Do Standing Desks Help with Sciatica?

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica differs from other forms of back pain. Instead, the two biggest nerves in the human body, known as the sciatic nerves, are where sciatica pain starts.

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The nerves travel from the buttocks to the soles of the feet via the lower lumbar spine.
Sciatic pain will radiate along the area if a root of the sciatic nerves, or even one of the nerve fibers, get inflamed or pinched.

The pain brought on by sciatica might be mild, tingly, or even searing.

Sitting and Sciatica

Sitting can make sciatica worse, but why and how is that? Sitting will put pressure and tension on the sciatic nerves and the surrounding muscle.

This can cause excessive strain and inflammation which leads to worsened pain. When we sit, we can increase the tension on the spinal discs by as much as 40 percent! 

This can also cause a person to sit awkwardly because of the pain.

Sciatica makes it hard to find a comfortable sitting position and then the awkward sitting can lead to even more aches and pains.

Since a lot of us sit for hours every day, we develop sciatica and standing desks may be the solution we have all been looking for. 

Also, when we sit we tend to have bad posture at least part of the time. Cross legs or non-ergonomic sitting positions can lead to sciatica. So can have things in the back pockets or sit too far or too close to your desk. 

Standing for Sciatica Relief

Since sitting puts tension and pressure on the sciatic nerves which leads to more pain, standing can relieve that pain.

When we stand, especially when we stand with good posture, we can take the stressors off of the lower back and buttocks. This can reduce the pain felt with sciatica.

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However, standing too much also comes with its problems. This is why it is best to change between sitting and standing regularly.

This is the best way to relieve sciatica. A flare-up of sciatica may mean that you should alternate as much as every 15 minutes between sitting and standing.

It is also best not to switch from constant sitting to too much standing immediately. Instead, gradually work your way up to standing half as much or an equal amount that you are sitting. 

Movement for Sciatica

In addition, standing desks make movement more likely. When we sit, we may shift around, but our mobility is extremely limited.

A standing desk allows a user to walk short distances throughout the day. In addition, it makes it easier to move around and do simple exercises. 

Walking 10 to 15 minutes a day can strengthen muscles and improve flexibility. This can help with sciatica because weak core muscles contribute to the pain.

In addition, as we walk our mobility and strength in the muscles around the sciatic nerves will be increased. 

Our hips have a large range of motion that is not used while we sit at a desk all day. This is also impacted by the fact that many people sit all day at work just to go home and sit while eating and watching television.

This amount of sitting will compress the ligaments and muscles around the hips, back, and buttocks. 

When we stand and move around, the flexibility and strength of the hip muscles will also increase. This will improve mobility and take pressure and tension off of the sciatic nerves. 

A lot of people are afraid that moving around will also increase their pain. However, this is far from the truth because the movement will help to relieve the pain as long as it is a low-impact activity. 

Final Thoughts on Standing Desks and Sciatica

Sciatica can flare up when we sit for hours at a time, especially when that amount of sitting is common for 5 days or more every week.

Instead, we should try to stand and move more. A standing desk can offer the opportunity to stand and relieve the tension in the sciatic nerves.

In addition, it also allows us to move around regularly throughout the workday. This can all help to reduce pain from sciatica.