It sounds crazy to think we can get knee pain from sitting at a computer. It’s a common misconception that we aren’t using our leg muscles when we sit. However, that’s not true.
We definitely use our leg muscles when we sit, especially if we don’t have correct foot position at a computer. Incorrect foot position causes us to activate more of our leg muscles. We want to minimize muscle activation in the legs when sitting. The more relaxed our legs are, the less we’ll suffer knee pain from sitting positions.
This article will describe the best desk posture to avoid knee pain. After that, it’ll describe some knee health tips for office workers we can practice (away from our desks).
This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. Bad posture also decreased my mental clarity, energy level, and work productivity.
All the workplace wellness tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
Correct Knee Position While Sitting at a Computer
First, let’s talk about what an ergonomic knee position is. Ergonomics is the study of people’s efficiency in the workplace. To have efficient work productivity, we need workplace comfort and less physical pain caused by a poor sitting position. This is why proper knee angle at a desk is important.
This article will briefly touch on why sitting causes pain. We’re going to focus more on the correct sitting posture for knees. But to better understand why knees hurt from sitting, check out my article titled Why Does Sitting Cause Knee Pain?
Desk posture to avoid knee pain
The proper knee angle when sitting at a desk can vary (due to personal preference). A 90 degree knee angle will work well for most people. This makes it easy to keep your feet flat, with your lower leg perpendicular to the floor. This is how to maintain good foot position at a computer.
In my experience, I’m naturally hamstring dominant. Which means I tend to use my hamstrings more than my quadriceps. This can easily lead to repetitive strain and overuse of my hamstrings when sitting at a desk.
Because of this, I prefer my knee angle in a sitting position to be slightly more than 90 degrees. This means I slide my feet out in front of my body. This does not mean I pull my feet underneath my body. That would be less than a 90 degree angle, which is a painful computer posture mistake that used to cause chronic knee pain for me.
Sitting with my knees slightly more than a 90 degree angle requires a little less hamstring activation. It allows them to relax a little more. I’m still able to keep my feet flat on the floor, which is very important to avoid ankle dysfunction. My lower legs aren’t quite perpendicular to the floor, but that’s okay. Keeping my feet flat is the important thing.
For knees and ankles, joint health is at increased risk when working in a sitting position. That’s why it’s important to maintain the correct knee position while sitting at a computer. Otherwise, poor office posture can quickly cause repetitive strain and overuse injuries of the entire legs.
Knee health tips for office workers
Some of my favorite ways to improve computer ergonomics happen away from my desk. To have an efficient, healthy body, I believe it takes a balance of muscle tension release vs. strengthening exercises. To accomplish this balance, I like to use different recovery tools to increase blood flow and muscle health in my legs.
Quick side note: nothing in this article is paid promotion. I enjoy mentioning products that’ve helped improve my computer desk ergonomics. I’m not compensated by any of these manufacturers. I paid my own money for all of them.
Hypervolt Massage Gun
One of my favorite posture correction devices is the Hypervolt massage gun. It’s made by a company called Hyperice. Sitting at a computer desk for long periods of time causes tension in muscles and other soft tissues. The Hypervolt is a percussion massager that breaks up the tight, overused soft tissues. It’s portable and I can easily take it to work in my backpack. My favorite time to use it is right before bed.
Normatec Compression Sleeves (Full Legs)
The Normatec compression sleeves fill up with air. A small pump-like device is included. The pump plugs into an air hose, which fills the sleeves up with air. I like to use these after a leg workout, or after sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day. It helps to increase blood flow through all the tissues in the legs. Especially the soft tissues around the knee, which tend to get inflamed quicker than a quadricep, hamstring, or calf muscle. These do fit in a backpack, but it would take up the whole thing. I wouldn’t describe these as easily portable, but they are portable. If I was looking for a similar recovery tool that was more easily portable, I would bring my Normatec Go Compression Sleeves.
Normatec Go Compression Sleeves (Calves only)
These sleeves are a lighter version of the full leg sleeves. They still use air compression, but they cover the calves only. They can easily fit in a backpack. They’ve played a big part in expediting my ankle recovery after having 3 surgeries.
Not to mention, they’ve helped decrease my knee pain from sitting. Because the calf muscles are connected (by tendons) to bone in the knee area. When calf muscles are tight, they pull on the tendons in the knee. Those tendons get inflamed easily. The knee pain from sitting is the effect of a computer-related injury. The tight calf may be one of the causes, and the source of the problem. This product helps me release tight calf muscles, which leads to an indirect decrease in knee pain.
These have been brief descriptions of my experience with these products. To read a more detailed version, check out my article titled Top Recovery Tools for Better Posture.
Frequently Asked Questions about Knee Health Tips for Office Workers
- What is the best ergonomic sitting position for legs?
Feet flat on the floor. Knees at either a 90 degree angle, or slightly more. Make sure hamstrings are not tight and overused. This is what caused chronic knee pain for me.
- How high should knees be when sitting at a desk?
They should either be even with your hips, or slightly lower than your hips. Your knees should never be higher than your hips when sitting in an office chair. This can cause overuse in the hip flexors. Which can cause muscle tension and chronic pain in both the torso and the legs.
If your knee height is higher than your hips, raise your chair adjustment. If your office chair doesn’t go high enough, get a new chair. Not all chairs are made to accommodate everyone. For years, I used a chair that was too low for me. Until finally, I realized that my hips being below my knees was a major ergonomic mistake.
- Now that I have proper knee angle at my desk, how else can I prevent knee pain while sitting at a desk?
Switch from a sit to stand position multiple times throughout the day. A height adjustable desk is a good investment that makes this super easy for me. Once I started standing at my computer desk, I could slowly start to feel the muscles and tendons starting to activate around the front of my knee. Because sitting with tight hamstrings for years caused a muscle imbalance between the front of my knee vs. the back of it. The muscles and tendons in the front of my knees were overextended and lengthened. While the tissues in the back of my knees were compressed and shortened. To learn more, check out my article titled How to Prevent Knee Pain When Sitting.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce computer-related injuries by improving your posture. That’s something to be very proud of!
If you liked this article on correct knee position while sitting at a computer, check out my book titled 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.
>>> Click here to download your free copy
This book is a great supplement to the article you just read. It covers healthy ergonomic habits like posture, sleep, hydration, and breathing.
I wrote this book to be the resource I wish I had back in 2002, when I first started sitting at a computer for long periods of time.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen