I wanted to share this in Games because I think it may get to more people, but if an admin doesn’t think it is appropriate and wants to move it feel free…
First, I want to start off by saying I know that people have much worse problems than what I am writing about. I’ve had a pretty easy life and have been fortunate with how things have worked out for me.
In May of 2017 I got my adjustable standing desk. I was so excited to get it because of how bad extended periods of sitting are for people. I do a lot of gaming and anything I could do to make this less harmful seemed like a good idea. I found I actually prefer standing - it was great!
Fast forward to a couple days ago (November 2017). I went into the doctors because I noticed some swelling in my ankle area. I found out I have edema (fluid build up) and the doctor said it was probably due to venous insufficiency. This is when the valves in the veins start to fail and blood has trouble getting pumped back up your leg. People who are on their feet are more prone to get this and as I understand it, it’s not reversible. This has upset me greatly. I essentially damaged my body permanently because I stood up at my desk too much without changing it up. I probably could have prevent it by alternating between standing and sitting, and just making sure I get up and move for a couple minutes every hour. Some of this should have been common sense. I know I should move around. I just didn’t know that not moving around could do this.
There were some warning signs I could have picked up on but didn’t. The skin on my lower legs started to get discolored / a darker brown. The backs of my ankle / calf looks a little leathery. I thought it was just due to getting older and having dry skin. Several weeks ago I noticed my socks left indentations on my legs that didn’t look normal. They didn’t used to do that. This is pitting edema, where if you press on the skin for 5 second or so, the indentation takes a while to go away (minutes) due to the fluid trapped in the tissues.
Maybe this isn’t as bad as it sounds to me and will be easy to manage. I now have to wear compression socks, which are expensive. I’m making sure I alternate standing and sitting, and am moving around more. I just worry that this will have long term effects and increase the risk of heart problems or something. I don’t know, maybe it isn’t as scary as it seems to me.
I wanted to mention this in case others are doing similar things with their standing desk and maybe problems can be prevented.
My gf developed most of the symptoms of VI last year in the midst of coming out of another bizarre health crisis; she quietly suspects blood pressure-related shenanigans from the birth control she was on at the time. In any case, yeah, her life has massively changed: compression socks all the time, sleeping with her feet elevated on a giant pile of pillows. Tossed most of her heels over 2", and anywhere we go requires “sit breaks” regularly. The passenger side dashboard of my car is all scuffed from her shoes, and not for any kind of fun reason :P
The docs are still arguing about whether or not it is technically incurable VI or something similar that might go away, but either way, she gets to live like she has it for the foreseeable future and it sucks. But at the end of the day, you move along and live life.
My sincerely apologies, Rob. I hate that this has happened to you, and sincere thanks for the warning. I think it’s damn near as important as the old chestnut telling people to get up and walk around after sitting long periods of time to avoid DVTs (oh and yay, true VI also makes you way more susceptible to those, especially when doing things like flying).
I have an adjustable standing desk. However, I was always concerned about just standing, so in Boston I had a walking treadmill under it to stay in motion. I also had an inflatable that I would stand on that required moving around. I see people at work just standing at their desks all day on hard/concrete floors. While standing is better than just sitting all day, it still requires some thought about how to do it correctly.
If anyone is looking at doing this, please look at different ways to make sure you are standing correctly. Also, make sure you have a high quality standing mat, something preferably with different textures in it to make your feet and legs move a bit.
I have a standing desk as well but it’s on a treadmill - I can’t stand to uh… just stand there. It starts to get really uncomfortable fast. I have no issues just walking for hours though so that’s what I do.
Thanks for sharing, will be sure to keep an eye out for those symptoms. I can guarantee I would have just tried to iron man my way through without knowing about the danger.
Tatum’s ankle, femur and arm were all broken by the impact.
“Basically my whole right side was broken, and it’s simply because of my ignorance,” Tatum said. “I’m not Superman. I couldn’t put my foot down in time.”
Tatum underwent several surgeries and weeks of physical therapy. It took her over a month to start walking again.
I’ve had edema for years, mostly weight-related. I’ve given up on compression socks because (as you’ll soon find out) wearing them can be torturous- like having tight rubber bands around your ankles and thighs all day long.
I’ve finally settled on just keeping my legs elevated as much as possible.
One thing you want to do, if your doctor hasn’t already suggested it, is see a cardiologist. Edema can be a symptom of much more serious cardiac issues.
Thanks for sharing rob, sorry to hear about your health concerns. As a game coder I’ve had plenty of similar issues.
I would also advise moving back and forth between sitting and standing and using proper mats.
To facilitate this I purchased a Jarvis desk which makes it really easy to move up and down at the push of a button.
I also alternate between two different mats, one of which introduces variability in your foot patterns, pressure points, angles etc.
I would also put a half hour timer on your computer and every time it beeps you would run through a neck, back, glute, quad, calf and foot rolling process using mobility tools. I use a rogue fitness battlestar every day, all day.
Finally, its not sit/stand related but as I can no longer use a normal mouse and have permanently screwed my wrist, I would advise everyone to take a month to retrain to using a vertical mouse - after a fair bit of testing I ended up with an Evoluent VerticalMouse and I can use it all day without wrist, arm or shoulder problems. The retraining process shouldn’t be done when you are trying to do work - it will just frustrate you. Force yourself to retrain during gaming hours instead. Its more fun and more effective.
I’m inclined to think that standing so much didn’t cause this at all, though it might have hastened it a bit. I would look for some solution that keeps your feet moving more often (as posted above) or make a point of doing some rocking / stepping every few minutes. Set a timer to remind yourself until you get in the habit. The muscle movement in your legs should help with the venous return.
If you aren’t getting exercise, take this as a warning sign and get on it before something more serious happens.
@BlairFraser you like the Evoluent? I was rather disappointed in how cheap feeling and light it was, especially given the cost.
I hope it ends up being temporary for your gf Armando. Best wishes and thanks for the kind words.
A treadmill would probably be great - just something to keep the legs moving enough.I have a pretty good mat with some raised edges and a circle in the middle. I guess is wasn’t moving around on it enough. Now I do calf raises on it and walk in place.
Hopefully that treadmill does the trick!
Crikies, that is a good warning arrendek.
Sorry to hear about your edema tgb123. My Dr. didn’t think my case presented itself as heart, kidney or liver related - so he didn’t order any follow up tests.
@BlairFraser, that’s the desk and mat I have and like them both. I’ve never seen a vertical mouse before. I’ll have to investigate that. Just holding my hand in that position seems more comfortable.
That’s possible. I mean, I was sitting a lot before and that’s not good for venous return either. I could have damaged them over the years. I’m definitely being more conscious of moving around now. My Dr. said that tightening the calf muscles also helps, which calf raises should do. I also go into my other room where I have a plyometric box and do step ups on that periodically.
I currently have the first mat linked to by BlairFraser. Do you think a wobble board would be better? On my current one it makes it easy to do calf raises and walk in place, but maybe wobbling would be more beneficual.
Yeah, actually one of the reasons I prefer it is because it is light but its also because the shape is ideal for reducing my aggravation and inflammation. In terms of durability its about par for the course. I’m not going through them any faster than I was going through ‘normal’ mice (I generally use one a year).
When I got a standing desk a couple years ago I went all in immediately. I’m in pretty good shape but I developed lower back pain. Thinking it was due to running too much I went and saw a physical therapist and she said it was from standing “wrong” at my desk. I essentially had to learn how to stand better, which was hard to unlearn such a basic habit over 50+ years.
I learned to do it, and to alternate between sitting and standing. And I take breaks at least every 45 minutes and make excuses to go up an down stairs. But now I have to do physical therapy every morning to settle my back down.
So overall I came out ahead, but I recommend talking to a PT before making the switch to a standing desk.
I just received my sitting to standing desk set-up last week. It looks like i might need to do some additional tweaks though based on what is being said here.
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis @robc04. That sucks.
IMO, the best thing to always remember is “everything in moderation”. Too much of anything is never a good thing. Live in the grey. Don’t min/max your life.
My latest job involves standing 95% of the time on some days. I am overweight, and eventually get a lot of pain in my ankles and knees. Hopefully there are no additional complications. Luckily, I only have to do this about 2-3 times a week.
