Standing desks have become all the rage in the past few years, and for good reason. Studies have shown that sitting all day can lead to back pain, weight gain and even increased blood pressure. The Centers for Disease Control even discovered that people who reduce the amount of sitting they do by an hour a day, reduced upper back and neck pain by 54 percent and improved their mood. Standing more can make you less grumpy! So, many people have switched to standing desks, but standing presents its own issues. If you’re using a standing desk or thinking of switching to a standing desk, we want to make sure you keep your feet free of pain.
First, make sure you get your ergonomics under control. Basically, you want to make sure your computer screen is at eye level, and your desk is at a height where your elbows are able to rest on the desk at about 90 degrees. A standing desk isn’t the time to do squats or stand on your tippy toes!
Next, wear comfortable shoes and stand on a padded mat or carpet. Going barefoot on hard floors isn’t going to make your feet very happy. Check out our blog on choosing shoes for working on your feet for more tips. And don’t just stand in one place all day. You’re a person, not a statue. Shift your weight around and stretch your feet.
Finally, if you can swing it, go for a sit/stand desk. It’s the best of both worlds. You can sit when your feet and back get tired, then stand when you feel like you’ve been sitting too long. You can buy a desk prebuilt, or you can even buy a base for an electronic sit/stand desk and add your own desktop to it. Just don’t ask us to help you assemble it. We’re a podiatry office, not handypersons.
