I swear never had these problems when I was younger. I could sit in the same chair all day, only getting up to use the bathroom, and never had any pain! But over the past few years, I've developed some chronic issues that are the result of being at my computer and not taking breaks.
I started getting what I thought was hip pain, turned out it was probably sciatica. (Didn't go to the doctor so I'm not sure.)
Switched my chair to an exercise ball (thank you, Stacey!). It didn't take away the pain (sorry, Stace!)
Got a standing desk. Thing worked wonders. Pain is completely gone. As in I can't even remember what it used to feel like.
My feet and calves started getting swollen every day by the end of the day. I thought it was my period. Or too much salt. Could be both, but I think the real culprit is OLD AGE. Dammit!
This is how I work now: at my standing desk, sporting COMPRESSION SOCKS. I've only ever seen my friends' parents wearing these, and now they're on me. Sigh. They truly do help, and you can get them here if you want to. Chris Pan talked about it at church one day and I ordered them right away. But I don't necessarily want to encourage that level of crazed consumerism. What I really want to share with you is....
An even better discovery that my friend told me about that doesn't cost a thing! At the end of the day, lie down on floor with your butt up against a wall, feet in the air. So you're in the shape of an L. Stay there for 20 minutes right before bedtime. She said it
Helps you sleep better
Aids in physical recovery
Alleviates edema (swollenness) by sending the blood from your feet back to your heart, improving circulation.
The first time I tried it, I couldn't last the 20 minutes even though I thought I could since I'm pretty flexible. But it was just too painful. I lasted about 15. I went to bed and lied there a few minutes thinking "I am not falling asleep very quickly....that thing must not work."
BUT, the next morning when I got up and checked my sleep tracker, I got a full 3.5 hours of REM sleep with ZERO awake periods! That has never happened to me before. So I figured it must work. I've been doing it the past week and my feet/calves feel great, especially after days where I went for a run, or stood/sat for a long time. My sleep has been consistently good, too!
Actually now I don't even wear the compression socks during the day--because putting my legs up against the wall at night does the trick and better. All the blood and fluids flow out of my feet so they feel normal, recovered, 100%. In the morning, too, I can tell the difference immediately when I step out of bed. I don't know what to call this little exercise, but it's really doing the trick.
The kids will do it with me, but they only last for a minute.
At the end of the day, lie down on floor with your butt up against a wall, feet in the air. So you're in the shape of an L. Stay there for 20 minutes right before bedtime.