Standing desks and running

5 watchers

Velociraptor Oct 2018 5:42pm, 23 Oct 2018 39,404 posts	0 Velociraptor It's not medical antipathy, :)G, just personal antipathy Although I don't know any practising clinicians who have standing desks. I grew up back in the days where it was considered unwise to stand unless you were walking or otherwise locomoting, for the blood would pool in your veins and you'd faint and get varicose veins, haemorrhoids, and swollen feet. From a more practical aspect, when I sit I can sit very still. When obliged to stand for long periods, as happened at a recent meeting, I fidget and wriggle, which would be offputting in a medical consultation.
Lizzie W Oct 2018 6:09pm, 23 Oct 2018 18,585 posts	0 Lizzie W Perfect for the bits between consultations, then! Moving is good.
puzzler Oct 2018 6:26pm, 23 Oct 2018 873 posts	0 puzzler All the desks in our new office are height adjustable. I’ve tried standing a few times but not for very long. I tend to be very restless at my desk and find an excuse to get up and walk around every 20-30 mins - usually to make another cup of tea. Standing helped to be a bit more focused for longer.
Windsor Wool Oct 2018 6:34pm, 23 Oct 2018 3,753 posts	0 Windsor Wool I have a sit-stand desk. When I was injured I found I was standing up a lot and feeling good for it. Now I’m back running regularly you are more likely to find me with my feet on the desk! I think there’s a definite affect as you suggested J2R. One thing I do think about is the level of slovenliness I can get in to in the office. It’s not uncommon for me to run before work and get very close to those (arbitrary) step targets. I’ll then sit down for the next 8 hours or so. That can’t be very healthy...
Oranj Oct 2018 6:42pm, 23 Oct 2018 1,140 posts	0 Oranj Like Velociraptor, I have a fear of varicose veins etc. (my dad had some awful ones), and would rather sit. I can feel the blood pooling in my lower legs when I'm standing for long periods. We have the option of sit/stand adjustable desks at work. Those with bad backs find them very good for relieving back pain apparently. Windsor Wool: I have a Garmin running watch that is also an activity tracker. It buzzes if I'm sat still for more than an hour (which can get me a few funny looks in long meetings!). It's a good reminder to me to get up from my desk, and if not making a cup of tea, walk a lap of the building and maybe do a little stretching in a stairwell. I sometimes deliberately print something off at a printer on the far side of the office to make me walk to retrieve it.
Night-owl Oct 2018 6:57pm, 23 Oct 2018 31,551 posts	0 Night-owl Back in the day as a cinema worker when in the box office we orignally stood. Standing in one position not good for you. There was some ruling if we would be standing more than 2 hours at a time we should have chairs .so we did It might be different nowdays but my point that staying in any position hours on end isn't going to be good for you I'm on my feet all shift certainly wouldn't want to be restricted to one position
J2R Oct 2018 7:40pm, 23 Oct 2018 1,467 posts	0 J2R I do move around quite a bit in the day, and cannot imagine that I would ever be actually standing still for more than an hour or so at a time. I wonder whether any problems arise from cumulative standing time over a day, or just from unbroken standing.
Lemon10 Oct 2018 8:20pm, 23 Oct 2018 3,598 posts	0 Lemon10 I have a desk with a variable height, so I can sit or stand. Very useful with the damage I did to my coccyx 12 months ago which means it is now very painful to sit for long. I love it and so does my backside! No idea if it makes legs stronger as I haven't done much running this year to test the theory.
sunburnt Oct 2018 9:33pm, 23 Oct 2018 24 posts	0 sunburnt I have had a standing desk for about four years now and wouldn't go back to a sitting only desk My stand sit ratio would be about 90% - I sit down if I need to read papers but mostly stand, I reckon it took me about six months to adapt fully to the change. I do walk around a fair bit so am rarely still. I've always been a slow runners so can't really comment on how it has affected that!
roberton Oct 2018 9:50pm, 23 Oct 2018 172 posts	0 roberton I'd love to have a stand / sit desk. Actually I'd like to have even a standing-only desk, I'd have plenty of opportunities to sit down when I want to anyway I like the idea of being more mobile and doing less slouching. I don't have back problems or anything like that, it's just about being less sedentary.