[maxxxxx]

It's definitely a real issue. I have been working at a desk since my 20s. Now in my 40s my legs go numb after sitting for a half an hour. The problem goes away when I am on vacation for a few weeks. I bet a lot of health issues would go away if people could spend less time sitting.

[abas]

How is your mattress?

I started having a similar experience this year and also started feeling better while on vacation. When I returned home and it immediately got worse again I realized my mattress was part of the problem (the symptoms were often the worst in the morning, though they persisted all day). It was not a terrible mattress, but over the years had gotten a little saggy in the middle. I bought a new mattress and while, the problem hasn't completely gone away, it has gotten a lot better.

[mgcross]

Same with me. 41 and never had a problem sitting until about a month ago. Left leg goes numb and/or hurts. I do pretty intense strength training at lunch 4 days a week, but it's not enough. I now have to get up and walk more during the day or even alternate between standing at my desk and kneeling.

[maxxxxx]

Same here. Left leg goes numb. Daily exercise of around one hour can't compensate.

[deltaqueue]

Do you have proper posture and a chair suitable for your stature? I'm sure the answer is yes, but a chair with a base too deep or too shallow could easily cause numb legs over an extended period of time.

[maxxxxx]

I have tried different chairs and postures without success. I teach yoga classes a few times a week and I see a lot of people (age 40+) showing similar symptoms: numb legs and arms, lower back pain. I believe an additional problem is that if you sit the whole day the muscles at the front side of your body get too short and the back side too long. So when you finally exercise this imbalance may cause even more problems.

[jongraehl]

You've wrongly simplified. The knees and hips bend in opposite ways when you sit. Sitting will not stretch the hamstrings, which are on the back of your body. It will stretch the quads, which are at the front.

[VMG]

My dream of working (short of brain-machine interface) is a tiny screen mounted in front of my eye (monochrome tty would suffice) and input by hand gestures.

But still, I probably would have to sit down to work because it would be too dangerous to walk around while concentrating on something else. Maybe standing or lying down would be an advantage.