As a chiropractic and physical therapy office, we get asked this question a lot! In this day and age we have many patients that are now working from home instead of commuting to their office daily. This has led to a big decrease in patients’ daily steps and movement and a large increase in stiffness, pain and increased early onset of arthritis.
For people that are now in this situation, one concept we can immediately improve is incorporating a desk and chair that can change heights. A true standing-only desk is great, but there is another option that is even better.
I recommend for my patients that they use three different levels for their desk. Level one would be a normal seated height. I recommend that my patients use this height for about 30-40 minutes at a time.
The next height would be a “barstool” height. Somewhere between a true sit and actually standing. This position is a nice in-between and I recommend this height for about 15-20 minute at a time.
The final height would be the true standing desk. Ditch the chair and stand for about 30-40 minutes.
The most paramount aspect is making sure that your laptop screen is eye-level with you so you don’t have to look up or down. The three different levels for stances will give your body a break from one single position all day and allow your body to create some movement and not get stagnant in one position for hours on end.