From Research to Rehab: The Science Behind Your Recovery
- Folarin Babatunde PT PhD
- Nov 18, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 2, 2025
Exploring physiotherapy research made simple — evidence that empowers recovery and enhances care.
At Cogent Physical Rehabilitation Center, we believe that great care is grounded in great science. From Research to Rehab brings you concise, easy-to-read summaries of the latest studies, clinical insights, and innovations shaping modern physiotherapy. Whether you’re a patient seeking to understand the “why” behind your treatment or a clinician staying current with emerging evidence, this section translates research into practical knowledge that informs, inspires, and improves outcomes.
Cogent Rehab Blog
Folarin Babatunde PhD MScSEM, MScPT, BScPT
November 18, 2025
Introduction
This study helps answer a big question we hear in the clinic all the time: “Is it enough to just sit less and stand more?”
Short answer: no. The real benefit for your heart and circulation comes from moving more, not just replacing sitting with long periods of standing. In fact, this large-scale study shows that both extended sitting and prolonged standing carry risks for your cardiovascular and circulatory health. What matters most is breaking up stillness with regular, light activity. In this post, we explain what the research actually found, how it connects with Movement Guidelines, and why this shapes the way we approach rehabilitation at Cogent Rehab Burlington.
What The Study Looked At
Researchers used data from over 80,000 adults in the UK who wore a wrist-worn activity monitor for 7 days. The device could tell how many hours per day people spent:
Sitting
Standing
Moving (walking/running and other non-stationary activity)
They then followed people for almost 7 years, tracking who developed:
Major cardiovascular disease (CVD) – heart attacks, stroke, or heart failure.
Orthostatic circulatory problems – issues like low blood pressure on standing, varicose veins, poor vein function, and venous ulcers.
This device-based measurement is far more precise than self-reporting sitting time, similar to the accelerometers used in consumer wearables. The researchers also carefully adjusted for age, smoking, weight, medications, and how much people walked or ran.
Key Findings on Sedentary Behaviour and Heart Health
Too much total “still time” is risky
“Stationary time” means time spent either sitting or standing still (no real movement).
When people spent more than 12 hours per day in a stationary posture (sitting + standing still), their risk of heart disease increased steadily.
Less than 12 hours of stationary time was linked with lower risk.
Sitting a lot is clearly linked to heart disease
Once people sat for more than about 10 hours per day, every extra hour of sitting was linked with higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and heart failure, even after accounting for walking time.
Sitting less than 10 hours per day was associated with lower cardiovascular risk.
Standing is *not* a magic fix
Standing more than about 2 hours per day was linked with a higher risk of circulatory problems in the legs (e.g., blood pooling, venous insufficiency, varicose veins, venous ulcers).
And importantly, standing did *not* reduce heart disease risk. People who stood more did not have lower rates of heart attack or stroke.
The real issue is lack of movement
Both sitting and standing still involve little or no muscle pumping in the legs, which can lead to blood pooling and stress on the vascular system. The study strongly suggests that what really matters is breaking up stillness with movement – not simply trading sitting for standing. Incorporating short walks, stretching, or light exercises throughout the day helps to interrupt prolonged periods of inactivity and provides a lot of heart health benefits.
👉 WHO physical activity guidelines: move more, sit less
“This means simply switching to a standing desk doesn't protect your heart.”
Why This Matters for Improving Heart Health
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is common and can sideline your daily life. The good news: a massive 2024 systematic review and network meta-analysis of 217 randomized trials (15,684 people) compared major exercise types head-to-head (directly and indirectly) across short (up to 4 weeks), mid (up to 12 weeks), and long term (up to 24 weeks). It applied rigorous methods (RoB 2, GRADE) and found exercise is safe and effective, with aerobic exercise consistently showing the highest probability of being the best treatment for knee OA.
What Does This Mean For Your Rehab at Cogent Rehab?
For your recovery and long-term heart health, the takeaway is:
“Move more, sit less – but don’t just stand still.”
Here’s how the findings from this study connect to your physiotherapy treatment plan at Cogent Rehab:
Your rehab emphasizes meaningful, frequent movement, not just gym workouts
Our Therapeutic Exercise & Functional Movement Training programs integrate:
Short movement breaks
Circulation-boosting exercises
Activity pacing
Low-load mobility routines
“Movement snacks” to break up sitting
This matches both the research evidence and Canadian guidelines.
We help you build a healthy and balanced Sit-Stand-Move cycle
If you have back pain, arthritis, dizziness, or joint issues, you may already feel that “too much sitting” and “too much standing” both make you worse. Instead of simply telling you to sit less or stand more, we help you create a sustainable cycle that supports your spine, joints, and cardiovascular system.
For individuals managing dizziness, blood pressure changes, or orthostatic intolerance, our Concussion Management & Vestibular Rehabilitation integrates graded activity and autonomic retraining — consistent with both the study findings and 24-hour guidelines.
Your care plan includes cardiovascular support, not just pain relief
Whether you’re recovering from surgery, managing arthritis, or dealing with a neurological condition, your program isn’t just about the painful body part. We incorporate movement strategies that protect your heart, circulation, and day-to-day functional resilience. We use graded walking programs, step-count goals, and low-impact exercise to support your heart, blood vessels, and circulation while we work on strength, mobility, and function.
Learn more about our Senior Wellness Care Physiotherapy program.
We tailor advice if you stand a lot for work
If your job involves long periods of standing (retail, healthcare, manufacturing), this study highlights the need for:
Calf pump exercises
Active ankle mobility
Micro-break walking
Compression as needed
Alternation of postures
These strategies are built into personalized care at Cogent Rehab.
Sit–stand desks need movement built in
If your workstation is part of the issue, our Ergonomic & Posture Assessment helps optimize:
Desk setup
Sit/stand ratios
Break frequency
Micro-movement strategies
If you use or are considering a sit–stand desk, it’s important to know:
Switching from 8 hours sitting to 8 hours standing is not the goal. We help you design practical routines at your workstation—short walking breaks, desk exercises, and regular posture changes—to support both spine health and cardiovascular health. Workplace interventions that encourage movement support good heart health. Research shows that office workers who reduce their sitting time by adding periods of standing and light activity had improvements in blood sugar levels and other health markers.
Bottom Line for You As a Patient
This study reinforces a core principle of modern physiotherapy:
Your body – and your heart – recover best when you’re supported to move more, not just “rest better.”
At Cogent Rehab, we use this kind of research to improve heart health for people with sedentary behaviour:
Design evidence-based, active rehab programs
Help you safely reduce long periods of sitting
Avoid simply swapping sitting for prolonged standing, which may create new circulation issues
Integrate movement into your real life – at home, at work, and in your community
So when we nudge you to get up, walk a bit, or add a few simple exercises into your day, we’re not just thinking about your joints or muscles. We’re also helping to protect your heart and blood vessels – moving you one step closer from pain and stiffness to long-term health and independence.
Source
Ahmadi MN, Coenen P, Straker L, Stamatakis E. Device-measured stationary behaviour and cardiovascular and orthostatic circulatory disease incidence. Int J Epidemiol. 2024;53:dyae136.
Ready to build smarter movement into your recovery?
Book an evidence-based physiotherapy session today:
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