Lower Extremity Pain Assessment during the Use of Custom Built Foot Supports in the Workplace – A Proactive Ergonomic Approach

Abstract

This paper describes a statistical analysis of industrial workers' lower extremity pain levels during the use of custom built foot supports. Inferences were drawn from the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine whether there is significant difference in pain levels between participants in the placebo group (PG) and foot support group (FSG). The resulting reductions in pain levels are presented. The difference between the PG and the FSG is marginally significant with a p-value of .063. The work environment can be an ideal setting in which to apply a proactive ergonomic approach to identify and understand ground reaction forces and pain levels of the foot and lower extremities.