There is a difference between being on your feet and being on your feet for hours.
Maybe you work on your feet.
Maybe you're attending a conference, walking through a convention center, sightseeing, shopping, working an event, or simply having one of those days when sitting down doesn't seem to make it onto the schedule.
At first, you may feel fine.
Then your feet start talking.
Your calves feel different.
Your hips get tired.
Your lower back starts asking for your attention.
Maybe your shoulders even seem to join the conversation.
By the end of the day, you aren't necessarily injured.
Your body has simply been managing a lot.
Standing Still Isn't Doing Nothing
We tend to think of standing as the absence of activity.
You're not running.
You're not lifting weights.
You're not exercising.
You're just standing.
Except your body isn't just standing.
It is continually managing your relationship with gravity and the ground beneath you.
It's stabilizing—which places a different kind of demand on the smaller muscles working continuously to help maintain your position.
Research on prolonged standing has associated it with increased discomfort and fatigue, particularly in the lower back and lower extremities. That makes sense when you consider that remaining upright requires your body to continuously manage your position—even when you don't appear to be moving very much.
Standing still isn't necessarily the same demand as walking.
When you're walking, your weight is continually transferring.
One foot meets the ground.
Then the other.
Your joints move.
Your muscles alternate their participation.
Your entire body organizes itself around getting you from one place to another.
When you're standing in one place for an extended period, there may be much less variation.
That's why an hour spent walking through the city may feel very different from an hour spent standing in one spot.
Duration matters. But so does what you're asking your body to do during that time.
Your Feet May Be Where You Notice the Day
After a long day, your feet may be the first place you feel it.
That doesn't mean your feet experienced the day alone.
Every step involves relationships throughout the body.
Your feet meet the ground while your ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, trunk and upper body continually respond.
If something about that relationship changes, your body responds to that too.
Maybe your feet hurt, so your stride becomes shorter.
Maybe one hip feels tired, so you spend a little more time on the other leg.
You shift your hips to one side, changing how your body distributes the demand.
Maybe your lower back feels uncomfortable, so you shift your weight when you're standing.
Maybe you're carrying a bag over one shoulder while doing all of it.
None of those observations automatically tell us that something is wrong.
They tell us something much simpler:
Your body is adapting.
Fatigue Can Change How You Move
Think about the way you walk when you first leave home compared with the way you walk after hours on your feet.
You may not move exactly the same way.
When you're fresh, you probably don't think very much about each step.
Later, you might.
You may start leaning.
Shifting.
Standing on one leg when you stop.
Looking for somewhere to sit.
Taking your shoes off the moment you get the opportunity.
Those changes don't necessarily mean your body has failed.
They may simply reflect the fact that your body has been responding to a demand for a long time.
And this is where compensation becomes interesting.
A position that works perfectly well for a few minutes may feel very different after several hours.
A small adjustment repeated hundreds or thousands of times may become much more noticeable than it was at the beginning of the day.
That's why I pay attention not only to where someone feels something, but also to what their body has been doing.
Sometimes the Loudest Area Isn't Managing the Day Alone
Let's say your lower back is what you notice after standing all day.
It would be easy to make the entire conversation about your lower back.
But what else happened?
What were your feet doing?
Were your knees locked?
Were you shifting into one hip?
What was happening to your core muscles?
What shoes were you wearing?
Were you carrying something?
Were you standing primarily in one place or walking?
Did you sit at all?
Or did you sit too long?
Had you already spent several hours traveling before the day began?
Your lower back may absolutely deserve attention.
But it exists within a body that experienced the entire day.
This is one reason I don't automatically isolate the area making the most noise.
The body is managing the experience as a system.
Your Normal Routine Matters Too
Someone who routinely spends eight hours on their feet may experience a long day differently from someone who usually works at a desk.
That's worth remembering when your body suddenly feels different after travel, a conference, a festival, a long workday, or an afternoon exploring Chicago.
The activity may not be inherently unusual.
It may simply be unusual for you.
Your body adapts to what you repeatedly ask it to do.
Change the demand and you may become aware of things you don't ordinarily notice.
This is also why a new sensation after an unusually active day doesn't automatically tell us precisely what caused it.
The long day may have created a new demand.
It may have made an existing pattern more noticeable.
Or several things may be happening at once.
Observation gives us information.
It doesn't require us to immediately turn that information into a premature diagnosis.
Give Your Body Something Different
If you've been standing for a long time, sometimes the most useful thing you can offer your body is simply something different.
Walk.
Sit.
Change positions.
Set the bag down.
Take a break.
Move in a way that feels comfortable.
Give your body opportunities to vary what it has been doing.
That doesn't mean there is one perfect posture you need to maintain all day.
In fact, trying to hold yourself in a supposedly perfect position for hours would simply give your body another position to maintain.
The goal isn't perfection.
It's variation.
Pay Attention Before Your Body Has to Yell
You don't have to wait until you're miserable to acknowledge that you've asked a lot of your body.
Notice when your feet begin to feel tired.
Notice when you start shifting your weight.
Notice when your back begins to arch.
Notice when you're suddenly looking for somewhere to sit.
Notice when your stride changes.
Notice when one side seems to be doing more than the other.
These aren't reasons to become afraid of movement.
They're opportunities to become more aware of yourself while you're moving.
Your body doesn't have to be in crisis before it deserves care.
Sometimes it's simply saying:
That was more than you usually ask of me.
And that's worth listening to.
Continue Exploring
If you noticed some of your own habits while reading this, continue with 7 Signs You May Be Compensating Without Realizing It.
You may also want to read How Your Body Compensates Long Before It Hurts for a deeper look at how the body adapts before discomfort necessarily gets your attention.
If you're traveling to Chicago for a conference or event, read Coming to Chicago for a Conference? Your Body May Need a Different Kind of Travel Plan to think about recovery before your trip begins.
Resources & Further Reading
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Prolonged Standing at Work
NIOSH's review discusses prolonged workplace standing, physical fatigue and discomfort, as well as the value of introducing movement and position changes during prolonged standing.
Coenen et al., Gait & Posture
Associations of Prolonged Standing With Musculoskeletal Symptoms: A Systematic Review of Laboratory Studies
A systematic review examining the relationship between prolonged standing and musculoskeletal symptoms, particularly those involving the lower back and lower extremities.
Coenen et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine
Associations of Occupational Standing With Musculoskeletal Symptoms: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis
A broader review of occupational standing and reported musculoskeletal symptoms across workplace populations.
The Meticulous Method™ Series
- How Your Body Compensates Long Before It Hurts
- Why I Don’t Only Work Where It Hurts
- Why Pain Is Rarely Random
- Why You Don't Have to Hurt to Heal
- What Happens During a Meticulous Massage®?
- When Pain Seems to Come Out of Nowhere
Author
Nedra R. Crosby, LMT
Founder of Meticulous Massage® and Creator of The Meticulous Method™
Professional Disclaimer
This article is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition, nor is it a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional.
Massage therapists do not diagnose medical conditions. Every person and every body responds differently, and individual results vary.
If you are experiencing severe, persistent, worsening, unexplained, or medically concerning symptoms, seek evaluation from an appropriate licensed healthcare professional.