Get your own desk measured

Generic ergonomics advice fails because it is written for a body that does not exist. The standard numbers assume an average height, average limb proportions and a standard desk, and the moment you differ from that — and you do — the advice stops applying.

This is the same photogrammetric method I use in research, applied to your actual setup.

What you send

• Three photographs: one from the side while you work normally, one from the front, one of the whole workstation empty.
• Your height, and roughly how many hours a day you spend at this desk.
• Where it hurts, if anywhere, and for how long.

Phone photos are fine. What matters is that the side view is taken level with your shoulder and that you are working normally rather than posing — a corrected posture held for the camera tells me nothing about your day.

What you get back

• Measured angles. Head flexion, craniovertebral angle, trunk inclination, shoulder elevation and elbow angle, read off your photographs against anatomical landmarks rather than eyeballed.
• Where the load actually is. Which joints are carrying the most, and which of your complaints the geometry does and does not explain.
• Changes ranked by effect. Usually two or three things matter and the rest is noise. You get them in order, with the specific measurement to aim for — screen height in centimetres, not "raise your monitor".
• What to buy, if anything. Often nothing. Where equipment genuinely helps I'll say what specification matters and why, and any affiliate links are marked.

What it is not

This is a biomechanical assessment of a workstation, not a medical consultation. I am a biomechanics researcher, not a physician or a physiotherapist. I do not diagnose conditions, I do not treat injuries, and I cannot tell you what is causing your pain — only what your setup is doing mechanically and what the evidence says about it.

If you have pain that is severe, persistent, or accompanied by numbness, weakness or tingling, see a clinician first. An assessment of your desk is not a substitute for someone examining you, and I will tell you so rather than take your money.

How to order

Email rkreddy@thedeskload.com with your photographs and details and I'll confirm before any payment is taken. If your setup turns out to be fine, I'll say that and there's no charge.