That MRI changed everything. Seeing a decade of spinal damage at 28 forced me to confront what our industry doesn’t talk about: the physical cost of ‘just sitting at a desk.’
But buried in the research was hope—that meaningful recovery is possible—not complete reversal, but real, life-changing improvements that compound over time.
The Hidden Crisis
What the research reveals about tech worker health—and the good news
From PhD to injured in my first software job.
Active my entire life—school, university, PhD—exercising regularly. Then COVID hit. Remote work turned me from an active person into someone sitting 12+ hours a day.
The downward spiral was fast: Worried about work → stopped training → gained weight → trained like nothing happened → got injured → couldn’t train → low-back pain → felt worse → repeated with more intensity.
At 28, my MRI showed 10 years of spinal degeneration. That scan changed everything.
I spent 2 years diving into research—not ergonomics advice or wellness tips, but actual evidence for reversing damage. What I found became The Shift.
Background
- 15+ years building software systems (PhD → software engineer → founder)
- 12+ international conference talks on tech worker health
- Attended 5-day human dissection lab to understand anatomy hands-on
- Deep dive into the scientific literature on desk work’s side effects and recovery
- Experienced the downward spiral firsthand—and reversed it