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Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

ergo.human.cornell.edu

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Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#71

Post by damncabbage »

mrspeaker wrote: post #18

I was wondering about this. I've been trialing a standing desk - the best part is if you are thinking about a problem you tend to walk, where as if you're sitting down you just tilt your head to the side. But after 4 hours or so I find I get a sore back. I've been "mixin it up"... standing for an hour, sitting for a couple of hours. Or sitting in the morning, standing after lunch... so far it feels pretty good, but I…

I'm having the same experience; I've read a bunch of reports from people stating that their back pain vanishes, while I've found sometimes my (minimal) back pain can get worse on some days.

I don't have the option of swapping it around; my "standing desk" is a regular desk with cardboard boxes and telephone books stacked on top ( http://instagr.am/p/MUmlP/ ). At this point I can't get a new regular chair, let alone a high stool, unfortunately.

I'm giving it a week; after then I'll decide whether to switch back or not.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#72

Post by khafra »

nazgulnarsil wrote: post #14

I'm looking into getting an inversion table. Has anyone used one of these? all the studies have been on people who already have problems such as ruptured or herniated discs.

Make sure your keyboard and monitor are very securely attached.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#73

Post by achompas »

davedx wrote: post #6

Atkins diets and standing desks aren't going to fix more fundamental issues with a pervasively unhealthy culture.

These "sitting studies" condition on a person's lifestyle, i.e. given two people who are both active outside of work, the person who sits more has a greater risk of problems than the one who doesn't.

I'm sorry I don't have a citation (nor am I going to dig for one) but this has been mentioned ad nauseam in prior threads. You should check those out (as well as the studies they discuss).

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#74

Post by travisp »

bh42222 wrote: post #67

In our field studies of sit-stand workstations we have found little evidence of widespread benefits and users only stand for very short-periods (15 minutes or less total per day). Other studies have found that the use of sit-stand stations rapidly declines so that after 1 month a majority of people are sitting all the time. While this contradict my personal experience, I do trust the studies. every 20 minutes stand f…

I could never get in the habit of stopping every 20 minutes and moving around. However, after several months with my sit-stand desk, the Steelcase Series 7 (what they have at 37 signals), I find I stand for around 5-6 hours of each day. I move around while standing, and am able to switch between sitting and standing without interrupting my flow.

I'm guessing the reason that sit-stand workstation "users only stand for very short-periods (15 minutes or less total per day)" is because of people who aren't motivated to stand in the first place (i.e. their employer bought them the desk).

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#75

Post by colanderman »

saturdaysaint wrote: post #8

I highly recommend kneeling chairs. You sit with your legs underneath you instead of in front of you, which puts your back at a much more natural angle (much like standing, actually) than a standard office chair. They're cheap (mine was $75) and very compact, so you can augment them with a "normaller" chair. Long hours in a kneeling chair can strain certain muscles (the small of my back gets a little tight), so I do…

I tried a kneeling chair a while back. The pressure on my shins was unbearable to the point of being painful. I really wanted to like it but couldn't use it for more than a few minutes at a time.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#77

Post by pointyhat »

m0th87 wrote: post #70
pointyhat wrote: post #13

I never quite understood the appeal of standing up all day. Having done a couple of jobs in my youth which involved standing up all day and spending 2 hours a day on a train standing up, I couldn't think of anything less appealing. I love my Aeron and so does my arse.

One of the few things I remember from my ergonomics class several years ago is the professor specifically citing Aeron chairs as terrible ergonomics-wise. His argument was that the less comfortable the chair, the better, as it forces you to constantly shift about to remain comfortable.

I'm always adjusting it so that might be beneficial after all :)

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#79

Post by Ihavenoname » 

  Standing in not accepted risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis. There is no shortage of research about the dangers of sitting including obesity which is a risk factor of symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis. Varicose veins wile not very attractive are not considered a serious health problem and are treatable  I would invite the author to quantify the desks with peer reviewed research. The only link was to a 32 person self survey. Not exactly the most reliable form of research.
I would also like to note this is not a peer reviewed article ones does the man have a medical degree and is not qualified to give medical advice. Not staying in one position sitting or standing and increasing your activity level is sound advice. I find the claims that standing is dangerous are surprising and are against everything I learned or read about accepted medical recommendations.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#80

Post by travisp »

johnyzee wrote: post #37

> In our field studies of sit-stand workstations we have found little evidence of widespread benefits and users only stand for very short-periods (15 minutes or less total per day). Other studies have found that the use of sit-stand stations rapidly declines so that after 1 month a majority of people are sitting all the time. So sit-stand desks are a bad solution because people don't actually use them? What's wrong w…

So sit-stand desks are a bad solution because people don't actually use them? What's wrong with this logic?

It's not bad logic if you consider more contexts than just you deciding whether or not to use a sit-stand desk on your own. If most people don't actually use the standing feature of these desks, then this would make the desks a bad solution for an organization trying to find ways to boost the health and morale of its employees. Why spend the money if nobody will use it?

However, for a motivated individual who is willing to use them (like me), it is irrelevant if "most" people don't bother to use the stand feature of their sit-stand workstations.

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