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Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt
- cjhanks 8y agoA somewhat odd article, but I like it.
- CryoLogic 8y agoA somewhat odd article, butt I like it as well. Hemorrhoids suck.
- ukulele 8y ago> Staying in a seated position for too long allows gravity to pull more blood down into the pelvis I could concede that more blood might end up in the pelvis, but surely this is not the reason?
- coldtea 8y agoWhy "surely"?
- ukulele 8y agoBecause the torso is upright either way, and gravity doesn't care if you're sitting or standing
- coldtea 8y agoGravity does the pulling, and sure the blocking is caused by the lack of movement and the sitting position that obstructs the free flow of blood. I guess we could say it's not the gravity itself, and it would be correct, but also like saying it's not the bullet that kills you, it's the hole.
- javagram 8y agoGravity pulls blood down, your circulatory system works to more evenly distribute the blood but is impaired when sitting. The same phenomenon is observed when sitting on an airplane for a long time resulting in slightly enlarged feet due to blood distribution.
- ukulele 8y agoSo then wouldn't the mechanism be that less blood is able to flow upward due to pressure on the skin?
- VygmraMGVl 8y agoBlood flows in veins due to contractions of surrounding muscle. When you're sitting, your lower body is largely relaxed, which causes blood to pool in your lower body. It's a serious (acute) issue in people who are bedridden for long periods of time. I suppose the article is suggesting there's a downside to chronic, low grade exposure as well.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- derptacos 8y agoSquats!
- pen2l 8y agoI have been doing weighted squats for about 6 months now and oh my god I am so happy with how big my butt is. I cannot wait for it to become even bigger by next year as I continue doing squats.
- psynapse 8y agoThrow a few heavy deadlifts in there. You'll develop some hard glutes.
- pen2l 8y agoI do hex deadlifts, I like how they develop my upper back and neck. I have a computer nerd neck... I’ve been thinking how to solve that. I think I should do front squats rather than the standard.
- psynapse 8y agoWhat do you mean by computer nerd neck? I do shrugs, which hits the traps, but I find my neck is a bit thicker too. Front squats isolate the quads more - I prefer to do back squats, then isolate smaller groups with quad extensions and hamstring curls; the latter being good for the glutes too.
- pen2l 8y agoI mean that I have really bad neck posture: http://bellefleurphysio.com/wp-content/uploads/Forward-Head-Posture.png http://bellefleurphysio.com/wp-content/uploads/Forward-Head-... And I’m trying to find exercises that work in fixing this
- andrewingram 8y ago
- mamon 8y ago>> Humans evolved to stand upright and outrun their predators Forgive my ignorance, but are there any predators that we actually can outrun? Pretty much every four-legged mammal is faster, except maybe elephants.
- krackers 8y agoI thought it wasn't in speed that humans excel but rather endurance. That is, we wouldn't be able to escape a lion chasing us but we can hunt down deer/etc. until they collapse from exhaustion. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting
- rm_-rf_slash 8y agoBingo. Over a short distance a tiger or cheetah would maul a human, but over a longer distance a prey species like a gazelle would tire out and eventually a human would be able to catch up with it.
- Groxx 8y agoSo since we evolved to chase our prey rather than run from hunters, maybe we should program by putting our computer on a gazelle, and we have to catch it in order to write code for the [time period]? It'd certainly lead to more thinking before writing, maybe the tradeoff would be worth it.
- saagarjha 8y agoIf you’re fine with waiting a couple days for the gazelle to tire out before you can catch up to it, sure. And that’s if you know the signs to follow where the gazelle is.
- mamon 8y agoFrom the linked Wikipedia entry it seems that it usually takes 2 to 5 hours, and 25 to 35 km chase. Not sure why you say "couple days". And hunters usually know the signs to follow to track a gazelle, so that's also non-issue.
- AlphaWeaver 8y agoThis article seemed only to list bad things, which seemed to be just about everything you could conceive of doing, without listing any solutions...
- rexpop 8y agoThat's fine. When problem solving, it's important to lay out the situation clearly before delving into solutions that may only mitigate part of the problem.
- fox404 8y agoWhen attempting to be your average, typical useless human being, it's important to make a list of complaints and post them on the internet without providing any meaningful solution to them. Better yet, end your complaint with some kind of half baked reasoning about why society owes you, or your social class, more money. Thankfully, if you read the article, it's literally a series of solutions - unlike what the parent comment you're faithfully responding to claims.
- rainbowmverse 8y agoAt least someone is.
- myth_drannon 8y agoTo summarize the article - work kills!
- plg 8y agotalk to any nurse, surgeon, janitor, etc, and they will tell you that working on your feet all day is horrible for your health working on your butt all day is also horrible for your health it’s as if ... some middle-ground moderation-like situation might be optimal ... my god who would have guessed
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- saagarjha 8y agoI know almost nothing about medicine, but my guess is that the issue is that staying in one place all day is the issue, not whether you’re sitting or standing.
- rzzzt 8y agoTreadmill desks should be the solution, then.
- S_A_P 8y agohttps://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20860422/standing-all-day-is-twice-as-bad-as-sitting-for-your-heart/ https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20860422/stand... A quick google brings this up. It seems to me that being alive is the leading cause of death.
- syntaxing 8y agoI recently bought a Mi band 3 and a convertible stand up desk at work. There is an idle feature where it alerts you when you do not have enough steps with the hour. It has done wonders for me in terms of changing my sitting habits.
- imgabe 8y agoMinor quibble, but halogen-lit offices? Who is sitting under halogen lamps all day? Most office lights are LED these days or maybe fluorescent if they're older.
- Moru 8y agoLeds can flicker even worse than flourescent. Test it with your mobile camera, shove it up to the lights real close and see if it starts showing banding all over the screen. The calmest light you get is halogen or a normal lightbulb of the burning rust type.
- mastax 8y agoThe solution is to have DC powered lighting circuits so you don't have terrible $0.50 AC/DC power supplies in every bulb. It'd be nice to have DC circuits for electronics, too, but that's probably a lost cause.
- jacobolus 8y agoI’m hoping that USB Type C connectors become ubiquitous and people start installing USB C outlets in addition to AC in many wall sockets. Many small appliances can switch to DC and get rid of their transformers. AC will still be needed for e.g. vacuum cleaners, washing machines, refrigerators, loudspeakers, blenders, toasters, hair dryers, etc.
- Tharkun 8y agoYou can see many (cheaper) leds flicker out of the corner of your eye. Especially led strips. This drives me nuts around xmas, when streets are decorated with cheap, flickering leds.
- emersonrsantos 8y agoRelated XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1329/ https://xkcd.com/1329/
- ddebernardy 8y agoWhat about if you're using a standing desk?
- emersonrsantos 8y agoWell, standing cause varicose veins - because a close relative just needed surgery because of standing too long - and she doesn't have the healthiest relationship with her butt, so what gives? Are standing desks really healthy or not?
- adanto6840 8y agoI had a cervical discectomy at an unusually young age, was largely attributed to poor sitting/posture. My neurosurgeon for the procedure was fantastic, but he basically said "humans aren't made to be in any position for prolonged periods of time". His recommendation was a sit/stand desk and to occasionally but consistently be changing things up -- re-positioning, standing/moving, using an exercise ball occasionally, etc..
- finaliteration 8y agoMy understanding is that the ideal “setup” is being able to alternate standing and sitting throughout the day. For example, I have an adjustable desk and I tend to stand first thing in the morning, sit around lunchtime, and then go back to standing later in the afternoon. I also find that shifting positions can help when I’m stuck on a problem or feeling anxious.
- jarjoura 8y agoGo swimming! I do, and it takes some gravity off your body for a bit. <3
- shrimp_emoji 8y ago<3
- darkerside 8y agoPeople seem to have a harder time recognizing satire these days
- makecheck 8y agoI prefer to take frequent walks, which also helps to clear my head and forces me to do other exercises like climbing stairs. A “standing desk” just seems like a really complex solution that doesn’t even address any part of the problem except the sitting. Also, standing desks are really weird in a cubicle situation where suddenly your neighbor is towering over the wall for an hour, peering into your space.
- greglindahl 8y agoCubes come in more than one height, are you talking about the short ones? Also, does having a standing desk stop you from talking frequent walks? Have you seen someone who advocates standing desks recommend not having any other mitigation?
- EpicEng 8y ago>Cubes come in more than one height, are you talking about the short ones? I've never seen cubicle walls higher than ~5'. Most people (and we're talking software devs here, so men) are a fair bit taller than 5'.
- greglindahl 8y agoI've had a couple of offices where the cube farm required me to stand on my toes to see over the top, and I'm 5'9".
- brianzelip 8y agoI can second the awkward towering co-worker.
- ghaff 8y agoI work mostly at home and I mostly just get up and down a lot. A lot of what I do is writing and I find that writing a few paragraphs and then getting up and thinking about where I might want to take things next is a pretty effective workflow for me. Other times, I do focus for a longer period of time. I have a multi-monitor setup in my office but these days, I mostly work on a laptop that I'll take to different rooms around the house.
- superasn 8y agoI think a solution for this is alternating between standing and sitting desk with the recommended time interval being 20 min sitting, 8 min standing and 2 min just generally moving around. Instead of buying a transitioning desk I just hooked 3 monitors to my desktop where 2 are sitting and 1 (lg 2560px) is standing and created a small delphi app that switches the monitor for me every 30 mins. So far it has done some good for my back but i feel that doing this sort of circus destroys my focus. Still health is over everything so I'm sticking with it.
- crooked-v 8y agoI just have a standing desk with an extra high drafter-style chair, and everything carefully adjusted so that the keyboard and monitor work for both sitting and standing.
- frankzinger 8y agoI wanted to do this recently but I couldn't find a chair tall enough. I need the seat to be at around 95cm (37.4") otherwise my elbows are too low. The tallest chair I could find was 90cm (35.4").
- frankzinger 8y agoWhy not switch every 60m? That'd be much better for concentration. How did you decide that 30m was optimal?
- superasn 8y agoIt's a very common formula recommended by a lot of physiotherapists. It's just a recommendation because the time I started it, I had a rather severe backache. I'm sure 60m is fine too if your back allows it. It depends on every individual i guess.
- DrBazza 8y agoStanding desks aren't yet (2016) proven to do anything: https://www.cochrane.org/news/health-effects-sit-stand-desks-and-interventions-aimed-reduce-sitting-work-are-still-unproven https://www.cochrane.org/news/health-effects-sit-stand-desks...
- natalyarostova 8y agoAnecdotal proof often precedes formal proof. If the cost is low and there exists potential expected benefit it can still be rational to do it.
- greenhatman 8y agoSadly, it's generally quite expensive.
- crooked-v 8y agoIt doesn't have to be noticeably more expensive than a normal desk arrangement. Just get a static standing-height desk (longer legs, no special motorized stuff), and a drafter's chair with a seat adjustable to barstool height.
- specialist 8y agoStanding burns more calories. Between 20 and 50/hr depending. A coworker added a treadmill under his desk. He claimed he burned 100/hr. FWIW, I fidget, a lot, and have found that a barstool works best for me. Stand, lean, sit, prop (a foot), dance, whatever. Very flexible.
- nilkn 8y agoInstead of trying to create a fancy standing/sitting desk workflow, I've personally tried to just take more breaks throughout the day. Unless the weather's terrible, even a brief five minute walk does wonders. It's also a great way to get some alone time and mull over what you're working on without distraction. Just as when I was a student studying mathematics and doing a bit of research, I've found that with programming sometimes a greater clarity of thought is achieved when you have nothing but your mind -- no pencil, no paper, no computer, nothing to write on, nothing to doodle on. It forces you to consider only ideas that you can fully manage in your head.
- Moru 8y agoI think most jobs benefits from this, not just office work. A short time away from work, quick walk does wonders for your mental health. Some people smoke because that gives them the excuse to get outside for a few minutes now and then :-)
- dvfjsdhgfv 8y agoThat's very true, but when you think about it, it's kind of strange that you need an excuse in the form of a cigarette in order to refresh your mind. People somehow seem to think that a cigarette break is OK since the person is "doing something" but if the same person just takes a walk it might be perceived as slacking.
- shawn 8y agoToilet paper might also be causing hemorrhoids. Consider that our bodies were not evolved to use toilet paper, and that hemorrhoids are virtually unheard of in third-world countries that lack TP. (I haven't confirmed that latter claim. It's just something I read once, somewhere.) Anyone who's been sick and had to go to the loo multiple times in a row will notice how painful it becomes. I'm not sure it would be painful if washing was used rather than rubbing. My comment here is full of assumptions and wildly unsupported by evidence. But I thought it might be best to post it so that it can swiftly be disproven or shown to have a grain of truth. The topic is gross, but it's a serious issue that you don't think much about until suddenly you have to.
- allthenews 8y agoI've read that the culprit is not toilet paper, but the face that we sit when we shit, while we ostensibly evolved to squat. So the bowels don't straighten out as they should, and the excessive pushing leads to pressure which gradually causes blood vessels to bulge over time. Also, baby wipes work for adults too.
- fastbeef 8y agoDon’t flush baby wipes, or anything except fences or toilet paper. They clog drains and interfere with the sewage treatment process.
- TheAdamist 8y agoIt's a jobs program for plumbers!
- strongbond 8y agoI'm guessing that fences might also be a slight problem for the sewer system.
- mmanfrin 8y agoJust make sure you include a gate.
- 3pt14159 8y ago> If you’re the sweaty biker type, cycling to work[...] "By cramming that hard bike seat into your perineum [you may make hemorrhoids worse and impact urine flow.]" Though I can't stand the writing style, sitting while cycling is a real problem, especially if you're male. I bike year round here in Toronto, about 200 kms a week for most of the year, and I didn't know. It took almost a year for the ED to go away once I committed to standing while cycling 100% of the time. I was only in my late twenties when it happened and I figured it was something only old men get. I'm super happy I happened to come across a paper that talked about it. The side benefit is that it made my arms huge and I've got real abs now.
- KozmoNau7 8y agoIf you get numbness or ED from cycling, you need a better saddle! Don't just "suck it up", you need to find a saddle that puts your weight on your ischial tuberosities or "sit bones", not your soft squishy perineum. Soft wide saddles are actually worse for this. You need a relatively narrow saddle, with a deep cutout in the middle. And you need to have it adjusted right, so you end up sitting correctly. And if course you should slightly vary your position over the course of a ride. A good bike shop will be able to find you the perfect saddle and fit.
- 3pt14159 8y agoI kinda like biking standing up now though. I have a single speed with an insane gear ratio so I'm constantly flying and standing makes that easier. I feel like the road runner sometimes. Beep beep.
- KozmoNau7 8y agoYou found an alternate solution, which also works :-) But if you ever feel the need to sit down again, taking the time to find the perfect saddle is well worth it.
- markatkinson 8y agoI'm 31 and my lower back has started hurting and giving me issues, especially while sleeping. I always assumed this would only happen much later and technology would have advanced enough by then that I could have gotten a robotic lower back. But here we are. This is even with doing a stairwell run every hour and standing up quite often, and sitting at what some article stated was the best angle, 135 degrees or something. I also do Pilates... So even with all of this sitting for 14 hours a day has caused back issues for me. Sorry to deviate from the toilet topic. Luckily that is one department where I seem to be healthy :)
- EpicEng 8y ago>sitting for 14 hours a day Are you really sitting for 14 hours / day? That's insane, you need to move around more. You say you take breaks and do pilates, so maybe 14 is an exaggeration? If not you should try to be more active once you're home.
- sjg007 8y agoYou might need a new or different mattress. I would try sleeping on the floor for a bit.
- jmpman 8y agoI had a similar issue. After encouragement from my wife, I visited a chiropractor. A few adjustments later, and my back pain is dramatically reduced. My chiropractor isn’t pushing holistic medicine or other garbage, or I would be running from the experience. There are many charlatans out there looking to fleece the desperate, so be careful.
- geerlingguy 8y agoThere are plenty of good chiropractors out there, especially (I find) ones who do more sports-related work. I still regular MDs about any long term issues, but especially for something sudden or a small injury like falling funny or wrenching a back muscle, a chiropractor can help take off the edge and train muscles for better posture. But stay away from the ones who think they can treat medical issues with spinal adjustments or weird arts.
- anu7df 8y agoOr may be just change the way we sit? https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/08/13/636025077/to-fix-that-pain-in-your-back-you-might-have-to-change-the-way-you-sit https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/08/13/6360250...
- quadrangle 8y agoThis really worked for me: (A) a cheap, DIY standing desk arrangement (B) a cheap "stability cushion" to stand on so I'm neither standing totally still nor doing some repetitive exercise-machine (C) squatty-potty (off-brand, DIY options are fine, lilypad or nature's platform style for better real-deal)
- siruncledrew 8y agoConcerning point (C): I've found pooping with your feet on your tippy toes like a ballerina also does the trick (while still sitting down of course) to achieve the elevation of your legs to be in more of a squat position when pooping. If you ever go to China and have to squat to poop, that's also a good catalyst to finding the right squat position to best suit you.
- quadrangle 8y agoAlthough that's certainly better than nothing, it's really not the full deal at all. Even the squatty-potty which is way beyond just tip-toes is only about half-squatting. I've compared and the full squat is the real deal. People who want to do it (even in prep for a China trip) better work on simply spending time squatting in general. Apparently, westerners with sit-toilets actually lose the flexibility to do a relaxed, flat-footed squat at all.
- 01100011 8y agoNever had a serious issue with hemorrhoids until I got a Nintendo DS. Once I started camping out on the toilet, I developed internal and external 'roids.