Standing desks can cause varicose pain due to prolonged standing. Therefore, if your job is to stand for a long time then there are chances to bear this pain. But, no need to worry as we have some genuine solutions to your problem.
Do Standing Desks Cause Varicose?
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Long hours of standing can cause varicose and can fill up your life with pain. Those jobs which require standing for long hours and walking more than six hours a day have been suggested for the same.
Individuals whose family history consists of varicose have even greater danger. So to answer your question, yes if you stand for long hours at your desk, it may lead to varicose. So you should take care of it.
The disease varicose is caused due to increased blood pressure in the veins. The pleasure in the blood can increase due to reasons like numerous times when there is poor circulation of blood in the lower limbs and around the ankle.
What Is Varicose Veins?
Varicose veins generally exist in the veins that are near the surface of the skin i.e. those veins that are superficial. The reason the veins are visible in most cases of varicose veins.
They appear red, blue, and frequently purple. The vessel also appears big and dilated. For to fully understand, why does this happen you need to know the biology behind it?
In our body, the blood is the veins or we can say is pushed towards the heart. Due to valves, it is one-way transportation of blood. These valves act as a doorkeeper.
They act against gravity and help avoid drawing blood downwards. By advancing age or due to deficiencies valves can become deteriorated.
Blood can start compiling in the veins. As the blood finds its way back against the naturally flowing systemic nature of the veins.
This results in the enlargement and dilation of our veins. Long periods of either crouching or standings can lead to the concentration of blood in the legs.
Due to this, the burden of our veins is often increased. This stretch in the veins is due to increased pressure. This weakens the walls of the veins.
The damaged walls are unable to hold the blood and push them toward the heart. Hence just staying there and increasing the unnecessary pressure.
Why These Desks Are Bad For Legs?
As already described why standing desks cause varicose. Let us see how they are overall very bad for your legs.
1. Increased Compression
If you stand for a long time on a hard surface for example floor. It compresses parts of the body like legs, spine, and major joints which bear body weight. If you think choosing a soft surface for that purpose under your foot will help.
Then you are wrong because of your overall body weight you will eventually sink into the material. And touch the hard ground and then that problem will still exist.
2. Reduces Circulation
As stated above there is constant compression which leads to the tightening of leg muscles. This leads to obstruction in the blood flow leading to poor circulation.
Poor circulation can lead to the collecting of blood in the veins. This collecting of blood can damage the valves which are present in the veins as the most important elements.
3. Bad Effects On Knees
The knees are a very important part of the lower limb. But long hours of standing can strain important tendons and ligaments are present in your knee joint. These tendons and ligaments play an important role along with the joint. They help in normal functioning. Failure of which can direct to undesirable conditions.
4. Less Energy
When you work on a standing desk, you end up worn out. Let us confess it is very tiring and uncomfortable. And overall there is less energy left with you in your hands to completely focus, us on your work.
Walking Or Standing – Which Is Good For This Pain?
If you have varicose veins your time can be very painful. Crying of constant pain in the lower limb after extended sitting and standing is something frequent.
Walking is a better option anytime in case of varicose veins than standing. A varicose vein patient should regularly go on walks. As we all know walking is an exercise that requires the least effort.
It does not require any high pump-up or rigorous muscle strength. Walking is the most simple exercise. It ensures good circulation in your legs. Good circulation is helping in relieving pressure in your veins.
Relieving pressure makes your vessels and legs muscles relax. It helps dilated veins to constrict a little bit. Helping in improved circulation. And therefore, this helps in making less pain in your legs.
Walking is said to be promising for heart health. It straightens the heart which in turn gives better circulation as a result. A good heart means good circulation. Standing on the other had worsened the situation.
A varicose patient should avoid standing for long hours at all costs. Even a varicose patient knows this very well. How if he or she stands for a substantial amount of time makes their pain increase.
The same thing is seen in the case of sitting for a long time. The reason behind the worsening pain is the same as discussed above. It is increased pressure in the veins due to poor circulation.
Symptoms
Varicose veins may not always cause pain. There may be signs and conditions in some cases when patients down not recognize any pain.
Signs and symptoms you may diagnose to varicose veins are as follows:
- Veins are in dark purple or blue and even sometimes red
- Since the Veins are dilated in the varicose it will appear twisted and bulging. You may often find them as cords on your legs.
When one has painful signs and symptoms. You may find as following:
- There is an achy or hefty sensation in the legs.
- You may have sensations of burning, muscle cramping, and throbbing and there is frequent bulging in your lower legs.
- Pain is increased significantly after doing standing or sitting work.
- There is Itching around one or more of the veins of your leg.
- The colour around the affected area of the varicose vein results in skin colour alterations.
Prevention Methods
Some preventive measures are worth discussing which can help reduce the pain. As always said choose prevention over later cure.
Here are your preventions as follows:
1. Exercise Regularly
The leg muscles in your lower limbs are your massive supporters. Because they are the one who assists the veins carry blood to the heart. You may find this interesting that your muscles are working against gravity.
You can do any leg exercises. It will also help in preventing the manifestation of varicose veins. A patient with varicose should do exercises carefully and gently.
2. Try Losing Weight
There is certainly pressure on your lower body i.e. mainly legs if you have a heavy body or are obese. Losing weight helps in keeping new varicose veins from setting. We all know there are many benefits alone to losing weight other than Which is concerned with varicose veins.
3. Do Not Stand Or Sit For Too Long
In today’s lifestyle office work has increased the tremendous risk of developing varicose veins or even making them worse. You have to avoid this type of condition.
Try to take small breaks between your period of standing or sitting for walking. Remember whether it is just to the common room or back.
This encourages the leg muscles to drag blood to the upper part of your body and heart. It was not able to do with that efficiency is when you’re in a sedentary position.
If you are doing employment that compels you to stand for a long duration. You should try to schedule a similar timetable to it sometimes.
4. Avoid Wearing Tight-Fitting Bottom Clothes
If you wear tight clothes on your legs. It can put extra tension on your legs. This can make varicose veins worse by obstructing circulation. Try to resist these.
5. Elevate Your Feet
There is this practice of separating your legs up. You should do this whenever possible. Place your feet up by leaning them on the wall. Keep a rolled towel on your back. This is important so that your veins can relax and there is good circulation in them.
You may add this exercise to your timetable for 20 minutes daily. This is important if you can not avoid your sedentary lifestyle at your job.
6. Wear Support Pantyhose
This is also one of the good preventative measures which help in keeping helps varicose veins from shaping. Support pantyhose do not place as much pressure as compression stockings. But for some, that is all they require.
7. Use A Compression Hose
Doctors commonly prescribe these and you can acquire the same from a medical shop or you can ask your doctor for the same. Putting pressure on your lower leg and your ankle helps to move blood back in the right direction of your upper body.
FAQ
Does standing at work cause varicose veins?
Continued standing may result in veins working more than required and blood may concentrate in your limb veins, rising stress in those veins, resulting in the valves becoming weak and ineffective directing to varicose vein
Do you get varicose veins from sitting or standing?
Standing or sitting for a long duration of time may obstruct your circulation, set more tension on your legs, and result in varicose veins expanding or worsening.
Are standing desks unhealthy?
Although, standing desks have often been proposed as a healthier option than sitting all day. But a new study published in the publication Ergonomics proclaims otherwise. The 2017 research lays the first stone that extended standing hours results in discomfort and lessens individuals’ reaction times. Therefore, by this, we can conclude that long hours of working at a standing desk can be harmful. And it is not a healthy option to sit.
How often should you stand with a standing desk?
Sitting behind a desk the entire day is not good for your health and the specialists have been instructing people for a long time to stand in their workplaces for nearly 15 minutes per 1 hour. But there is a University in Waterloo lecturer tells his research indicates that humans should be standing until 30 minutes every 1 hour for getting health advantages
Final Talk
The standing desk was thought to be a healthy alternative to the sedentary lifestyle at offices. But is one of the causing factors for a painful and common disease called varicose. This condition occurs due to the impoverished circulation of blood. Which leads to blood dilation. You can prevent varicose or at least make the pain better by adapting to various lifestyle changes.
Exercise is the most common recommendation and very helpful for the same as it improves circulation. Other options include the use of compression stockings and pantyhose. Varicose is a lifestyle disease. It is one of the many lifestyle diseases that are very widespread in today’s society. These can be prevented and in many cases fully eradicated by only focusing on and improving our daily lifestyle.
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