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I'm glad you love standing for hours so much. I can't imagine what your life would be like if you didn't, given that your job requires it. Unfortunately, standing for hours is harmful.
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]How does the body respond to prolonged standing? Joint compression
Each body part is compressed by all of the sections of the body above it. For example, the head, arms and torso compress the hips, but the feet are compressed by the weight of the entire body. Compressing a joint is like squeezing a sponge -- body fluids are squeezed out of the space in the joint. Without body fluids and circulation, joints become malnourished, and cannot continue to support the weight of the body. Wear and tear of body parts occurs. Insufficient blood return in the legs
Gravity pulls blood down into the feet. One way that blood returns to the heart is through cyclic muscle contractions. When muscles are engaged in one long contraction to keep a person standing, it hinders proper circulation of body fluids. This can result in blood pooling in the legs, which can eventually lead to varicose veins. Postural muscle fatigue
Postural joints and muscles keep the body from falling over while a person is standing or walking. These joints and muscles need nourishment, which they get from circulation. Muscles also need rest breaks to recoup from bouts of work. Standing or walking for a long time, forces muscles and joints to work nonstop without nourishment. Without rest muscles become exhausted, resulting in pain.
What are the health consequences?
Standing is a natural human posture and by itself poses no particular health hazard. In fact, when standing for short periods of time, the body is in one of its most comfortable positions. The lumbar curvature is naturally maintained, the spinal column is properly supported and the body's internal organs are in a relaxed, natural position. However, working in a standing position on a regular basis can cause the following:
Sore feet;
Swelling of the legs;
Varicose veins;
General muscular fatigue;
Low back pain; and
Stiffness in the neck and shoulders.
Keeping the body in an upright position over time requires considerable muscular effort that is particularly unhealthy even while standing motionless. When muscles are constricted, blood flow to the load-bearing muscles is reduced. These are the muscles used to maintain an upright position. This causes muscular strain in the legs, back and neck.
Insufficient blood flow accelerates the onset of fatigue and causes pain and even permanent damage to body tissue. This results in injuries such as varicose veins, arthritis in the knees and hips, plantar fasciitis (inflammation of a tough band of tissue on bottom of the foot), heel spurs, flat feet, high blood pressure and low back pain.
Prolonged and frequent standing, without some relief by walking, causes blood to pool in the legs and feet. When standing occurs over prolonged periods without some relief by walking, it can result in inflammation of the veins. This inflammation may progress to chronic and painful varicose veins. Excessive standing also causes the joints in the spine, hips, knees and feet to become temporarily immobilized or locked. This immobility can later lead to rheumatic diseases related to degenerative damage to the tendons and ligaments.
How are feet specially affected?
The foot has dozens of bones, joints, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, tendons and layers of fascia (connective tissue). When the body tissues are sufficiently stressed, they become swollen and/or inflamed. Chronic inflammation may create scar tissue and changes to bony structures. The bones of the foot form arches that are supported by ligaments and muscles. These arches contribute to the strength, stability, mobility, and resilience of the foot. During standing, walking, running or jumping, the arches serve as shock absorbers, spreading energy before it is transferred higher up the leg.
If arches are lost (for example through conditions of flat feet, overpronation [flattening of the arch and inward tilting of the ankle]), the shock-absorbing quality of the arches disappears. This affects the feet, knees, hips and spine. Losing the arch in the foot also changes the position of the knee and hip, which makes them more vulnerable to injury from working while standing for long period.
If these are of concern, one should probably not pursue a career in being a cashier. There's far worse occupational health hazards at other jobs that society should be concerned with.
In the U.S.? Yup. Since the U.S. likes to torture workers. For jobs that require such endangerment of health to satisfy the whims of American business' desire to torture workers, it is best to have employees that actually enjoy their health endangered unnecessarily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest
If these are of concern, one should probably not pursue a career in being a cashier. There's far worse occupational health hazards at other jobs that society should be concerned with.
In the U.S.? Yup. Since the U.S. likes to torture workers. For jobs that require such endangerment of health to satisfy the whims of American business' desire to torture workers, it is best to have employees that actually enjoy their health endangered unnecessarily.
It isn't only considered torture if they don't agree to it?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Saritaschihuahua
In the U.S.? Yup. Since the U.S. likes to torture workers. For jobs that require such endangerment of health to satisfy the whims of American business' desire to torture workers, it is best to have employees that actually enjoy their health endangered unnecessarily.
Not when the US is compared to some other nations in the world.
Standing in one place for several hours is more uncomfortable than walking for several hours.
I worked as a cashier in a lot of different places, and only the bigger ones cared at all if you got breaks. I worked in one place where I was expected not to need a bathroom break for 8 hours. There were about three days out of the month when that wasn't possible for me, and rather than stain my tan uniform pants, I called in and stayed home. I told my manager and the district manager exactly why I wasn't coming in to work on those days, and that they could give me a key to lock the store for a minute while I went to the ladies room, if they wanted me to come in. Not long after that, they brought in a security team and drug-sniffing dogs, and searched the employees, and told me I wasn't allowed to bring my prescription asthma inhaler to work, and so I quit.
When I was a manager, I always made sure my employees had a stool to sit on, and bathroom access. I'll be honest, I preferred that they get off the stool to wait on customers, because the customers felt like they were being waited on in a more timely fashion that way. But there was always a stool to sit on when you needed to rest.
In the U.S.? Yup. Since the U.S. likes to torture workers. For jobs that require such endangerment of health to satisfy the whims of American business' desire to torture workers, it is best to have employees that actually enjoy their health endangered unnecessarily.
The US offers us the opportunity to do what we want as a career and be as successful as we strive for. I'd hardly call that torture just because some people choose not to utilize their opportunity. People choose their own careers. If someone wants to stand for hours on end, let them. If someone wants to sit in front of a screen for hours let them. If someone wants to travel all around the world and never have a chance to just stand or sit, let them. It's their choice.
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