Prolonged and frequent standing, without some relief by walking, causes blood to pool in the legs and feet. This pooling may progress over time to chronic and painful varicose veins and inflammation. Excessive standing also causes the joints in the spine, hips, knees, and feet to become temporarily immobilized.
They found that standing can alter the distribution of blood in your extremities, causing blood to pool and reducing your circulating blood volume in your body. They concluded that standing for extended periods has a direct association with 'atherosclerotic progression,' or the development of heart disease.
Risks begin to manifest for those who stand more than four hours per day. What constitutes “too much” standing can also change based on the circumstances. For instance, it is recommended that pregnant women avoid standing for prolonged periods of time.
Experts suggest to move around and change positions throughout the day. It is best not to sit in one position for more than 20 minutes, or to stand in one position for more than 8 minutes.
Elevate your feet for 15-20 minutes. Soak your feet in warm water with epsom salts, or a warm, wet towel, and wrap it around your feet and legs. Massage your feet, or have someone massage your feet for you.
Stand with your head up, shoulders straight, chest forward, weight balanced evenly on both feet, and your hips tucked in. Avoid standing in the same position for a long time. If possible, adjust the height of the work table to a comfortable level. When standing, try to elevate one foot by resting it on a stool or box.
Stand with flat feet shoulder-width apart, and then raise yourself by lifting the heels off the ground with your calf muscles as you perform a calf stretch. Ankle pumps are another way to keep your feet active and alleviate foot pain from ankle and toe joints and Achilles tendon.
Your body has to work hard to move blood and fluids up your legs and back to your heart when you're standing all day, as it must work against gravity. This can create problems with circulation, resulting in swelling and in the feet and legs, as well as varicose veins and other vein problems.
Experts say with a little common sense, proper alignment and muscle toning, you can train your body to cope with being on your feet all day—without pain. It's not uncommon to feel pain, strain and muscle weakness when you're on your feet all day.
Circulation in your lower body has to work extra hard to return blood to your heart if you're standing all day, which can cause swelling and aching.
Multiple studies have shown people typically burn more calories standing than sitting. One study showed that adults who weigh 143 pounds burn 0.15 more calories a minute when standing versus sitting. If you stand for six hours per day instead of sitting, you burn around 54 additional calories.
Standing requires more effort and energy than sitting, which means that it burns more calories. However, the research shows that standing at work instead of sitting will not help you lose weight because the difference in calories burned is minimal.
Effects of Standing
Prolonged standing is defined as over 8 hours of standing per day without a lot of movement and walking around. Jobs that require standing all day are commonly associated with lower back pain, issues with leg muscles and tendons, and chronic venous insufficiency.
Orthostatic intolerance occurs in humans because standing upright is a fundamental stressor, so requires rapid and effective circulatory and neurologic compensations to maintain blood pressure, cerebral blood flow, and consciousness.
If you keep contracting and relaxing your calf muscles, keep curling your toes, and vey slightly swaying your body by shifting your weight, you can stand for several hours. If you don't do that blood will accumulate in your lower limbs which means less will get to your brain, and the result may well be fainting.
When you stand for a length of time, your pelvis is often pushed backward, increasing the curve of your lower back (lumbar region). This puts increased pressure on the soft tissues surrounding the spine, causing your lower back muscles to tighten or even spasm, resulting in pain in the joints and nerves of your spine.
The Pros. Besides less sitting time, standing at work has other benefits: More calories burned: One study showed that standing sheds 88 calories an hour, compared to 80 calories for sitting. Walking burns a lot more -- 210 calories an hour.
There are a few good reasons why we should consider standing more often, among them lower blood sugar levels, lower risk of heart disease and less stress and fatigue than those who sit for eight hours or more each day. “Standing has a significantly larger impact on our longevity than sitting.