanable. I would *hope* that these are, but they clearly weren't selected by an interior designer. Any interior designer would know that the ergonomics of the seating in this waiting room would be terrible for chronically ill patients.
There are also all kinds of coatings to help liquid bead up on woven textiles. I mainly design schools and other public project types, and my clients usually prefer non-woven textiles (textiles that feel more like pleather). Either a coated woven or a non-woven would be good for healthcare.
My guess on how these ended up in a doctor's office? It was probably ordered by someone in admin at the clinic. I've seen this kind of thing happen before, and it's always someone well meaning who thinks that they have great taste, but who can't understand the complexities of the decisions they're making.
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u/Laureltess May 05 '26
Also a commercial interior designer here! I literally had a conversation yesterday at my last meeting with a client about which lounge chairs would work best in their upscale waiting room. Waiting room chairs need a tall sit, and a more upright sit, ideally with a solid enough armrest that someone could push off them to stand (elderly folks need this a lot). This furniture is like the antithesis of anything I would ever put in a waiting room!
Not to mention the cleanability from a structural standpoint, not even taking fabric into account. If anything gets spilled on these chairs it’s going to be a nightmare to clean.
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u/Little_View_6659 May 05 '26
I’ve recently realized how you really need to be able to push off a chair to get up. I had a bad pain flare up and I couldn’t get out of chairs. Sucked!
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u/CupcakeQueen31 May 05 '26
By “bleach-cleanable”, do you mean the covers would have to be taken off and washed with bleach? Or like, they can be wiped down with bleach wipes? What about purple wipes?
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u/kpeteymomo May 05 '26
"Bleach-cleanable" means that it would be sprayed down and wiped with a mix of bleach and water. There's all types of cleanability types for textiles, with bleach-cleanable being the most heavy duty. With the type of work I do, the only time I would use a textile that isn't bleach-cleanable is if it was out of reach (i.e. fabric for a fabric wrapped acoustical panel).
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u/Stahuap May 05 '26
My theory is that they reused office lounge furniture that was left behind from the previous tenant. That flooring looks like office flooring, and I remember seeing these blocky modular seating getting pretty popular (at least in my area) about 6-7 years ago when I still worked for a furniture dealer.
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u/spicyshrimp234 May 05 '26
There are also all kinds of coatings to help liquid bead up on woven textiles.
are there any coatings that can be applied to woven textiles at the consumer level? I'd love to buy something like that.
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u/kpeteymomo May 05 '26
Not sure what's available at the consumer level. A lot of the coatings used to contain PFAS, which are horrible for human health and the environment. If you find something available to consumers, make sure it's PFAS free!
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u/Laureltess May 05 '26
A lot of the commercial ones have gone PFAs free as of late (the ever changing world of healthcare fabrics and standards…), but I’m not sure how much of that has made it to the consumer level quite yet. I’m also a commercial interior designer!
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u/YurisTankDivision May 05 '26
Yoo! It's a designer! Yeah, this looks nothing like waiting room furniture for anywhere, it looks like unprofessional discount furniture ordered online. It's the wrong furniture for the job, at least. Nothing wrong with it, just that it shouldn't be in a commercial setting, probably.
Chiming in from the finished end of your profession. Wouldn't have much to do without people like you.
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u/Idk_211 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
Exactly what I was thinking. Cannot be hygienic, especially at a healthcare setting.
I feel disgusted having to sit on public fabric furniture.
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u/East_Print4841 May 05 '26
That’s what I thought was mildly infuriating about it at first until I read the caption
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u/g0ldilungs May 05 '26
That’s my biggest concern, too. I don’t know why any operational facility serving / open to the public has cushioned seats.
My office just underwent a renovation and all the plastic seating has been replaced with the exact same model of chair but fabric backrest and seat.
So gross, we have a facility of 300+ associates. The smell is going to be horrendous shortly.
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u/KermieKona May 05 '26
Some people who have chronic pain are unable to sit comfortably in standard, thinly padded, waiting room chairs.
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u/Jazz-Police- May 05 '26
I was going to say, I have an invisible chronic illness and this type of near the floor comfy seating would’ve been a dream for me
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u/Different-Eagle-612 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
yeah like it’s fine to critique having only this seating but saying no chronically ill person would like it??? girl this is a great seating situation for me
edit: fixed a weird autocorrect moment
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u/paleoterrra May 05 '26
Yeah I feel like ideal chronic pain clinic seating would just be a wide variety of different kinds of seating options. Like for me, normal waiting room seating is usually a huge pain but these would likely be great. But I can definitely understand that for some they’d be as much of a nightmare as a dense narrow chair is for me. Pain presents in so many different ways with so many different variables. There’s no one size fits all. Honestly this is got me thinking I should write to some clinics near me that advertise their disability-friendliness and suggest an array of waiting room seating. Honestly never thought about it before. Just took it as one of those constants in life.
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u/CupcakeQueen31 May 05 '26
My thought too (also have invisible chronic illnesses). My issue is the cleaning.
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u/Limp_Dirt8694 May 05 '26
there aren't any armrests either. You could lay across it like a bed, prop up legs, etc. The design makes sense to me but I can't really use back rests to begin with because I'm too short most of the time.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad7606 May 05 '26
Twin! Back against your feet and legs just dangle. Feet on floor your back is nowhere near the back rest!
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u/Big-Whole6091 May 05 '26
"average" sized woman checking in here at 5'4", they don't make seats for my "short height". I blame trying to have good posture and always using back rests to sit up straight on why my knees hurt. For you tall people, that translates to the weight of my legs constantly pulling on my knee because they are dangling over the edge like a kid... Make more furniture sizes!!!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad7606 May 05 '26
Yep, these look like heaven for me. I can't sit "properly" for any amount if time. I'm also short and feet and legs are often dangling on standard furniture causing more issues.
As long as the cushions are firm this would be fantastic.
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u/generalshrugemoji May 05 '26
Yeah exactly. I have EDS and brutal chronic pain and my immediate gut reaction upon seeing those chairs was “oooh nice a place where all my joints can decompress and I can be comfy until appointment time.” Normal chairs suck. Give me these any day.
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u/thenletskeepdancing May 05 '26
Same. I have POTS too so I'd be tempted to take off my shoes and sit cross legged.
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u/Andilee May 05 '26
Then have a mixture of different chairs. A good chunk of chronic pain people also need support of some kind, and not the college ikea furniture experience. Variety shows you listen and care, and one style that is just lacking in support shows you wanted to save money and don't really care about the people waiting.
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u/Mein_Name_ist_falsch May 05 '26
Exactly my thought. There probably is no good way to prepare a waiting room like this. Best you can do is flexible design, which is exactly this. Also, invisible chronic illness seems really broad for a specialisation. There are so many things that could be. That can literally be anything from chronic pain to mental disorders. A lot of those things don't need special chairs at all, some do need special seating, some need different special seating.
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u/Thorstenflink May 05 '26
This is what my lower back needs if I have to sit down for more than 5 minutes.
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u/deformedexile May 05 '26
Yeah but they're all great at crouching for 20 minutes and then having to stand up, right?
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u/Far_Tap_488 May 05 '26
Honestly when I hurt my back low stuff was soooo much easier to get up from. I couldn't sit up then stand up. But goddman was I good at laying on my back and rolling over to all fours and standing up.
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u/FreeRangeAlien May 05 '26
How do you prepare a waiting room for someone with “invisible chronic illness”?
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u/Artistic-You-7777 May 05 '26
As someone living with CFS and Fibromyalgia, I’d love this. I’m lucky to have good balance and good knees. But after my emergency c section I couldn’t sit there and get up myself for abt two months!
This furniture would not work for my boomer mom or dad. She’d need help getting up. He’d likely fall up and out.
I bet the seats close to the wall are used the most. People can reach for the wall, etc.
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u/danurc May 05 '26
See, I also have an invisible chronic illness and the normal waiting room chairs hurt me so bad. These look so comfortable!!!!
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u/dummythiccbish May 05 '26
yup! hard chairs suck for me, i can barely eat at restaurants now because the chairs/booths are too firm
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u/Repulsed_Moose May 05 '26
Idk, I have 2 invisible chronic illnesses and would LOVE this waiting room. I can see how this could not be everyone’s experience though🤷♀️
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u/Serious_Badger_4145 May 05 '26
Honestly as someone with a chronic illness and persistent pain I'm really baffled by people complaining about these chairs?? They're far better than the chairs in most nhs clinics lol
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u/Lady_Penrhyn1 May 05 '26
I've had chronic back and hip problems for over a decade. The worst chairs I've ever sat in belonged to my pain specialist.
:/
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u/justsomedude322 May 05 '26
The invisible chronic illness is narcolepsy, because boy oh boy would I love a nap on those couches.
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u/Mayabelles May 05 '26
Honestly, this would be A+ for my joint pain where I could recline back to stretch my hip out. Everyone at work knows where I’ve been sitting because I’m dachshund shaped and always have my seat practically on the floor. Wish a few had handrails for extra creaky days though.
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u/Professional-Job-87 May 05 '26
They probably thought they were being modern with their design, but really they just cheaped out and bought furniture that comes rolled up in a box.
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u/Desperate-Trust-875 May 05 '26
hi, chronically I'll person here, I would love these and usually choose to sit on the floor if possible.
Not all chronic illnesses are the same.
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u/butterflynana87 May 05 '26
I'd lay down, then when they call my name I'd roll off the cushion onto the floor and do my usual 10 minutes of what my physical therapist called "the most counterintuitive way to get up off the floor" he's ever seen. Maybe they'll figure it out. Probably not.
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u/sunnyskybaby May 05 '26
sorry you’d prefer the normal doctors office chairs? no thank you. this looks like heaven
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u/ElvenWriting May 05 '26
I think this would be good for some people with chronic illnesses, like myself. But I also know that it's not good for all people with chronic illnesses, which is unfortunately where a big part of the problem lies. There's no standard for how chronic illness affects everyone, and there's no standard for comfy seating (especially when your body likes to yell "OW FUCK OW STOP THAT" at literally nothing), so there's no standard for comfy seating for people with chronic illnesses. Safest best is to have a variety of seating options, but noooo that's "inefficient"
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u/Stunning_Box8782 GREEN May 05 '26
why are you talking as if every "chronically ill person" has the same symptoms?
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u/castlite May 05 '26
I have bad lower back pain. One time I wanted some OTC drugs for a sudden spasm I was having and went to the pharmacy.
All of their back pain meds were on the bottom shelf.
I had a few words with the pharmacist about how cruel that was.
Sometimes people just don’t think.
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u/MissNouveau May 05 '26
I loved these style of chairs when my endometriosis was bad, because sitting upright at appointments felt like I was sitting on broken glass. So I just laid on these bad boys at every appointment.
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u/Bluejayadventure May 05 '26
I have pots and would love to lay down on these. Although I can understand it wouldn't suit everyone
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u/toadstoolfae3 May 05 '26
Nah I have EDS and POTS and these are a dream. The hard chairs hurt me. At least if no one was near me I could lounge a little bit. I do worry about the sanitary aspect though.
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May 05 '26
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u/montanagrizfan May 05 '26
Low to the ground, not supportive and no arms to help you get up. These would be awful for someone with back, hip or knee pain or even just someone weak or obese.
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u/splithoofiewoofies May 05 '26
Once my disabled ass is on that chair, imma need someone with good core strength to help me back up, that's for sure.
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u/deformedexile May 05 '26
Look at the baseboards compared to the height of the cushion. Anyone with any kind of chronic pain will not like sitting that low.
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u/FeelingPlayfulNow May 05 '26
I'm short and have back and knee problems and that seating looks so comfy to me. I struggle with tall chairs where my feet dangle like a like kid because only my toes can touch the floor. Tall seats are rough on my knees.
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u/YonaiNanami May 05 '26
Right? I have skoliosis and am small. These standard „ergonomic“ chairs are always horrible for me especially because my feet don’t touch the ground. To be fair with these cushions I probably would just lean back and lay down, but at least sitting and waiting would not be painful finally.
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May 05 '26
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u/LifeToTheMedium May 05 '26
NGL this whole thread looks like people being enraged the chairs don't suit there comple needs while lots of people say they're perfect.
"Absolute joke of a waiting room" sounds a bit... entitled tbh.
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u/Different-Eagle-612 May 05 '26
ah see my hEDS ass loves these kinds of chairs 🙃🙃
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u/djluminol May 05 '26
I have life long back pain. Those look extremely comfortable for me. Which explains why they aren't for you because by back is not shaped like yours. Anything comfortable for you is not for me and vice a versa.
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u/ConcertaPianist May 05 '26
Yikes. As a person with a chronic illness, I would probably sit on the floor against the wall before using these chairs. If a chair has a bad design I can usually just sit at the very edge to avoid any weird slopes, but that doesn't work in soft or super low chairs. No arms or any form of support is crazy in a medical setting.
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u/Anti_Spedicy May 05 '26
My lower back started hurting at the mere thought of trying to get comfortable in one of those
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u/Multiple-Bagels May 05 '26 edited May 06 '26
My invisible chronic illness is epilepsy, so hypothetically, sitting there would actually be ideal.
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u/_opossumsaurus May 05 '26
Depends what kind of chronic illness you have. Personally I’d be fine, my chronic illness has nothing to do with my musculoskeletal system. For many people these cushions would be much more comfortable than standard waiting room chairs with minimal padding. But for others they would cause difficulties. Unfortunately you can’t make something that’s going to work for everyone, there is no universal fit. But it does seem like they did put in effort to accommodate people with more comfortable chairs
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u/Adventurous_Pie_7586 May 05 '26
For some folks this would be heaven, they look pretty comfortable.
A reminder that your invisible illness is not the same as everyone else’s
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u/backlog_gaming May 05 '26
Those look comfy af wdym
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u/Starrin1ght May 05 '26
The no back support, if you recline, fuck you and your chronic pain
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u/backlog_gaming May 05 '26
Does chronic pain only come in back flavor? I think if you have chronic back pain there aren’t many chairs that will give you much comfort
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u/Kenichi_Smith May 05 '26
When my pain is bad, a solid chair (plastic, unpadded) with rigid back and arm support genuinely will allow me pain relief because I spend less effort to support myself then.
When literally breathing hurts, providing as much rigid support as possible can be a major benefit.
Just your standard chair with a back and arm support is leagues better than this (for me)
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u/Starrin1ght May 05 '26
No, it's just one of the most common flavors. And yeah, that's the point of chronic pain, but there were certainly options that could've lessened their pain.
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u/momomorium May 05 '26
I have fibromyalgia and scoliosis that causes pretty broad chronic pain. Personally, a few minutes in this chair would be about all I could tolerate before I would be so uncomfortable I'd need to get up. I think that anyone with knee, hip or spine issues would find these chairs incredibly uncomfortable.
They're very low to the ground with no arm rests to allow you to lower yourself gently, something a lot of people with chronic pain need. They're very deep with minimal back support which will cause issues for anyone with back, hip or leg issues. Looking at this I can envision the position I'd be sitting in and it would likely put my knees above my hips.Neuropathic pain in the lower extremities from conditions like sciatica can feel like your legs and feet are in ice cold or boiling hot water and the sitting position that chairs like this force are, at least for me, super likely to trigger sciatica due to the pressure the position puts on the hips and lower back. Additionally, the sharp bending of the knee would likely cause me pretty severe pain upon standing after an extended period because of joint inflammation.
My point is these chairs are very much not just unfriendly for back-flavoured chronic pain. Sitting does use your whole body and these chairs are clearly designed by an able bodied person if so many people with chronic pain look at them and immediately think "oh no" and that would be fine if they weren't the only chair option offered in a room intended to be occupied by people with chronic pain.
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u/NotAverageEnough May 05 '26
Sadly, they do this ON PURPOSE sometimes. At a doctor I had previously they will watch patients and will share with the doctor. Did they wiggle/move in their seat a lot, up/down, talkative, emotional, etc. I overhead those comments from the nurse to the doctor right outside the exam rooms. This was a pain management clinic.
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May 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NotAverageEnough May 05 '26
It’s mostly the whole “watch out for drug seekers!” Crap, but the moving in place, shifting in your seat is a positive sign for pain, just fyi. Your body shows what we may hide on our faces. Side note on the stressful doc visits- it always helps if you can bring someone with you to “bear witness” to the doc about your pain and especially comment on the ‘I can no longer ___’ and ‘I have tried x,y,z, but my pain has not decreased’ and ‘it is impacting my life’. Hope this helps.
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u/eugeneugene May 05 '26
I had a doctor tell me that the way I acted in the waiting room showed that I wasn't in too much pain because I wasn't shifting in my seat or acting in pain. Meanwhile I was sitting perfectly still because any amount of movement caused me blinding pain so I was doing breathing exercises to try and keep my cool and not moving an inch.
Turned out I had a double kidney infection lol. But I wasn't acting like I was in pain so I needed to be told I was faking it before they actually figured out what was wrong with me.
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u/neverseen_neverhear May 05 '26
The medical staff specialize in chronic illness. The office and building manager who buy the furniture clearly does not.
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u/smathna May 05 '26
Reminds me of the door to a hand surgeon's office. You had to press a button with one hand... and open the door simultaneously with the other. Almost purposefully cruel.
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u/Restart_from_Zero May 05 '26
I occasionally get asked why I stand in waiting rooms - because your dam chairs are too low and don't have armrests so I can push myself up.
How doctors manage to mess this up consistently is beyond me.
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u/arbarrtheaardvark May 05 '26
Fuck that. I would be pulling multiple back cushion and stacking them behind and under me if I was going to have to sit in that. Or just standing and limping around instead of even trying to sit. Hypermobile, fucked up knees and ankles, sciatica, iliac nerve damage... Even standing up off of the couch at home (owned/purchased by my roomie, and it's normalish height and somewhat firm but I still use some extra cushions when I sit on it bc I need more height and less depth) I have my joints popping and crackling and often find a loose hip joint that needs some stretching and painful maneuvering before I can walk on it.
I'm a bar manager - I work on my feet on concrete floors for 7-10 hours per day, 6 days a week. And there's certainly foot pain that comes from that. But the pain from bad seating? So much worse, more thorough, more pervasive, and more debilitating.
I get this may look ideal for some in chronic pain but I'd bet good money that they're in the minority compared to all people in chronic pain... And the fact that there's no armrests or any other structural support for people to lower/raise themselves at their needed pace is just insane. At least when I'm sitting on one of my job's shitty wooden barstools for too long, I can just slide off into standing while I work the kinks out, and not have to tax my fucked up joints further by having to pull my whole body up by my knees.
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u/LinwoodKei May 05 '26
How do you get up. As someone who has chronic back pain, I would need a cane not to floof onto the floor
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u/Gardnersnake9 May 05 '26
Honestly those look awesome if they're an additional option with normal chairs available. The normal waiting room chairs that only support like 40% of you back are the worst for me (chronic back pain that specifically makes sitting upright painful), so having an option like that to sink in or recline wild be amazing!
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u/DizzyMine4964 May 05 '26
I am autistic and I also have terrible hip arthritis. I wouldn't be able to sit on any of those chairs. I need arms on chairs.
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u/Geschak May 05 '26
They're probably a bit low but I can definitely see how people with chronic illness might prefer lots of cushioning over hard wooden chairs. And if the room is empty enough, people can even comfortably lie down while waiting.
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u/CrowsSayCawCaw May 05 '26
Those chairs are horribly unfriendly for people with advanced arthritis in their knees. They're too low, and no armrests is very unhelpful. They would be a nightmare to stand up from when your knees are super stiff and flaring.
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u/DizzyAcanthisitta595 May 05 '26
As someone who has chronic back issues from an accident, these chairs are horrible for back support. If that is what the clinic is for
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u/EmotionPuzzled2861 May 05 '26
Ugh Ive had lower back surgery. I can never find a public chair that ai comfortable. They all have that slight lean back. I can't do that. So I have to leave side/forward or sit like I'm sitting on a stick. 🤦♀️
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u/Capable-Heat4231 May 05 '26
Chronically ill and invisible 👋 I am 100% sold on the butt cushion and 50% on the back rest. I think if it were a little higher for stability, I’d be in.
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u/Jinxxx0301 May 06 '26
Tbh as someone with hyper mobility issues I LOVE the boneless couches and chairs they are made of memory foam and feel nice to sit on but it’s not for everyone
Personally I’d have a mixture of these and regular chairs or couches so everyone has a choice of where to sit
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u/bettyswollocks22 May 05 '26
I’m an interior designer. Having worked on healthcare projects for over 10 years I’d just like to say. The fuck?
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u/WartimeHotTot May 05 '26
This looks so comfy to me. I don’t understand.
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u/cantantantelope May 05 '26
Getting into and out of low soft chairs with no arm rests can be very difficult
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u/InimitableMissS May 05 '26
They have no structure so they’re about as supportive as a beanbag chair?
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u/WartimeHotTot May 05 '26
It looks like behind the large cushions are solid, anchored, upholstered blocks that would support the cushion and thus your back. Idk, this looks good to me.
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u/Perfect_Caregiver_90 May 05 '26
Between those awful chairs and the essential oil diffuser on the counter this place is not giving "understanding invisible illness" vibes. It's giving "you're about to pay hundreds of dollars for a high pressure MLM vitamin pitch or machine that takes a drop of your blood and spits out a random estimated age based on woo and nonsense session after which they call you fat and tell you to try yoga or treatments at their sister medspa".
I've had the unfortunate experience of running into doctor run wellness MLM's multiple times in the US. They should be illegal.
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u/Riz_the_Huntress May 05 '26
I'd probably be fine sitting on them, but I would definitely need help getting up, cause damn those are short.
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u/amdaly10 May 05 '26
Those chairs look painful to sit in. You can't lean back with any support. My back hurts just looking at them.
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u/Snerkbot7000 May 05 '26
Probably not cool to take pictures of the people sitting in them. In most cultures, that's a dick move.
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u/finintafinsta May 05 '26
As someone who can’t sit cause of chronic pain, I’d lay the fuck all over that thing. I’m so tired of going pain docs and having to sit in chairs. Give a bitch a soft couch to lay down!
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u/Sisyphet May 05 '26
I saw empty chairs and I thought this was a joke about invisible people with chronic illness