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Influence of posture variation on shoulder muscle activity, heart rate, and perceived exertion in a repetitive manual task
University of Gävle, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Occupational and Public Health Sciences, Occupational health science. University of Gävle, Centre for Musculoskeletal Research.
University of Gävle, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Occupational and Public Health Sciences, Occupational health science. University of Gävle, Centre for Musculoskeletal Research.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1443-6211
TNO, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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2017 (English)In: IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, ISSN 2472-5838, Vol. 5, p. 47-64Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: Repetitive light assembly work is associated with an increased risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. More exposure variation, for instance by redesigning the workstation, is generally proposed as an effective intervention. Purpose: We investigated the effect of upper arm posture variation in a one-hour repetitive pick-and-place task on shoulder muscle activity, heart rate and perceived exertion, measured on the Borg CR-10 scale and in terms of maximal acceptable work pace (MAWP). Methods: Thirteen healthy participants performed the task in three workstation designs where the hand was moved either horizontal (H30/30), diagonal (D20/40), or vertical (V10/50) with a mean upper arm elevation of ~30°. In a fourth design, the hand was moved horizontally at ~50° mean arm elevation (H50/50). Results: As intended, upper arm posture variation, measured by the upper arm elevation SD and range of motion, differed between H30/30, D20/40, and V10/50. However, MAWP (10.7 cycles·min-1 on average across conditions; determined using a psychophysical approach), average upper trapezius activity (54% reference voluntary exertion [RVE]), and heart rate (69 bpm) did not differ between these workstation designs. In H50/50, MAWP was lower (9.3 cycles·min-1), while trapezius activity (78% RVE) and perceived exertion (Borg CR-10) tended to be higher. Conclusions: Our results indicate that posture variation to the extent achieved in the current experiment leads to less effects on muscle activity and perceived exertion than a moderate change in working height.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017. Vol. 5, p. 47-64
Keywords [en]
maximal acceptable work pace; exposure variation; arm elevation; repetitive work; muscle activity
National Category
Occupational Health and Environmental Health
Research subject
Health-Promoting Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-21295DOI: 10.1080/24725838.2017.1303655OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-21295DiVA, id: diva2:909089
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2009-1761Available from: 2016-03-04 Created: 2016-03-04 Last updated: 2023-03-21Bibliographically approved

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Luger, TessyMathiassen, Svend Erik

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