The effects of mats on back and leg fatigue.

Prolonged standing is common in many industrial workplaces. It is also quite common for workers to complain of discomfort in the back and legs as a result of prolonged standing. Mats are often provided for the worker to relieve this fatigue. However, there is no quantitative evidence that these mats relieve leg and back fatigue. Five subjects were asked to stand on a concrete surface and two mat surfaces for prolonged periods of time. Spectral electromyographic analyses indicated that mats reduced localized muscle fatigue in the erector spinae muscle only. Furthermore, this fatigue reduction occurred only with the more compressible of the two mats tested. These results imply that localized muscular fatigue in the leg may not be relieved with 'anti-fatigue' mats, and some of these mats only benefit the back.