The effects of a treadmill workstation on coagulation potential

Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only.PURPOSE: The increased trend of prolonged sitting during the workday in combination to added mental stress at work, increases the risk of forming a thrombus in the vasculature. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to observe the effects of low intensity walking at a treadmill workstation on changes in coagulation compared to a sedentary workstation. METHODS: Five apparently healthy college-aged students (4 men, 1 woman; years: 22 ± 2) reported to the laboratory to complete a series of mental tasks at both a sitting workstation and a treadmill workstation. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and immediately after completion of tasks. The following assays were completed to manufacture guidelines to assess coagulation potential: prothrombin time (PT), active partial thromboplastin time (APTT), factor VII (FVII), factor VIII (FVIII), and fibrinogen. A two-way ANOVA was conducted using time (pre- and post) and condition (sitting, walking) as within-subjects factors. Significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A significant finding of the main effect of condition and the time x condition interaction was observed for FVII (p<0.05 for both). A nonsignificant finding of the time x condition interaction was observed in FVIII (p = 0.116, 2 = 0.499). A significant difference of the main effect of time was observed in APTT (p<0.05). No significant changes were observed for fibrinogen and PT (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of an active workstation can alleviate prothrombotic changes that are associated with working at a sedentary desk without diminishing work performance. Additionally, the use of an active workstation seems to have a positive impact on various indices of mood.Thesis (M.S.