Standing at the Workplace

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Standing at the Workplace

• Andrew J. Krum
• November 19, 2002

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Who cares about standing?

• Retail Cashiers
• Ryan (1989) Australia, 90 of shift
• High rate of standing fatigue symptoms
• Lift-truck operators
• Growing population 4 hour periods

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Who cares about standing?

• Hairdressers
• Assembly line workers
• Healthcare professionals
• Doctors, nurses, hursing home aides
• Estryn-Behar (1990) 84 of women healthcare
  workers stand 4 hrs/day

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Who cares about standing?

• Janitorial services
• Many hard workers in our classrooms and offices
• Nemecek Buchberger (1987) 80 of large-scale
  laundry workers days are standing

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Who cares about standing?

• Construction workers
• Professors and teachers
• Restaurant chefs and waiters
• Laboratory techs and scientists
• Farm laborers

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Who cares about standing?

• Denmark
• 40 and 12 of workers have back and feet
  problems (Orhede et all, 1992)
• Groth et al. (1988) 1/3 work standing without
  physical strain

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Who cares about standing?

• Switzerland
• 39 of workers experience back problems
• 23 experience leg problems
• Buchberger 1993

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Whats the cost ?

• Standing has been proven to cause back, leg, and
  foot pain and leads to cumulative
  musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs)
• Spengler (1986) 85 of people

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Whats the cost ?

• Estimates for the cost of back injuries at 11.1
  Billion per year Webster Snook (1990)
• Cumulative effects unknown
• Insurance, loss productivity, absenteeism, and
  well-being

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Vast Market of Solutions

• Floor mats
• Shoe insoles and soles
• Theyre everywhere
• Central theme keep the body moving

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Vast Market of Solutions

• Mat dimensions to consider
• Thickness
• Compressibility
• Surface friction
• Dont forget temperature

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Vast Market of Solutions

• Insoles
• Provide mobility and cushioning
• Floor mats that follow the worker

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Vast Market of Solutions

• Insoles
• Provide mobility and cushioning
• Floor mats that follow the worker

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Floor Mats
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Insoles
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Do these solutions work?
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Where is the pain?

• Feet
• Legs
• Lower back

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Whats the cause?

• Oedema
• Joint inflammation
• Muscle fatigue

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Objective Measures

• Foot volume water displacement, chalk on paper
  markings
• Skin temperatures circulation
• Heart-rate standing versus sitting

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Objective Measures

• Electromyographic (EMG) muscle response
• Marras (1994) power spectrums reliable
• Lower median frequency higher fatigue

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Objective Measures

• Pain-Pressure Threshold (PPT)
• Pressure points on base of foot
• Threshold increases as pain increases
• Internal spinal fixator (Rohlmann et al., 2001)
• Difficult to collect data
• Focus on back in motion

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Subjective Measures

• Participant ratings of pain and comfort levels
  are easy to apply
• Can be unreliable placebo condition needed
• King (2002) requested precise ratings
  successfully distinguished conditions

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Advice for Standers

• Keep mobile
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Floor mats help the back
• Take breaks and change positions

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Advice for Standers

• Elevating one foot helps
• Research is promising need to further investigate

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Whats this mean for HF ?

• Need to learn more
• Experimental
• Collaboration needed
• Determine physical causes and reliable measures
• Industrial
• Particular work environmental standards
• Lifestyle information about participants

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Thank You