How Does Anti Fatigue Matting Work?

Occupational health and safety is an important topic of discussion among employers in Canada. Even common-law jurisdiction says employers have a common law duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of their employees. That’s why accessories like anti-fatigue matting or standing desks are common at workplaces although it is not required for employer's operations.

Well, if you also have heard some praise of anti-fatigue mats from someone and may be wondering how anti-fatigue mats actually work, in this blog post we are going to answer that.

How does anti-fatigue mat work?

Anti-fatigue mats work on the principle of the venous pump by contracting and relaxing your calf muscles and allowing the blood to push up from lower limbs. Venous pump is a natural mechanism of the body that occurs when we walk or run.

When we walk or run, our calf muscles contract and squeeze the blood and push up through the valve towards the heart. The contraction of calf muscles pushes the blood against gravity. Hence, the heart has to work less for regulating the flow of blood.

But when you stand still for long in a single posture, this mechanism stops as a result the heart has to work hard to push the blood.

Anti-fatigue matting works by cushioning effect. It provides a softer surface to stand that encourages micro movements (hardly noticeable), which in turn slightly contract your calf and leg muscles. As a result of that, your blood gets pushed towards the heart.

Anti-fatigue matting encourages natural movements by making you feel slightly imbalanced, which is hardly noticeable, but encouraging to adjust your feet rather than remaining static in one position for a long time. All this results in less pressure on your joints, feet, and knee, better blood circulation, avoid pooling of blood, less pressure on heart, and reduce stress from shoulder and neck.