Wall-Mounted TV: The Giant Monitor that Saved my Posture


wall-mounted-tvLet’s face it, it’s tough for us wheelchair-users to use our computers without killing our posture.

I have a power wheelchair with a tilt/recline function and always just held my laptop on my lap, tilted a good 30 degrees back, and leaned down to see the screen. Since I don’t have dexterity and only type with one little hand clip, using my whole arm in the process, looking down at my laptop would give me neck and shoulder pain that lasted into the night. It’s given me long-lasting posture issues, with a bit of a hunchback that even lots of PT might still not fix.

So yeah, it’s been a problem.

But luckily, I just discovered a new set up that’s getting rid of my neck pain and helping my posture, and it’s amazing. After a few months of debating, in September I finally decided to splurge on a new wall-mounted TV — a beautiful 50 inch Roku 4K with a pivoting mount so I can watch from around the apartment. It was also mounted right at eye level, so I could comfortably watch football and Netflix and South Park with my friends on the couch. An A+ set up all round.

wall-mounted-tv-monitor-2Then all of a sudden, just last week, something popped into my head. “What if I plug in my PC and see what happens?” It was a bit ridiculous, putting a laptop screen on a 50 inch TV, but it was worth a try. I set up with the laptop on my lap, and then used a $15 HDMI cable and adapter to plug my laptop into one of the open ports. When I turned everything on, it was completely comfortable. My computer screen was right there in front of me, easy-to-read like a giant monitor. More importantly, I was sitting upright with great posture, the TV at eye level. I now have zero shoulder pain and a 50 inch computer monitor to boot — not too shabby. I can do some of my Facebook and read articles easily, and can even start hitting the e-books that would let me read again. The paper ones, which made me hunch over too much, were just out of reach. It’s been a real life changer.

If you have the means to try it out, I highly recommend it. Wall mounts can be found at any local entertainment or big-box stores, or online (I highly recommend the pivoting units, and got this one on Amazon). If you already have a TV that can be mounted you could just put it up with that, which just takes some tools, instruction-following and an hour or so. And other TVs can always be found on Craigslist, or those same entertainment/big-box/online stores (smart TVs are also awesome, and I got this one) … although there are plenty of other options out there). All you have to do is mount it on the wall, get an HDMI cable and plug-in your computer. Ready, set, go. Goodbye, shoulder pain!


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