Under Desk Footrest Benefits: Do You Actually Need One?

The main benefit of an under desk footrest is simple: it gives your feet stable support when your chair has to be high enough for the desk but your feet no longer rest flat on the floor. OSHA’s computer workstation guidance says that if the seat can’t be lowered without putting the keyboard or monitor too high, you should use a footrest to support your feet. If your feet already sit flat and relaxed on the floor, you probably don’t need one.

A footrest is a fit tool. It completes the line between floor, feet, chair and desk. It isn’t a treatment for pain, numbness or circulation problems.

What an under desk footrest can do

The benefits come from geometry, not from the object itself.

• Supports your feet when the chair is raised. Most desks are a fixed height. To type with relaxed shoulders and level forearms, many people raise the chair, and their feet end up dangling or on tiptoe. A footrest brings the floor up to meet them. OSHA lists “feet are fully supported by the floor or a footrest” as part of a neutral seated posture, and notes a footrest may be used if the desk height isn’t adjustable.
• Takes pressure off the back of the thighs. OSHA notes that a seat that is too high can leave your feet unsupported, and that a footrest “may elevate the knee slightly to relieve pressure on the back of the leg.” That edge pressure is the uncomfortable squeeze you feel when your legs hang from a tall seat.
• Helps you sit back in the chair. When feet don’t reach the floor, people tend to slide forward to the seat edge to find it, leaving the backrest behind. OSHA says this can make it harder to keep the natural curve of the spine. With your feet supported, it’s easier to sit back against the lumbar support.
• Gives you somewhere to move. OSHA and Cornell both stress changing position through the day. A platform under the desk gives your feet a second resting spot, so you can shift between the floor and the footrest.

What about circulation?

Be careful with claims here. OSHA’s chair guidance says that a seat that is too high, leaving feet unsupported, can lead to “fatigue, restricted circulation, swelling, numbness, and pain,” and that a seat pan pressing on the legs over long periods can restrict blood flow to the legs. A footrest addresses one cause of that: an unsupported, too-high seating position. It doesn’t improve circulation on its own, and it doesn’t replace getting up and moving. If you have swelling, numbness or leg pain that doesn’t go away, talk to a doctor.

What about posture?

A footrest can make a good posture easier to hold when your chair and desk don’t fit you. It can’t fix a chair with no back support, a monitor that’s too low or a keyboard that’s too high. Cornell’s ergonomics guide asks you to check “that the feet can be placed flat on the floor or on a footrest” as one item in a whole-workstation posture check, not as a fix by itself.

Do you need a footrest? A 2-minute check

Set your chair first, then decide.

1. Set the chair for the desk, not the floor. Sit with your shoulders relaxed and your upper arms hanging at your sides. Raise or lower the seat until your forearms are roughly level with the keyboard and your elbows are bent at about 90 to 120 degrees (OSHA’s neutral range).
2. Look down at your feet. Are both soles fully on the floor without stretching?
3. Check your thighs. OSHA describes neutral seated posture as thighs “generally parallel to the floor” with knees “about the same height as the hips.” Is the front edge of the seat digging into the back of your legs?
4. Decide: - Feet flat, no seat-edge pressure → you don’t need a footrest. - Feet dangling, on tiptoe, hooked around the chair base, or the seat edge presses your thighs → a footrest (or a DIY platform) will probably help. - Your chair can go lower and the desk or keyboard can go lower too → adjust those first. A footrest is the workaround when they can’t.

How high should an under desk footrest be?

There’s no universal number. The right height is the gap between the floor and your soles once your chair is set for the desk. Here’s how to measure it:

1. Set your chair height for typing as above.
2. Sit back fully against the backrest.
3. Let your feet hang naturally with your thighs roughly parallel to the floor and your knees bent at about a right angle or slightly more open.
4. Measure from the floor to the underside of your heel. That’s your target platform height.
5. Use the lowest height that supports your feet. If the footrest pushes your knees above your hips, it’s too high.

What angle?

Many footrests tilt. A gentle tilt lets your ankle rest at a comfortable angle rather than flat and flexed. Keep it modest: you should be able to rest your feet without your heels sliding or your calves working to hold them in place. If you use a tilting or rocking platform, try a few settings over a few days. There’s no single “correct” angle in the sources we checked.

Who benefits from an under desk footrest

• Shorter users at standard desks. If you have to raise the chair to reach a fixed-height desk, your legs often run out before the floor arrives. This is the classic case OSHA describes.
• Shared workstations. Cornell notes that when several people use one setup, it has to work for the smallest and tallest users. A footrest is a cheap way to fit a shorter person without moving the desk.
• People with a fixed-height desk or keyboard. If the desk can’t go lower and you’ve already set the chair for it, the footrest fills the gap.
• Anyone who feels seat-edge pressure. If the front of the seat presses the back of your thighs and the seat can’t be lowered, a footrest can lift the knees slightly to ease that (OSHA).
• People on cold or uneven floors. A platform gives a stable, level spot for your feet. That’s a comfort benefit, not a health one.

When not to use a footrest

• Your feet already rest flat. Adding a platform raises your knees above your hips and crowds the space under the desk.
• You haven’t adjusted the chair and desk yet. Lower the desk or keyboard first if you can. A keyboard tray or an adjustable desk often removes the need for a footrest.
• Your knees hit the desk. If the footrest lifts your knees into the desk underside, a drawer or a crossbar, it’s too high or the desk is too low for the setup.
• It blocks the chair or becomes a trip hazard. Casters catching the edge, a platform that slides on a hard floor or a footrest you trip over when standing up are all reasons to rethink it.
• When you’re standing. At a sit-stand desk, move the footrest out of the way or use it only to prop one foot occasionally. OSHA’s standing posture notes you “may also elevate one foot on a rest.”
• You have a medical condition affecting your legs or circulation. Ask your doctor or a physical therapist what position suits you. A footrest isn’t a medical device.

DIY footrest options

You don’t need special equipment to test whether a footrest helps. Try a temporary platform for a few days first:

• A sturdy box or crate, taped shut and turned on its side or flat, depending on the height you need.
• A stack of thick books or binders, held together with a strap so they don’t slide apart.
• A step stool, if its top is wide enough for both feet.
• A wooden board on two blocks, with a non-slip mat or rubber feet underneath on hard floors.
• A folded firm yoga block or foam block, for small height gaps.

Whatever you use should be stable, wide enough for both feet, not slippery and low enough that it doesn’t push your knees up. Avoid wobbly stacks, anything with rollers and anything that can tip when you push off it.

How to use an under desk footrest well

1. Set the chair first, the footrest second. The footrest is the last piece of the setup, not the first.
2. Place it where your feet land naturally, slightly in front of your knees, so you don’t have to stretch or pull the chair away from the desk.
3. Start at the lowest supportive height. Go up only if your feet still don’t rest comfortably.
4. Keep moving. Shift your feet between the platform and the floor. OSHA says working in the same posture for long periods “is not healthy” and recommends small chair adjustments, stretching and standing up to walk around periodically. Cornell recommends brief rest breaks every 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Check the chair route. Roll the chair in and out and turn it. Casters shouldn’t catch the edge.
6. Re-check when something changes: a new chair, a different desk, a sit-stand routine, different shoes, or someone else using the desk.
7. Keep it clean and stable. Lift it now and then, wipe off grit and check that the base still grips the floor.

For the rest of the seated setup (chair, monitor and keyboard heights), see how to set up a home office. If wrist discomfort is your main concern, our desk setup for carpal tunnel guide covers keyboard and mouse position.