Saying I am pain-free isn't completely true. When I am running, I feel great. I don't even think about my hamstring or calf - at all. When I get up in the morning, my legs feel springy and fresh. I feel awesome walking around. When I sit for any more than 30 minutes is when I start to feel the ache. It's not really pain. It's a nagging discomfort in my upper hamstring. The longer I sit, the worse it gets and the pressure starts to creep into my glutes, then down the back of my legs. The only way to relieve the pressure is to sit on a tennis ball or on a really soft surface OR as I have found to be most effective - just not sitting at all.
In mid-May, I designed my own stand-up desk. I love it. I spend about 80% of my day standing now. I feel like my posture is better, my core is stronger, and my legs don't get that heavy swollen feeling at the end of the day like they used to.
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| I should design work spaces for a living! |
I have some people that have voiced concerns that maybe something else is going on. Maybe a pinched nerve or bulging disk but I am not concerned to be honest. Our bodies were not made to sit still for 10 hours a day. I will continue to do things that allow me to live discomfort and pain-free. If that means I have to stand for 8 hours at a desk - bring it on!
So glad to hear you are back in action! I've missed your blog!
ReplyDeleteSo I am curious - I've never had a desk job, but jobs that I've had where I am just standing, vs. moving (like standing at the register at Starbucks vs. waitressing) always cause me so much pain! Do you have to move around at all or are you ok standing in one spot?
Hooray for pain-free running! So happy to read this post. I love your idea of a standing desk. I feel slow too, but we can feel slow together. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat to see a post from you :).
ReplyDeleteYour issues sound very similar to mine. I am able to run pain free, but it's painful for me to sit at my desk for long stretches without getting up and walking around. I've taken to either sitting on a tennis ball or kneeling on my chair...your stand up desk is a great idea. Think I'll have to steal that :)
Good luck in your upcoming races!
I absolutely agree with you -- we are not meant to be sedentary. I have sciatica, and it improved a LOT when I left my office job for my work-from-home job (where I get up and walk around a lot more).
ReplyDeleteIt amuses me how many people insist on "ergonomics" and correct chairs and desks, when there is no such thing - the chair and desk is itself the problem.
I've missed your posts! Glad you are back running and speedwork, you'll catch up in no time.
ReplyDeleteI worked p/t at the fd of WG (puzzle that) and the floor was concrete and my runs would be terrible the next day. I placed the blame on the concrete and that I was mostly standing in one place, not moving around. Hopefully this will take the pressure off that spot for you and get you pain-free! :)
So happy to hear that you are running again!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of sitting haha. I would do ok with a slow walk in front of a computer, but just standing would drive me nuts.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you're feeling better and back to running!
So happy you are feeling so much better and that you are writing again! And I have heard about stand up desks - at first I thought it would drive me nuts but now I totally get it. Whenever I sit for too long I get stiff and achy and just feel awful. I have a friend who works at AARP and they all have stand up desks there now! When we sit for too long in one place we get stuck! Movement heals!
ReplyDeleteLove the standing desk! I've been wanting to try something similar, but haven't really figured out how to configure it. I have found switching to an exercise ball "chair" has at least made sitting much better than it was in a regular desk chair.
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