What’s the Healthiest Working Posture?

It’s a legitimate question.

We’ve all heard the saying, “sitting is the new smoking”. And we’ve seen the people in high tech move to thousand dollar standing desks.

But the truth is, just replacing sitting with standing isn’t going to help you much.

Why?

Because it’s not sitting, but static posture, that is the new smoking.

Remember this guiding principle:

Maintaining any static posture increases your risk of injury at work.

You may have the most amazing setup, the fanciest office chair, the best brand name standing desk and still be in pain.

Why?

Maintaining any posture for prolonged periods of time is bad for you. If formerly the guideline was to get up and move around every two hours, today experts in the field are recommending moving around much more frequently.

When I come in to work with a new client, one of the first things I do is a risk assessment. I evaluate everything they are doing and assign them a risk profile – their odds of getting injured if they continue to work in the way they are accustomed.

Maintaining any static posture increases your risk of injury at work.

Staying in any one position for two or more hours without moving around OR sitting for six hours on a cumulative daily basis automatically bumps you to a higher risk level. The number of hours you can safely stand on a cumulative daily basis is even lower.

Standing desks aren’t for everybody.

Ask yourself if your work can be split into tasks that are suited to sitting and other tasks that are appropriate to do standing up. A risk assessment that includes an examination of your health history and habits can help you decide if working some of the time while standing up would be good for you.  Only if it’s appropriate for you should a well designed  and easily adjusted sit-stand workstation be considered.

The best working position?

The best position is the next one.

No matter what you’re doing, you need to change.  Get yourself some reminder software, and mix it up. Take frequent breaks. It’s the single best habit you can develop.

Need advice on developing better working habits or selecting the right equipment? Feel free to be in touch!