Getting Your Steps in When You Have a Desk Job

I never knew how much a desk job would affect me so much physically. I know it has to be due to my venous reflux disease. If you are trying to get more steps since working at a desk, like me, I have got some tips for you.

I can run a 12-minute mile. I go jogging about three times a week. I think that is pretty good for a middle-aged woman! As a sufferer of venous reflux disease, it’s more than just getting in my workout. It is about being able to move frequently throughout the day.

I have always wanted an office job, so I was excited to take a job that came with my very own desk.. I soon became concerned that working at a desk was going to be a challenge for me. It was not my lack of experience but my invisible disease that caused me to worry. Sitting and standing for hours at a time was going to be a problem. When you have damaged valves in your veins, being stationary for long periods of time becomes an issue. My vascular surgeon recommends that every 30 minutes, I should move around. This aids my circulation. This desk job was going to challenge that recommendation.

It is very important to break up long periods of standing or sitting. Venous reflux disease makes you very uncomfortable. There is no cure. With more surgeries in the future, the best thing I can do for myself is to protect my veins as much as possible. There are two things I make sure I do every day. The first is to is wear compression socks. The second is to move.

Here Are 10 Ways I Got My Blood Flowing While Working a Desk Job:

1. Before you clock in, take a lap around the parking lot.
2. When making copies at the copier do the grapevine, march in place, or practice the newest reel trend.
3. Rotate your ankles when reading through emails.
4. Before you sit for lunch take a brisk, five-minute walk.
5. When on the phone do toe raises.
6. When tasked to sort and collate papers, do so by spreading the papers out in such a way that you will be that you will need to take a couple of steps between each pile. Hand-deliver packages instead of calling your co-workers to pick them up.
7. When needing to refill your water bottle, go to the farthest water fountain.
8. Incorporate a quick walk before you get in your car to drive home.
9. When you get up to the restroom take the long way around.

These 10 suggestions are simple and easy. They help keep my blood flowing while working at my desk and relieve the painful symptoms of venous reflux disease.