Does standing desk help sciatica? This is the most common question between the people having this condition.
When it comes to finding relief for your pain, there are many different treatments you can try.
One of the most common is using a standing desk or a desk that allows you to stand while working. Some people even find this helpful for weight loss as they have to be more active at the gym, so their body automatically gives them better cardiovascular exercises.
Some studies show that doing some form of exercise every day may help reduce symptoms of sciatic nerve related back pain.
Because the muscles around the pelvis work together, exercising your legs and your hips helps relax the muscles in the lower back.
Sitting with no proper hip flexion can cause compression of the sciatic nerves. By adding some degree of movement to your leg, muscle activity decreases the pressure on the nerves.
This can make sitting more comfortable for patients, but only if the health benefits outweigh the risk of developing other conditions like blood clots due to poor circulation.
If you’re already suffering from these complications, then staying off feet as much as possible makes sense.
In this article, I’ll discuss does standing desk help sciatica and provide some tips to avoid sciatica while at standing desk.
So, let’s dive in!
What are the Symptoms?
When you have pain in your legs, especially your lower back or feet, it is called lumbar radiculopathy. This can be caused by damage to small nerves that enter into the spine at the lumbar level.
These nerves branch off of larger nerves that come from the brain through the spinal cord. If one of these smaller nerves is damaged, then less messages are being sent up to the brain about muscle activity.
This results in a lack of strength for the muscles involved. Sometimes only part of a sciatica nerve is injured, which also contributes to the loss of function.
Sciatica symptoms usually begin with discomfort in the leg (usually just feeling “weaker”) and slowly get worse as you move around. At this stage, people may feel some numbness or tingling along the affected area.
If the condition gets much more severe, there may be problems walking properly due to foot drop. Also, if the pain becomes very bad, you might need help getting out of bed or use of a wheelchair.
What makes someone with sciatica lean towards having an exercise program is their ability to walk easily. However, if they find sitting too difficult, working out with a standing desk is another way to do fitness while still avoiding prolonged sitting.
Staying active is the best way to manage any kind of chronic pain.
Must Read: Best Standing Desk for Dual Monitors
Does Standing Desk Help Sciatica?
There is limited evidence to support the use of standing desks as a treatment for sciatica.
Some people with sciatica may find that standing desks help to alleviate their symptoms, while others may find that standing desks exacerbate their pain.
There are a few ways in which standing desks may potentially help with sciatica:
- Improving posture: Standing desks can help to improve posture by encouraging users to stand up straight and align their body in a neutral position. This can help to reduce strain on the lower back and alleviate pressure on the sciatic nerve.
- Reducing sedentary behavior: Sitting for long periods of time can contribute to the development of sciatica by putting additional strain on the lower back and sciatic nerve. Standing desks can help to reduce sedentary behavior by encouraging people to stand up and move around more frequently.
- Encouraging movement: Standing desks can also encourage users to move around more, which can help to improve circulation and reduce muscle tension in the lower back.
However, it is important to note that standing desks may not be suitable for everyone with sciatica.
Some people may find that standing for long periods of time can actually worsen their symptoms, particularly if they have underlying conditions such as varicose veins or foot problems.
Is it a Serious Condition?
While not deadly, sciatic pain can be excruciatingly uncomfortable to bear. It typically starts in your back or hip and then radiates down into your leg, foot, and/or toes.
Some people describe it as feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck. Others say it feels like someone poured liquid gel all over your body and pressed down hard.
There are several factors causing pain including herniated disc, piriformis muscle inflammation, and compressed nerves due to arthritis.
One of the most common reasons to sciatic pain is is tight pelvic floor muscles. This is particularly true for women as they approach menopause.
When these muscles get too tight, they pull on the pelvis which can aggravate existing health conditions such as osteoarthritis and trigger more bone loss.
Can You Treat it Yourself?
While not every individual with sciatic pain will feel comfortable trying to do something themselves, there are some simple self-help treatments that can be tried first.
Taping your leg or foot is one of these things. By taping up the muscles that are causing the symptoms, they can stop working properly and be healed naturally.
By lying down and rolling back your hip, you can prevent your feet from bending forward as much at the knee which may reduce pressure on the nerves. This also helps keep your legs parallel so that your body does not have to work as hard to balance.
You can also try using heat applications (warm towels applied on the area) or cold applications (cold packs wrapped around the affected part). Both of these can help ease inflammation and pain in the area.
Can You Prevent it?
If your symptoms of sciatic pain are happening suddenly, make sure your home remedies work before looking into expensive or invasive treatments.
Sciatic nerve pain can be frustrating to treat, but there are some things you can do to help manage it. Fortunately, most cases of chronic sciatic pain have no clear cause.
This makes treating these types of pains much more difficult. Because there’s no single factor that causes sciatic pain, trying physical therapy from physical therapists is common.
One thing many people try in order to reduce pressure on the affected nerves is to stand up shorter with feet closer together. A good way to test this is to see how well you can walk with shoes that feel tighter fitting.
By standing less tall, your pelvis will drop which can also help stress the effected muscles and nerves. This article will discuss whether or not using a computer desk while sitting at a normal height is effective for reducing sciatic pain.
What is the Best Desk?
While some people say that computer tables are better than regular desks, this is not true when it comes to helping with your sciatic pain!
Studies show that all types of standing desks can be just as helpful in reducing symptoms for patients with chronic low back pain or hip pain due to overactive muscles surrounding the spine.
By having an adjustable height desk you get the same pain relief for your muscle groups! This article will tell you more about why this is important and how to do it properly.
Mostly done at home, using a standing desk is a easy way to reduce stress on your body and feel more relaxed. It also helps keep your weight balanced, which reduces pressure on certain bones and joints.
What Positions Should I Try?
While most experts agree that getting up and down from a sitting position can cause back pain, some studies suggest standing at your desk may be even more damaging due to how much heavier you are.
This is because when you sit down, your body counteracts by pushing off of the floor with your feet, but it does not have this safety net while working at a computer or table.
So instead of lying down supported weight, you are bearing all of your own on your legs! And since you are typically taller than you are shorter, you bear proportionally more weight on your legs.
This can lead to stress on your muscles and bones in your lower limbs, which can hurt or damage them. If you notice any changes to your muscle strength or shape, it is important to take breaks and/or use lighter weights until you feel better.
But make sure that what ever position you try your posture, it shouldn’t be a poor posture.
Another reason to consider switching between a seated and standup workstation is cost. Many companies offer special seating arrangements for their employees so they do not have to invest in an additional seat pad every time they want to get up and go.
Can I Lift my Desk?
A lot of people ask if they can lift their computer or standing workstation table up to help with sciatic pain. The short answer is yes, you can!
There are some studies that show that it may provide some relief for certain individuals, but only for limited time periods. For most patients, moving your working environment around does not have lasting benefits.
So why would investing in a good standing setup hurt yourself? Unfortunately, there isn’t much research about whether using a more adjustable height desk helps ease leg pain and back pain.
But what we do know is that keeping your feet warm and trained will reduce foot and ankle pain. So make sure to keep your feet warm during the day and spend time ensuring your feet are well-trained. This means walking every hour or so, doing exercises like calf raises, and wearing shoes that fit properly.
What About my Laptop?
While it is true that standing desks can help reduce lower back pain, neck pain, and knee pain not everyone enjoys them. If you are uncomfortable with having to stand all day every day, then trying a sit-and-work style computer or tablet position may be better for you.
The best way to determine if a vertical desk position helps your sciatica is by doing some simple exercises before sitting at your workstation.
Practicing these positions before working will rule out any potential benefits of using a vertical work surface. These exercises should feel comfortable to you, so do not worry about looking weird!
Gently moving each pose for one minute is enough practice and you do not have to go beyond this length. Once you feel more relaxed in the position, increase the time slightly until you get into longer practices.
Conclusion
While there are some studies that claim standing up every few hours can help ease pain, none of them show that it is an effective long term solution for sciatic pain. If you feel your symptoms are due to inflammation caused by tight muscles in your back, then the best way to manage this is through physiotherapy from physical therapist or other exercises.
For most people, sitting down is the easiest position to start with when working at a computer. It may be uncomfortable at first, but part of the discomfort comes from trying new things. We learn more about our body as we use it, so by using these tips, maybe one day you’ll find yourself feeling comfortable spending time sitting at work.
In this article, I’ve discussed does standing desk help sciatica along with various helpful tips on avoiding sciatica pain while at standing desk.
So, what do you think about the prevention of sciatica by using a standing desk? Let us know in the comments