The Best Standing Desks of 2023
Our expert reviewers lab tested over 100 of the most popular standing desks and ranked them by performance, value, stability and other key buying criteria.
Standing Desk Ergonomics
It’s incredibly important to get your standing desk ergonomics correct. Millions of workers who were previously sentenced to the chair have adopted a sit-to-stand desk in their office. The good news is they’ve taken the first step. They’ve grasped the initiative, and are probably raving about their standing desk to all their friends and co-workers -as they well should. The bad news is that for many of them the next step they’ll be taking will be to their chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist, acupuncturist, orthopedist, internist or witch doctor when the aches and pains of a bad workstation setup start to set in.
One of the most common issues associated with workstations is lower back pain from sitting with poor posture for prolonged periods. So let’s talk a little about how our spines are mechanically constructed.
The spine is one of the most important parts of the body to keep in a neutral position. It includes 33 different bones that all have to work in unison for any motion anywhere in the body. As you sit in your relaxed position, putting your weight on your ligaments, your spine is curved so your tail bone is beneath you.
When you slouch, your spine flexes as your lower back falls downward and backward into the seat rest. This stretches the posterior ligaments on your spine and compresses the anterior ligaments.
Over time, without proper muscle help and posture, this will weaken these ligaments and push the intervertebral disc backward as it is wedged out of the spine. As the disc pushes backward, it can start pressing on the spinal cord, resulting in a herniated disc or a bulging disc. This causes low back pain and also causes pain to shoot down the legs into the feet as it becomes more severe. By standing, this posterior aspect of the spine and compression of the anterior disk is relieved.
Check out these articles by our staff experts on standing desk ergonomics to make sure your move to working while standing is an optimally healthy one! Don’t forget to check out our roundups of accessories, like balance boards for standing desks.
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Standing desk anthropometry and Ergonomics: Why Should You Care?
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Best Compact Standing Desk Reviews
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The Best Standing Desks Under $400
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The Differences Between Ergonomics and Ergodynamics
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COVID-19’s Dramatic Impact on the Office Fitness Industry, and Standing Desk Suppliers in Particular
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