Not long before developing a debilitating neck issue, I got moved away from my excellent desk where I sat near a window, with my back to it. I was quite happy.
After getting moved toward the middle of the room, sitting with the window to my side, I was miserable. After a few months, my neck issues started.
I've only recently realized that this was at least partly due to my astigmatism. My contacts didn't compensate for astigmatism, and without realizing it, I was craning my neck further forward over time. Having the bright light at my back gave a significant sharpening effect, thanks to the pupil constriction, and allowed me to work without eye strain for much longer.
Recently, I've gotten contacts which correct astigmatism. They don't correct precisely enough to come anywhere near the precision of my glasses, so I still experience eye strain and crane my neck. I'm now beginning to ponder Lasik, since it sounds like they're getting consistently better results out of it these days.
Lasik might be improving, but as far as I understand, the "best corrected vision" is still inferior to glasses. This means that while you no longer need correction, your visual acuity is worse than what it was with glasses.
I'm curious what you mean when you say your contacts "don't correct precisely enough". Is this because the axis/cylinder combination you want doesn't exist or because the contacts move on your eye and screws up the correction?
I have a fair amount of problems with the latter (my cornea has some funny shape that has a tendency to twist the contacts), but I find that it varies a lot between contact brands. So if you didn't already, next time you renew your prescription, try getting trial pairs of different brands and wear them for a week to see if one fits you better.
I haven't done any sort of rigorous investigation yet, but it seems like I'm reading more incidental stories of people being corrected well past 20/20.
As for the contacts, I believe that they just aren't available in fine enough increments to properly fix my astigmatism. I'm using the Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism type, which have little, vertical ridges at the top and bottom. Every time you blink, it forces them into alignment. It is rather irritating, though. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to them, and if I go a few days with glasses then they irritate me again the next time I wear them.
Another option I haven't tried is regular contacts along with glasses which just correct the astigmatism. I haven't tried that yet, though my eye doctor was happy to write a separate prescription for that. I don't mind glasses too much while in front of the computer, I just hate them for every other part of life (gym, cycling, motorcycling, etc).
Not long before developing a debilitating neck issue, I got moved away from my excellent desk where I sat near a window, with my back to it. I was quite happy.
After getting moved toward the middle of the room, sitting with the window to my side, I was miserable. After a few months, my neck issues started.
I've only recently realized that this was at least partly due to my astigmatism. My contacts didn't compensate for astigmatism, and without realizing it, I was craning my neck further forward over time. Having the bright light at my back gave a significant sharpening effect, thanks to the pupil constriction, and allowed me to work without eye strain for much longer.
Recently, I've gotten contacts which correct astigmatism. They don't correct precisely enough to come anywhere near the precision of my glasses, so I still experience eye strain and crane my neck. I'm now beginning to ponder Lasik, since it sounds like they're getting consistently better results out of it these days.