Long-term complications of standing

The long-term complications of standing are the conditions that may arise after prolonged time in a standing or upright position including standing, walking or running. Many of the complications come from prolonged standing (more the 60% of a work day) that is repeated several times a week. There are many different jobs that require prolonged standing. These included: "retail staff, Baristas, bartenders, assembly line workers, security staff, engineers, catering staff, library assistants, hair stylists and laboratory technicians."

Cornell university has calculated that "Standing requires ~20% more energy than sitting"

There are no exact measures of how prevalent the complications are. However, European studies report that between one third and one half of all workers spend at least four hours per Working time (for an average workday of eight hours) standing or walking. One estimate from the United Kingdom stated that over 11 million people stand for long periods of time without rest.

Proper posture is often referred to as a "neutral spine"; slouching is an improper posture or a "nonneutral spine"

Slouching is often times described as improper posture, movement or rigidity of the spine, especially the cervical and thoracic regions, in relation to other parts of the body.

Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and twisted, especially within the legs,ankles and feet of an affected individual.

When standing, gravity pulls the blood downwards to the lower part of the body. Body mechanisms, such as vasoconstriction and valves of the veins, assist in pumping blood upwards. As blood is pumped through the body, the valves within the veins prevent the blood from flowing backwards. After extensive, prolonged standing, these valves can become weaken and eventually fail. When this happens, blood is no longer being prevented from flowing backward. Gravity will pull the blood back into an individuals legs, ankles and feet. This forces the veins to expand or "balloon" to accommodate this extra blood.

The valves of the veins work best in concert with accompanying muscle contractions that force the blood to continue moving up the leg. Standing with some muscles constantly strained weakens these muscle and therefore the strength of the contractions. Varicose veins have also been associated with chronic heart and circulatory disorders and hypertension as well as complications related to pregnancy.

Prolonged standing increases the risk for hospitalization from varicose veins. Among the working age population one out of five hospitalizations from varicose veins are as a result of prolonged standing. Prolonged standing leads to impeded blood flow and stasis in the veins in the lower limbs, which can cause varicose veins.

...
Wikipedia