lightbulb moment of the morning

For the past several days, I've been having this nagging tightness and pain in my left hamstring, up near the ischial attachment. I've been stretching and doing pressure point work to relieve the pain, but until this morning had been really puzzled as to the cause: my workout routines hadn't changed significantly, my shoes are in decent shape, and I hadn't had any noticeable falls, sprains, twists, or other injuries. The only thing I had been doing was stepping up my time at the computer, which if it isn't arranged just right sometimes gives me problems in my shoulder. Because I've had issues in the past (dissertations are killer on the body) I have an ergonomic chair, an adjustable keyboard, and an adjustable computer table. After our move to this house I spent a few days trying to get everything adjusted again, but I'd thought it was set up OK.

And then finally the lightbulb went off. Our house is old, with wood floors that are no longer level in some places. So a couple of doors tend to swing open or shut, there's a cupboard that doesn't stay closed, that kind of effect. And I finally figured out that my desk chair is excellent for my spine, but the floor it was positioned on was tilted. Wedged a folded towel under one side and a-ha! my leg is happy again.

This is why certain mechanical problems (whether of machines, the muscular/skeletal body, or computers) really appeal to me. If you just start thinking clearly enough about chains of causes and effects, you can eventually get to an answer.