Standing desks…… a small note

I have just seen an article written in The Times yesterday by Carol Midgley on the subject of standing desks.

She talks briefly and mentions that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ and so she tries a basic device. This new device, you sit onto your existing desk to enable you to stand and work. I am not sure which one she tried, but here is a great example.

She says “So after a few days of spending eight hours of standing, am I convert?” “No.” “Not one iota.” She talks of it being harder to focus and harder on ‘the old plates of meat’.

When you start to run, you do NOT just go out and run for 2 hours! When you want to get better at hill walking, you certainly don’t start off with a long day in the Alps! With everything new for our bodies, you should start off by laying better and more solid foundations so that your body adapts to its ‘new’ needs. The better your ‘foundations’, the more adaptable and protective your body is for the stresses and strains that we place on it.

I suspect if Carol had started off by adding in an hour of standing and then sitting for an hour and gradually adding in a bit more, she would have felt better. This may need to happen over the course of a few weeks.

In my opinion, I don’t think standing desks are for people to stand all day. I think it is a much better approach to do some sitting and some standing and mix it about. Doing it this way, you may stand for 3, 4 or 5 hours over the day in total. Your body gets to experience both.

I also get patients to stand with their feet in different positions to add variability. It encourages you to move more and this undoubtedly IS good for you.

If you have any muscle or joint problems or would like to come and see one of our Osteopaths, call 020 8605 2323.

Blog post by James Dodd