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Sit/Stand Desk


rplace

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So there was an office chair thread a wile back. How about a desk thread?

 

I work (and sit) at a desk all day. I've had back problems since a work injury back in college. Exercises, minding my weight and a good office chair have kept the back surgeon at bay, so far, but a lot worse the last few years. I've been intrigued by standing desks for a while but just never took the time. Luckily some house cleaning and clutter removal forced me to attack my office. I got rid of a desk specifically bought for a different house and picked up a variable height desk. Its a lot smaller but the old, long, L-shaped desk was just a magnet for piles of anything and everything.

 

The first full day of the new desk is at hand. I face my window now versus turning my head 90* to look out. My shoulders and abbs are already starting to let me know "hey what are you doing to us". Better toe tapping and leg wobbling while grooving to the music. So far so good. I'm starting to think at the beginning I won't actually be standing all that long at one time. 15-20 minutes in and my body knows something is different.

 

I'm sure if you were a check out clerk at a grocery store or a barber you would scoff at idea of doing something designed to make you stand all day. Visions of the Seinfeld episode when George got the security guard a chair.

 

Anyone standing on purpose, by choice at work? Any thoughts or suggestions?

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I stand as much as possible at my job. At my last job, working in IT at a small private college, the school president at the time, built his own stand-up desk. This was over twenty years ago. Quite a number of the faculty and staff had stand up desks and their backs told them it was much better.

 

Bruce

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Sounds like your back keeps you very limited. Guessing that ‘eventually’ some medical intervention will be unavoidable. Unless something ‘new’ is invented the old approaches will be your only options. In my experience the longer you postpone a correction the more difficult the ultimate care can become and that you will gain less from having it done. By waiting you can be aggravating issues and (sadly) as humans age they tend to heal more slowly from any surgical procedure. You know your situation best and my thoughts are just generalized. Gosh getting elderly sucks. Was wondering also if physical therapy/strength training is part of your current program?

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4 hours ago, rplace said:

So there was an office chair thread a wile back. How about a desk thread?

 

I work (and sit) at a desk all day. I've had back problems since a work injury back in college. Exercises, minding my weight and a good office chair have kept the back surgeon at bay, so far, but a lot worse the last few years. I've been intrigued by standing desks for a while but just never took the time. Luckily some house cleaning and clutter removal forced me to attack my office. I got rid of a desk specifically bought for a different house and picked up a variable height desk. Its a lot smaller but the old, long, L-shaped desk was just a magnet for piles of anything and everything.

 

The first full day of the new desk is at hand. I face my window now versus turning my head 90* to look out. My shoulders and abbs are already starting to let me know "hey what are you doing to us". Better toe tapping and leg wobbling while grooving to the music. So far so good. I'm starting to think at the beginning I won't actually be standing all that long at one time. 15-20 minutes in and my body knows something is different.

 

I'm sure if you were a check out clerk at a grocery store or a barber you would scoff at idea of doing something designed to make you stand all day. Visions of the Seinfeld episode when George got the security guard a chair.

 

Anyone standing on purpose, by choice at work? Any thoughts or suggestions?

I think that is cool. Its nice to have options.  Does the desk move electrically or mechanically? 

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Have a couple of these at work. 

https://www.varidesk.com/

They work better than I imagined.  Very nice and easy to raise and lower... just set on existing desk.

The idea is to alternate standing with sitting.  Another thought about standing... point your toes straight ahead.  It almost feels like you are standing pigeon toed but it takes pressure off the hips and lets you stand straighter.  

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Sounds like you have your desk...  I would have asked/wondered beforehand, if you could have changed your chair first?

 

Meaning, instead of a "chair", you could get something (no idea what they're called) where you sit, but there's no back and as I recall, your knees/legs go in front/or UNDER you so you are forced to lean forward (which means more of an upright position)

 

Found a picture...  I think it's called Erodynamic chair or something like that.

None the less, you can see how it forces you to sit more upright than slouched back.

 

 

Kneeling Chair.jpg

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1 hour ago, Shiva said:

I think that is cool. Its nice to have options.  Does the desk move electrically or mechanically? 

 

Electronically, little paddle switch on one side that you press up or push down to move accordingly. It also has Bluetooth and an app so you can make 4-preset heights. I looked at several options; and while with audio gear I tend to convince myself I need more, I went middle of the road on this one. The one I wanted started around high 600s and quickly approached 800+ without batting an eye. There was a Costco options for around $250 but a glass top - I have a large, articulating monitor arm with dual 24" monitors. I was afraid of the glass not holding the clamp on the stand. I  had all but settled on a sub $400 dollar one at Ikea mainly because of a 10 year warranty, instant gratification (no waiting for build/shipping) and a 365 day return policy. Downside was the Ikea got terrible reviews on breaking after 90 days or so. Turns out they have a new model replacing that one and it is built like a tank with dual motors for the legs and much improved stability. Guess they listened to the reviews. Sale this month so out the door $460-something.

 

2 hours ago, Bosco-d-gama said:

Sounds like your back keeps you very limited. Guessing that ‘eventually’ some medical intervention will be unavoidable. Unless something ‘new’ is invented the old approaches will be your only options. In my experience the longer you postpone a correction the more difficult the ultimate care can become and that you will gain less from having it done.

 

Gosh, I must have painted a pretty bleak picture. I'm not incapacitated or anything. 2-3 times a year when I am being lazy and not doing the proper exercises, put on a few pounds and/or overdo things it will put me in bed for a couple of days, killer pain and need some drugs to knock me out. After about 8-10 more days of nagging pain and bitching at everything that moves it eventually gets better. At least for now if I do what I'm told I'm reasonably able to function fully in life. Cutting back on long distance running has been the biggest drawback. About 10 years ago a back doc told me I could keep running 1/2 marathons and marathons and have back surgery in 18 months or I could quit running and put it off perhaps 8-10 years. Guess which I picked.

 

1 hour ago, Coytee said:

I would have asked/wondered beforehand, if you could have changed your chair first?

 

Something like that or a yoga ball surely would help. Forces you to engage your core and not slouch. Standing will hopefully give me more options, change my perspective out the window and burn more calories. It was a really good chair 6-7 years ago that helped a lot. Adjustable everything and tons of lumbar support.

 

1 hour ago, muel said:

Have a couple of these at work

 

This is what I first looked into. Reading up online (dangerous sometimes....makes you buy bigger speakers) I found the biggest downside was less room on your desk to write, answer the phone, pile up junk. With a full upright desk you take your entire mess up and down with you. I did give them a hard look. How do you like working upright? I'll give the toes a try. That particular brand was highly regarded for the complete desk. It was on my short list.

 

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2 hours ago, Coytee said:

Found a picture...  I think it's called Erodynamic chair or something like that.

I'm fairly certain that I'd be on my back on the floor in short order using that chair.  I'd forget and lean back.

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After a full days work both sitting and standing on Friday I woke up Saturday with noticably stuff/sore glutes and hamstrings....in a good way like a big workout. I think there will be some benefit. Time will tell.

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  • 3 years later...

I have a pretty specific style of working. I work about 15 hours a day, so that's how I've organized my work: I work 2 hours standing, then 1-hour sitting, then a 15-minute walk, and then 30 minutes of working sitting. Then repeat. And I feel nice (yeah, a person can feel nice working 15 hours a day). I just love my job. As for desks and chairs, at the office, all the furniture we have is made by Eureka Ergonomic. It was the choice of our manager, so…probably it's the best choice she's ever made. Anyway, the only option is to work by changing your working style. Then your joints and muscles will be OK. Btw, don't forget to visit a physiotherapist.

Edited by KobeWinters
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Almost exactly 4 years ago I built a standing desk for my office.
For the first few weeks it was really tiring being on my feet all day and I would take frequent breaks by sitting down with my laptop.

As time went on I could spend more time on my feet and I regained a half inch in height.

I also no longer suffer from acid reflux which used to plague me constantly while sitting at a desk all day.
 

0ABA9D60-EEFC-42D0-9D2A-97D470B6931C.thumb.jpeg.16072ed38847988ca39ff0a885dc1c6f.jpeg

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Nice desk!

 

My boss got a motorized stand up desk. He rarely lowers it to sit down. I think it's 60x30. He has three 24inch monitor l/c/r and a smaller monitor on top. He's very active all day (36 yrs old).

 

I sit at my desk, but have a hand crank stand up behind me in my office. It's been covered in junk but I've been getting it cleared off and plan on rearranging my space.

 

I've found that once I sit I tend to get side tracked at my desk. Most work is done at workspace benches in our workroom, where we mostly stand up. At 73, I'm really more comfortable standing.

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On 6/21/2019 at 5:53 AM, rplace said:

So there was an office chair thread a wile back. How about a desk thread?

 

I work (and sit) at a desk all day. I've had back problems since a work injury back in college. Exercises, minding my weight and a good office chair have kept the back surgeon at bay, so far, but a lot worse the last few years. I've been intrigued by standing desks for a while but just never took the time. Luckily some house cleaning and clutter removal forced me to attack my office. I got rid of a desk specifically bought for a different house and picked up a variable height desk. Its a lot smaller but the old, long, L-shaped desk was just a magnet for piles of anything and everything.

 

The first full day of the new desk is at hand. I face my window now versus turning my head 90* to look out. My shoulders and abbs are already starting to let me know "hey what are you doing to us". Better toe tapping and leg wobbling while grooving to the music. So far so good. I'm starting to think at the beginning I won't actually be standing all that long at one time. 15-20 minutes in and my body knows something is different.

 

I'm sure if you were a check out clerk at a grocery store or a barber you would scoff at idea of doing something designed to make you stand all day. Visions of the Seinfeld episode when George got the security guard a chair.

 

Anyone standing on purpose, by choice at work? Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'm sure my desk is killing me and I should go with a standing desk but I have four monitors and a complicated desk. 

 

For your back problems, try really strengthening your core.  Stretch and do leg lifts and crunches every day and try to do this video three times a week ( I used to do five but actually got a bruise on my abs).

 

 

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