Sitting for long periods of time, such as during long car rides and airplane trips, has been known to trigger problems with blood clots. A new study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (2008;101:237–43) provides new evidence that prolonged sitting at work is no exception.
The maximum number of hours sitting at work during a 24-hour period and the maximum number of hours sitting at work without getting up, were both linked to an increased risk for the development of blood clots in the legs…a condition known as VTE (venous thromboembolism). For every additional hour seated, the risk increased by 10%, and for every additional hour seated at work without getting up, the risk increased by 20%.
The study’s co-author, Professor Richard Beasley at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand concluded that, “measures to reduce both of these factors may be important from an occupational health perspective.”
Here are their recommendations:
• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water and avoid over-consumption of alcohol and caffeine.
• Wear loose clothing that does not restrict the waist or legs.
• Flex and extend the ankles regularly while sitting to encourage blood in the veins of the lower legs to continue flowing.
• Stand up and move around at least once every hour, and try to restrict total sitting to less than eight hours per day.
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2 comments:
what about lying down? Some of us lie down for several hours each night before going to bed. Does inactivity in the legs lead to blood clots while we sleep and are at rest as well?
Inactivity is a great way to court the complete stillness of death. You can learn the lessons of those who have had heart surgery; these days the patient is encouraged to start walking as soon as possible after the operation - and as long as they KEEP walking for 5 to 10 km a day they have a great chance of being more healthy than their children!
Otherwise - they've made the choice to court death.
Having recovered from many snake bites in my time, I can assure you that it's far better for the pulmonary system to remain vertical than horizontal - ie if you sit up there's less chance your lungs will fill with suffocating fluid. The same is true for pneumonia and many diseases with fever symptoms.
Pulmonary stress means added cardiovascular stress.
Generally, IF you get enough exercise THEN it's fine to lie down for a while!
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http://hermetic.blog.com
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