Author Interviews, Lifestyle & Health / 22.07.2015
Prolonged Standing Associated With Musculoskeletal Disorders and Health Problems
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Maria-Gabriela Garcia Ph.D candidate
Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, ETH Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland and
Dr. B.J. Martin
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Many workers are required to stand for prolong periods of time at their workplace. Several investigations have associated prolonged standing with back pain, and musculoskeletal disorders. The accumulation of muscle fatigue is assumed to lead to such disorders. However, the long-lasting effects of fatigue in the lower limbs induced by prolonged standing work have received little attention. Our main findings indicate that 5 hours of standing work including regular seated rest breaks lead to a significant long-term fatigue in the lower leg muscles. The objective measures showed that the effects persisted at least 30 min after a seated recovery period while they were not subjectively perceived. Thus, subjective evaluations may not be sensitive to the long-term effects of fatigue. In addition, fatigue was not observed after 2 hours of standing work. (more…)