What Standing for Long Hours Does to Your Body
Muscle fatigue, back pain, and leg swelling. All these conditions can arise from or get aggravated by standing for extended periods. Sure, it’s not healthy to sit in one place for long hours, but neither is standing.
In fact, in some cases, the effects of prolonged standing can actually be worse! Retail assistants, waitresses, and cabin crew are at a greater risk of developing conditions that arise from standing for long hours.
Why Does This Happen?
Well, we have manmade surfaces and changing lifestyles to thank for this. Tile, wood, and concrete flooring generally place excessive pressure on the feet as well as the body. In other words, there is more stress on your feet when standing on manmade surfaces.
This added stress can not only cause cramps and pain in the legs, but also affect shins, calves, knees, thighs, hips, and the lower back. In the long term, you may be at risk of health conditions such as arthritis, chronic back pain, and high blood pressure to list a few.
According to a study on 26 adults that simulated work conditions, muscle fatigue was high following five hours of standing with a lunch break of half hour and regular five-minute breaks. That said the fatigue subdued following 30 minutes of rest after work.
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Existing Health Conditions Impact
In some cases, prevalent health conditions such as coronary heart disease and varicose veins can worsen with prolonged standing. In addition, women who have contracted arthritis or varicose veins during pregnancy, or have suffered from lower limb injury are also at greater risk.
If you have a flatfoot posture, standing for long hours can lead to various foot as well as body conditions. This is because a person with a flatfoot is already experiencing more stress on the bottom of their feet, and standing for long hours is only going to make the pain worse.
Here are three ways to help you reduce the long-term risks of prolonged standing:
- Stretch - exercise your calf, hip and hamstring muscles between breaks to relieve muscles. You can find videos on stretching routines that you can do at work on YouTube.
- Sit - use short breaks and lunch break to relax your lower body by sitting. While at work, alternate between standing and sitting in order to alleviate the stress on your feet.
- Switch - ideally you should avoid standing in the same position for longer periods. Instead, walk around, stand in different positions, and move around your weight to lessen the stress.
In addition to these tips, you can use foot insoles to support your feet in the correct position. Foot insoles from MASS4D® can help improve foot posture and reduce stress on your feet by restoring the arch and providing adequate cushioning at the same time.
MASS4D® insoles are designed for help in pain management and increase comfort level when you are engaging in work that requires you to stand for many hours.
Copyright 2018 MASS4D® All rights reserved.
Foot Pain Relief, Injury Prevention, Better Posture and Sports Performance in One Insole buy now
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