A recent study of 164 pregnant pigs appears to have verified the benefits anti fatigue matting had a definite benefit on the animals' health. And while this research may have received attention only in animal and farming-related trade publications, it could have important implications for humans as well.

The researchers divided the pregnant pigs into two groups: one group spent most of its time on a hard concrete floor, while the other was housed on a concrete floor covered with a "cushioned" surface made using rubber matting materials. Researchers then observed the pigs for 110 days during their pregnancies. To further verify the results of the study, the researchers observed the pigs during two pregnancies (two 110-day periods). The results were similar in both experiments.

The July 31, 2013, study was conducted by Julia Calderon-Diaz, a PhD candidate at University College, Dublin, Ireland, with assistance from Dr. Alan Fahey, of the same college.

The study's results showed evidence that covering concrete with a cushioned mat improved the locomotory (ease and capability of moving from one area to another) of the pigs. Researchers also found these pigs had a reduced risk of lameness, swellings, and wounds on their limbs.

"Surprisingly, these studies verifying the benefits of anti-fatigue-type matting [on pigs] are in some ways similar to human [study] results," says Dennis Knapp, national sales director for Crown Mats and Matting, a manufacturer of anti-fatigue mats.

"Anti-fatigue mats have a cushioning effect," he says. "Workers standing on them for long periods of time invariably have reduced pain, fatigue, and swelling in their lower limbs...and now we know, so do pregnant pigs."

Source: "Longitudinal study of the effect of rubber slat mats on locomotory ability, body, limb and claw lesions and dirtiness of group housed sows," http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23881683