Do you feel discomfort in your low back when you sit for long periods of time?  Did you know that sitting increases the stress on the sacroiliac joints and the lumbar discs of your spine?  When you sit and slouch with poor posture, even more pressure is put on your discs.   

When I'm treating a patient with low back problems the recovery and healing can be impeded by the patients lifestyle.  My patients always feel significantly better after an applied kinesiology treatment.  But then, they go back to work the next day and sit for 7+ hours a day, so they start feeling discomfort again.  They eventually get better, but the progress is much slower due to a lifestyle of excessive sitting.  One of my solutions for this dilemma is recommending a standing desk or a standing desk converter, so they can stand while they work.  This allows for quicker healing process.  It saves my patients both time and money.  They don't have to visit me as frequently and they don't have to shell out nearly as much cash for their back health.

So, is it recommended that you stand all day?  No, many experts recommend switching between sitting and standing every 30 minutes for best results.  This can cut the time sitting at work in half and allow more time for your back to heal.  Many of the patients at my New York, NY chiropractic office find this guideline to be veryuseful.

If you are wondering if standing desks really make a difference, then consider the following studies.

In one study that evaluated alternating sitting and standing using an adjustable height workstation, the researchers concluded:  "Transitioning from a seated to a standing work posture every 30 min across the workday, relative to seated work, led to a significant reduction in fatigue levels and lower back discomfort in overweight/obese office workers, while maintaining work productivity. "2

A  three month study was done to evaluate the effects of switching from a sit all day workday to a sit-stand work day.  "Health outcomes improved in terms of participants’ subjective health and the pain they experienced in their necks and shoulders. Regarding work efficiency, subjects’ vitality in work engagement and self-assessment of their work performance improved.. " 1 

If you are currently in the market for purchasing a new desk, you may want to consider an adjustable height desk.  I recommend the Monomi Electric Standing Desk, which you can purchase on Amazon:  Standing desks come in different sizes, so you want to make sure that you choose on that adequately fits your needs and workspace.

If you already have a desk then you might want to consider a standing desk converter.  It will be placed on top of your current desk and you put your monitor and keyboard on it.  I recommend the SHW Height Adjustable Standing Desk Converter Riser Workstation.  You can find it on Amazon here.

References

1.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8582919/

2.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25168375/