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According to recent research as outlined by the United Kingdoms Daily Telegraph’s Science Correspondent, Nic Fleming, sitting in an office all day could cause deep vein thrombosis in the same way long hall flights can. Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, normally within the leg. This in itself causes little damage, it is when the clot becomes dislodged and travels towards the heart, lungs or brain that it becomes far more serious and fatally so in some cases. In his article Nic covers the recent findings of Prof. Richard Beasley of New Zealand’s Medical Research Institute. The Prof. has discovered through his research that 34 per cent of 62 patients aged under 65 admitted to a hospital with blood clots spent long periods of time seated as part of their jobs. This compared to 21 per cent who had recently travelled on a long-haul flight. He said some office workers who developed blood clots sat at their screens for 14 hours a day. With so many of us working at a desk in an office it seems that these new findings could affect an awful lot of people. Initially it was thought that those who travelled on long haul flights were most at risk, but now it seems that just sitting for long periods can lead to trouble. This means that not only passengers of planes or office workers chained to their desks are at risk. The pilots of long haul flights could be at risk and could pose a real threat as could long distance drivers like sales reps or delivery people driving vehicles (especially automatics) and people with disabilities who have no choice but to sit. It does open the flood gates to serious health and safety issues throughout many of our lives.
So why does it happen?
For starters it is not hugely common but if you have some underlying health factors you need to be more cautious. Heart disease is hereditary so if it runs in your family be careful. Your lifestyle and diet will also play a massive role in this as well; if you have cholesterol problems, high blood pressure, a diet consisting mainly of fatty or sugary foods and/or you lead a sedentary lifestyle these are all potential indicators that could put you at risk.
So how does it happen and what are the symptoms?
A clot will form in a deep vein normally in the lower leg (it can happen in the arm, although this is far less common). This then prevents the normal blood flow and acts like a plug resulting in swelling of the calf (different from the mild ankle swell common in most long haul flights.) This leads to pain in the calf which increases when standing or walking. These symptoms are not always the signs of DVT, but it is advisable if you suffer from them you seek medical advice. In the majority of cases the clots are small and you won’t even notice them. Don’t worry, in these cases the body is able to break them down leaving no long term affects.
How sitting affects the blood flow
We have to look at why this is more common when we are seated for long periods. The heart is a pump that forces the blood round the body. However it pushes the blood round, it does not suck it back. Surely this would mean that because of gravity it would be mere seconds before all our blood is in our feet! Of course this doesn’t happen and it is because our muscles act like pumps contracting and being used to squeeze the blood back to the heart. So you can see now why we are more at risk when we just sit there for hours on end: the blood goes to the lowest point of our bodies as there is an absence of muscle activity to move it round the body. With this much blood the chance of a clot happening in this area is much higher than any other time.
How do we avoid it?
Apart from changing our lifestyles, eating healthily and exercising regularly there are some other ways to avoid the potential clot. We have to get the leg muscles working at regular intervals so that they can pump the blood back to the heart. This could mean that every 45 minutes or so you should get up and walk around for a few minutes. Make it an aim to get a glass of water then you are achieving two goals: making sure your daily water intake is regular and working the muscles to avoid health complications. (Bet you never thought being healthy could be so easy – Beeble). If for some reason you cannot leave your post and you really are stuck at your desk then you can do some regular basic movement exercises that will help.
Exercises while seated at your desk (Try and do these quick basic exercises every 45 min at least)
There you have it: your quick DVT beating desk exercises all complete in less than 2 minutes! Please note though that this is not a cure, merely a measure to help prevent complications. If you do lead an unhealthy lifestyle then realize you are far more at risk than others so please consider in making a change and take up exercise and eat healthily.
As always if you have any questions or want some advice please leave a comment in the comments section below or go to the contact Beeble section on the left hand menu.
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