IngentaConnect Spinal Coupled Motions and Their Association with the Risk of Low...

Authors: Fathallah, Fadi A.; Marras, William S.

Source: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Proceedings, Posters , pp. 959-959(1)

Publisher: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Abstract:

Occupational low back disorders (LBDs) have been responsible for a great deal of human suffering while imposing a tremendous financial burden on the affected individuals, their employers, and the health insurance providers. Several epidemiological and in-vitro studies have implicated Combined motions and loads of the back to constitute highly undesirable lifting situations. However, up to this date, there were no studies that quantitatively assessed trunk coupled or combined motions of industrial workers. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to quantify the simultaneous multi-dimensional coupled motions (velocities) of the trunk in various manual materials handling (MMH) jobs with varying degrees of LBD risk. The results showed that representing information in a continuous multivariate space revealed information that would be otherwise obscured in a univariate dimension. In addition, there seem to be a threshold of sagittal bending where, if surpassed, dynamic coupled motions were most pronounced in high and medium risk groups. The results were in agreement with empirical findings that showed how coupled situations similar to the ones observed in this study may have adverse effects on the spinal structure. Investigating, in details, the role of Combined dynamic risk factors help the process of comprehending low back injury mechanism, and abating LBDs in industrial settings.

Spinal Coupled Motions and Their Association with the Risk of Low Back Disorders in Industrial Tasks