A detailed description of the short-term musculoskeletal and cognitive effects of prolonged standing for office computer work

Abstract

Due to concerns about excessive sedentary exposure for office workers, alternate work positions such as standing are being trialled. However, prolonged standing may have health and productivity impacts, which this study assessed. Twenty adult participants undertook two hours of laboratory-based standing computer work to investigate changes in discomfort and cognitive function, along with muscle fatigue, movement, lower limb swelling and mental state. Over time, discomfort increased in all body areas (total body IRR [95% confidence interval]: 1.47[1.36-1.59]). Sustained attention reaction time (β = 18.25[8.00-28.51]) deteriorated, while creative problem solving improved (β = 0.89[0.29-1.49]). There was no change in erector spinae, rectus femoris, biceps femoris or tibialis anterior muscle fatigue; low back angle changed towards less lordosis, pelvis movement increased, lower limb swelling increased and mental state decreased. Body discomfort was positively correlated with mental state. The observed changes suggest replacing office work sitting with standing should be done with caution. Practitioner Summary: Standing is being used to replace sitting by office workers; however, there are health risks associated with prolonged standing. In a laboratory study involving 2 h prolonged standing discomfort increased (all body areas), reaction time and mental state deteriorated while creative problem-solving improved. Prolonged standing should be undertaken with caution.

Controversies in the Science of Sedentary Behaviour and Health: Insights, Perspectives and Future Directions from the 2018 Queensland Sedentary Behaviour Think Tank

“…Experimental studies, mostly in smaller samples (n = 10–20) of healthy or overweight/obese adults, have examined the acute (typically 1 day) effects of increased standing on health outcomes. Inconsistent findings were observed regarding cardio-metabolic outcomes [57,58,59,60], blood pressure [61,62], musculoskeletal outcomes [63,64,65], fatigue [65], mood [59] and cognitive function [59,65,66,67,68]. However, energy expenditure was shown to be increased in the afternoon standing experimental conditions, by 174 kcal over a 210-minute period.…”

Evaluating Short-Term Musculoskeletal Pain Changes in Desk-Based Workers Receiving a Workplace Sitting-Reduction Intervention

“…However, reviews of the evidence regarding the impact of sitting-reduction interventions on musculoskeletal health [ 14 , 15 ] have indicated that the evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions, with mostly low-quality evidence [ 14 , 15 ] and with inconsistencies between interventions and areas of the body [ 16 ]. While concerns have been raised over potential harms of reducing sitting by replacing it with prolonged standing [ 30 ], importantly, the evidence outlined in the reviews indicates the types of interventions that have been conducted (typically involving the use of sit–stand workstations and encouraging regular posture changes) show more evidence of improving than worsening musculoskeletal health [ 13 , 15 , 16 ]. While somewhat inconsistent with the review findings, the lack of any sizeable average improvements over three months in musculoskeletal pain in Stand Up Lendlease was not unexpected given the lack of any large or significant average improvements in workplace sitting or prolonged sitting.…”

Breaking up prolonged sitting with moderate-intensity walking improves attention and executive function in Qatari females

“…Specifically, sit-to-stand desks and active workstations in the workplace have elicited trivial changes in productivity [12]. Furthermore, whilst prolonged standing at work (2-h) improved creative problem solving, it was associated with discomfort and decreased reaction time [13]. Therefore, breaking up prolonged sitting with frequent simple palatable walking breaks may be a more practically viable intervention to enhance cognitive processes [4] and facilitate improvements in cardiometabolic health [14].…”