Standing desks do more harm than good, claim experts

STANDING desks increase lower body pain and slow down people’s cognitive functions at work, research suggests.

Experts have warned that despite the “feverish” trend towards adopting the adjustable desks, there is little solid evidence to support their use, as well as concerns they may do more harm than good.

The desks, which can cost from £200 to three to four times that sum, are becoming more common as awareness improves regarding sedentary living – most office workers spend more than 80 per cent of their time sitting – and they are also popular with people suffering from back pain.

But the new study, published in the journal Ergonomics, has linked prolonged use of standing desks with lower limb discomfort and deteriorating mental reactiveness.

Researchers at Curtin University in Australia observed 20 people working at standing desks for two hours. They found discomfort “significantly” increased for the lower back and lower limbs, which correlates with previous research suggesting standing desks are responsible for swelling of the veins.

Mental reactiveness also slowed down after roughly an hour and a quarter. However, “creative” decision making was shown to marginally improve.

Prof Alan Taylor, a physiotherapy expert at Nottingham University, said: “The bottom line is that this expansion has been driven more by commercial reasons than scientific evidence. But the evidence is catching up and it’s showing there are some drawbacks.”