Standing desk and back pain

[DreamP]

I have been working at a standing desk for a while. The first year was great. It actually felt like exercise. Now I am used to it and doesn't take much effort any more. I am also getting really bad back pains. I started wearing a back belt for support. Wear good shoes and take breaks sitting throughout the day. I do other exercises as well. But the back pain is getting really bad. I wake up every morning in pain.

 

I know it is the standing desk because I don't have this problem when I am travelling or when I completely abandon the standing desk (did that for a few weeks when I was sick).

 

I don't want to abandon the standing desk. Any suggestions?

[Art_Critic]

Some people here at work use the standing desks but they also have a tall bar stool type of chair they use at times to pull the pressure off their feet so they can take a load off during the day and still work.

[GemmaUK]

Is the back pain in the mid to low back?

 

If it is then correcting your standing position will stop the pain.

I have one of these desks and got terrible back pain until I figured out how to stand correctly.

 

Make sure you don't lock your knees - they should always be relaxed and soft.

If you lock your knees your hips will sit at a diagonal to the floor, so putting pressure on your mid/low back.

Unlocking your knees allows your hip to point straight to the ground and your legs can then take the weight of your upper body.

 

To check where your hips are simply stand, and place your palms on your hips with the top of your palm on the bigger bone under your wait and with your fingers pointing down toward the ground.

Play around with this a bit, locking your knees and then unlocking and slightly bending them and you will understand what I mean. Be really honest with yourself once you get the feel of straight versus diagonal hips.

I regularly do this and self check where my hips are as it's easy to lose the stance until you get used to it. I find it more difficult to hold the stance when I am busier or have to really concentrate so sometimes I will sit when working but again I still make sure my hips are at that correct angle.

 

I never get back pain any more, see if it also works for you. My pain alleviated hugely jut after a couple of days.

[DreamP]

Is the back pain in the mid to low back?

 

If it is then correcting your standing position will stop the pain.

I have one of these desks and got terrible back pain until I figured out how to stand correctly.

 

Make sure you don't lock your knees - they should always be relaxed and soft.

If you lock your knees your hips will sit at a diagonal to the floor, so putting pressure on your mid/low back.

Unlocking your knees allows your hip to point straight to the ground and your legs can then take the weight of your upper body.

 

To check where your hips are simply stand, and place your palms on your hips with the top of your palm on the bigger bone under your wait and with your fingers pointing down toward the ground.

Play around with this a bit, locking your knees and then unlocking and slightly bending them and you will understand what I mean. Be really honest with yourself once you get the feel of straight versus diagonal hips.

I regularly do this and self check where my hips are as it's easy to lose the stance until you get used to it. I find it more difficult to hold the stance when I am busier or have to really concentrate so sometimes I will sit when working but again I still make sure my hips are at that correct angle.

 

I never get back pain any more, see if it also works for you. My pain alleviated hugely jut after a couple of days.

 

Thanks. I don't think I lock my knees but I will check myself. It's always a possibility. The pain is in my lower back. The strange think about this is that I didn't have this problem the first year.

[GemmaUK]

Doing the same thing over and over for long periods of time will eventually have impacts on parts of your body.

 

If this doesn't help then you'll need to look at the exercise you do and see if any of that is contributing.

Locking knees has caused back pain to all of the people I work with who use these desks.

 

Another thing to bear in mind is to make sure that when sitting at your desk make sure not to hunch or rest your arms on the desk, nor to use the back rest - both of these can also cause back pain.

 

Something else which I notice more and more also is when people bury their heads in their mobile phones. Bending your neck down the way most folk do instead of holding the phone up higher throws your whole back out of alignment and causes the weight to go right to your mid/low back.

 

Something you could try if elimination and changes in posture don't help is to get some training in the Alexander Technique. This is what my own posture advice is based upon.

[Emilia]

Making your back stronger with weight training is the only way. Wearing a belt makes it worse because you stop using your muscles that way and your back is getting weaker.

 

Standing desks are as bad as sitting at your desk all day. Standing or sitting at the same position for sustained periods of time is very bad for you.

 

Most people with office jobs have a fairly weak body and likely your posture isn't great, your shoulders are probably rounded and your upper back likely has a curve. A lot of people today - especially young ones that grew up with computer games - have a posture that looks like a question mark from the side. Standing for sustained amount of time cannot be sustained by a weak back.

[Emilia]

Thanks. I don't think I lock my knees but I will check myself. It's always a possibility. The pain is in my lower back. The strange think about this is that I didn't have this problem the first year.

It's the posture, most definitely. Your lower back is struggling to support your body. If you had a strong posterior chain, the pressure to support your body would spread evenly from top to bottom but as it is, all the pressure is on your lower back.

[GemmaUK]

Making your back stronger with weight training is the only way.

 

This is the only part I disagree with.

Weight training at this point would only exacerbate the problem.

[DreamP]

I have been trying to be very conscious of my knees and it is tough. Trying to keep reminding myself to keep them soft and bent. I usually lean on one leg at a time so this is a different stance for me. I think I am already starting to feel some relief. I guess I was locking my knees to some level.

[GemmaUK]

It is hard!

Hard on your feet too!

Anytime you skip to one leg is when you should sit for a bit.

I do 15/15 mins, not the 30/30mins they say you should.

Remember, it's not a competition, and do what your body likes, not what you like.

 

Learn that thing with feeling where your hips are - if I have confused you let me know and I will explain and I'll find you some youtube vids.