With the rise of remote employees, it is important to understand the inherent risk of a sedentary lifestyle and the need to move throughout the workday to combat unnecessary discomfort, pain, or injury.

Sitting for prolonged periods can lead to poor circulation. Once circulation slows down due to sitting, your blood remains in the feet and legs, ultimately reducing blood flow. Without proper movement or exercise to balance out sedentary periods, many negative side effects can occur, including: 

  • Stress on your spine and other joints, 
  • A decrease of available nutrition to joints, 
  • The build-up of fatty acids in the blood vessels, 
  • Heart disease, 
  • Blood clots, 
  • Elevated blood sugar, 
  • Type II diabetes, and 
  • Obesity. 

Sitting is a part of our culture. This could be sitting for 8+ hours at your desk if you work from home. If you drive into an office, the time you spend sitting in the car only adds to how long you sit throughout the day. While remote work has allowed workers to remove the commute sit, it is also likely that workers may sit on the couch to watch TV to decompress from the work day.  Prolonged sitting specifically can lead to multiple musculoskeletal complaints, such as 

  • Neck pain, 
  • Back pain, 
  • Poor posture, 
  • Low bask intervertebral disk pressure, 
  • Shoulder pain or discomfort, 
  • Weak back muscles, 
  • Tight chest muscles, 
  • And more.  

Elongated periods of sitting must be addressed for global health. Here are four ways to stay healthy and mitigate the effects of sitting. 

  1. Use various sitting positions throughout the day. This helps keep muscles active and improve sitting-related pain and blood sugar levels.
  2. Break up a long sit every 30 minutes to an hour with movement. Stand up, stretch out, and take a quick walk. 
  3. Incorporate 1 hour of exercise into daily routines. Most studies that reported on the health risks of sitting found that many adults who sit for long periods of time do not exercise, so getting more movement in, whether that be walking, running, lifting, etc., is essential for health. 
  4. Swap sitting with standing – ideally with an ergonomically fitted sit-to-stand workstation. This will help increase blood flow and combat the risks associated with sitting.  

 

Solveglobal detects and defuses musculoskeletal disorder (MSK) risk by resolving the cause of MSK issues. Our tech-enabled solution works to identify MSK risk in your employee population so your business and employees can thrive. Contact us today to see how we can help reduce your risk and provide a solution to help keep your remote workers moving and feeling their best.