I just read an article in the New York Daily News that cited a recent, rather small but provocative study that claims standing desks may lead to back pain.

Wait a minute.

Last I checked, sitting was the new smoking and standing desks were going to save us all from a myriad of health issues.

If you are confused, it would be completely understandable.

The last line in the summary of the report in the journal Ergonomics said:

Prolonged standing should be undertaken with caution.

Yikes!

From time to time I get questions from my students about office setup:

• What’s the perfect chair?
• The right type of desk?
• Should I be sitting or standing?

My advice is two-fold:

1) move

2) make whatever adjustment you need to in your environment to make #1 happen as much as possible.

Let the above be your guiding principles and you may come up with some very creative answers to your questions about office setup.

Any position you find yourself in is going to put certain stresses on the body.

Simply moving and changing positions will change the stresses on your body.

Too often you have one sitting position and one standing position. You sort of lock-in and that’s sitting or standing.

Your body is designed to move. It likes variety. So, switch it up.

This is one reason when asked about desks I always suggest easily adjustable height desks. Not fixed height standing desks.

If the desk is easy to adjust, you’ll be more likely to actually change the desk during the course of the day. And by easy, I mean push-a-button easy.

Also, a good adjustable height desk can be used at a variety of heights which will allow you to stand as well as facilitate more variety in your sitting.

And that might mean you need to invest in a couple of different things to sit on, which also adds more variety to your day.

Your body and your Posture will thank you for it.

Image by robinsonk26 from Pixabay