Trunk Kinematics of Pulling at or Below Sub-Waist Height

摘要

The high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among nursing personnel are often attributed to risk factors associated with repetitive manual handling tasks such as transferring patients. MSD cases involving patient handling account for up to 98% of all MSD cases reported within the health care and social assistance industry. When transferring a patient onto a sling or a bed/stretcher, the required pulling force could be as high as 75% of the patient's body weight. Studies on the effect of pulling at or below waist level with various grip positions are scarce. Such an understanding may provide insight to the healthcare industry on improved methods when handling patients and designing assistive devices to help prevent MSD. This study aims to examine how different weight, height and grip positions when pulling affect trunk kinematics and the center of pressure of footing. Nine subjects performed tasks using a pulley workstation. Results indicated there was neither three-way nor two-way interaction among the workstation height, weight, and grip location on the trunk kinematics or center of pressure measures. Results did show significant effects from the workstation height and pulling weight on the dependent variables.