Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury • Hacker News Board

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#21

Post by collyw » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 12:47 PM UTC

blunte wrote: post #14

guilloche wrote: post #2

It seems that I am not the only one gotten hurt by standing all day long. In my case, the knees are fine, the joint between my right thigh and body got hurt baddly. So, do not stand a lot, do not sit all day long either. Do drink water regularly, (kidney stones for sitting programmers) too much water will cause kidney problems too.

Everyone has some difference in leg length. Perhaps your leg length difference is great enough that it's putting too much lateral stress on your pelvis/hips.

More likely that he putting more pressure on one than the other without realizing it. We have lots on unconscious habits we are unaware of.

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#22

Post by DontBeADick » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 12:56 PM UTC

> At this point I decided it was a bad idea to stand all the time and switched to 2 week standing/sitting cycles.

Well there's your problem. You should alternate every couple hours, not every couple weeks.

Buy a tall stool or drafting chair so you don't need to move your desk up and down.

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#23

Post by VLM » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:08 PM UTC

This discussion topic, which never ends here on HN, of "the correct working position", is pretty silly when properly analogized to "the correct sex position".

Everyone knows there's only one position that feels the best and it should be done the same way for your entire life regardless of temporary or permanent health level or other conditions and the world would be a better place if all diversity were forcibly stomped out and the one true position was legally required for all. Because there can only be one correct answer. You know, just like programming editors. See? Now everyone is happy.

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#24

Post by qwerta » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:09 PM UTC

My father-in-law works (and stands) on street market for past 40 years. He is in similar shape as other man in his age. So I think there is no miracle here, just some physical work and exercise.

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#25

Post by leni536 » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:16 PM UTC

mrfusion wrote: post #10

Has anyone looked into some sort of walking desk? Over a treadmill? It seems like that would alleviate the problems with standing.

Like the one that Linus Torvalds use? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSgUPqygAww

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#26

Post by Cthulhu_ » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:21 PM UTC

collyw wrote: post #18

whiddershins wrote: post #17

I've been downvoted for writing this before, but here goes: exercise for exercise's sake may not be all it is cracked up to be. For example, standing for long periods is associated with an increased risk of varicose veins. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1740939/ I know many people believe all their physical ailments are traced to a sedentary lifestyle, but i don't think prolonged periods of abusing your…

Standing is hardly exercise.

It's not as easy as sitting down though. Being on your feet for hours on end is definitely a skill that needs to be learned (in the military, for example).

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#27

Post by damoncali » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:22 PM UTC

blunte wrote: post #20

smackfu wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our fatty asses beg to differ.

Which came first, the chair or the fatty ass?

does it matter?

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#28

Post by allegory » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:32 PM UTC

blunte wrote: post #12

Summary: a guy with an undiscovered previous injury aggravated it with a lifestyle change, and now it's on the front page of HN scaring people away from living a healthier (less-sitting) lifestyle. You have one unfortunate story, but I have the opposite positive story. As usual, it means that people are not all the same - and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. What's your bodyweight? Are you car…

I think if we take the mid-point between your story and his, we're getting there.

Everything in moderation.

That means sitting is fine and standing is fine, just not too much excess of either.

My wife, an ex-carer, knows a number of athletic people who have very serious problems in their 50s and 60s as they've worn their hips and spine out. Conversely she knows a number of people with diabetes and heart problems in the same age range.

The interesting thing I did find out is that those who do not focus on any particular fitness goal, eat what they need and don't objectively go out and exercise are perfectly healthy and run rings around the other groups.

A word of caution: all of these people were quite happy with their physical state into their 40s. The same with drug use, particularly hash etc which really kills you when you get to your late 30s and early 40s.

A standing desk has little to do with any of the above. Moderation of all things does.

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#29

Post by collyw » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:34 PM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #26

collyw wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Standing is hardly exercise.

It's not as easy as sitting down though. Being on your feet for hours on end is definitely a skill that needs to be learned (in the military, for example).

OK, on that I agree. I bet this is not a skill the OP acquired.

Re: Standing desk experiment and consequent knee injury

#30

Post by aaron987 » Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 1:35 PM UTC

whiddershins wrote: post #17

I've been downvoted for writing this before, but here goes: exercise for exercise's sake may not be all it is cracked up to be. For example, standing for long periods is associated with an increased risk of varicose veins. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1740939/ I know many people believe all their physical ailments are traced to a sedentary lifestyle, but i don't think prolonged periods of abusing your…

I don't think you can cite one study concerning an increased risk of varicose veins and conclude that exercise is not all it's cracked up to be.

That study seems pretty legit, but it only concerns one health problem, and a relatively minor one at that. Fewer than 2% of the people in the study even required hospitalization for their problem. Comparing that to the numerous benefits of exercise for things like diabetes and heart disease, I think exercise is still a worthwhile use of time.