The author says she didn't bring it up since she was afraid it would negatively impact her career. While I can certainly understand this is a real fear that is grounded in reality, I also feel that she has a responsibility to lift the issue internally to get appropriate furniture, tools (eg ergonomic keyboard), and treatment.

You can only expect to be taken seriously for requests like that if you have been diagnosed with a medical condition. By then, you've already experienced significant pain, so the damage has been done.

Ergonomics for developers is difficult. Damage sets in so slowly that you don't really notice it until it's too late.

>You can only expect to be taken seriously for requests like that if you have been diagnosed with a medical condition

If their default setup is bad (crappy chairs, etc), and they have the attitude you mentioned, do not work there.

For me, it would be a condition of employment to get me a proper chair and desk.

By the time you've been diagnosed, its possibly already too late.

I bought a Kinesis Advantage2 (and foot pedal) earlier this year and after a few months of using it, I wish I'd got one years ago. I feel much less typing strain.

The number of $1000+ Herman Miller chairs and standup desks I see tells me that they pay more than lip service to ergonomics.

Your company sounds like an exception, although I'd argue that "just stand up, then" is more of a cop-out than a solution.