What’s all this Standing Desk stuff?

“You need to get a Stand-Up Desk.”

“Why?”

“Ahh, just cos…”

Have you been told this by your Osteo, Physio or Chiro and not really been given the reason? Well it’s true but I’ll try and give you a brief reason why.

When we sit down our core muscles switch off and our centre of gravity moves forward of our spine. When this happens, the stability of the whole spine is compromised and the discs in between the vertebrae have to carry a heavier load. After years of sitting at a desk or driving in a car, this extra load on the discs begins to wear them out, which can cause degeneration and disc-bulging.

When we stand, however, our centre of gravity returns to the optimal position down through the spine, and we reduce the risk of degeneration, especially in the lower (lumbar) spine. Some practitioners argue that standing doesn’t necessarily turn on the core muscles, which is true. But you are more likely to engage the core when walking around your desk, swaying from side to side, switching from resting more heavily on one leg and then the other and generally being more mobile at your work.

I always encourage patients to get a stool that is high enough for the desk and have a short rest every 30-40 minutes. And if you have a really healthy juice smoothie to drink and wear headphones as shown below, you could look cool and more people would like you*

*no creditable studies have shown that Stand-Up Desks can improve your popularity in a workplace