Biomechanical assessment of a passive back-support exoskeleton during repetitive lifting and carrying: Muscle activity, kinematics, and physical capacity

So, Billy C. L.; Hua, Chunzhuo; Chen, Tingting; Gao, Qingwen; Man, Siu Shing

doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2022.08.017

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The observed increases in lifting endurance are further supported by other biomechanics studies which found that back exos can decrease muscle fatigue, metabolic cost, and perceived effort to lift (Kermavnar et al, 2021). It is unclear why a couple of prior studies on different types of back exos found that those specific devices did not increase lifting endurance (Kozinc et al, 2021;So et al, 2022). We speculate that these disparate results in prior studies may have been due to factors such as poor fit, discomfort, less assistance, or more hysteresis with other types of exos.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Participants were then given 30 minutes of rest. This rest duration was chosen based on participant availability and pilot testing, and was similar to the rest time used in other lifting studies (Bensel et al, 2008;So et al, 2022). At the end of the rest period, participants donned the exosuit.…”

Section: Case Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lifting endurance is one indicator of physical capacity to do work and is defined as the number of lifts a user can perform at a given rate or within a given time. Two prior studies found increases in lifting endurance of 11-30% when wearing a back exo (Baltrusch et al, 2020;Tan et al, 2019) while two other studies found no statistical difference in lifting endurance with vs. without a back exo (Kozinc et al, 2021;So et al, 2022). These four studies involved different exos (e.g., powered vs. elastic devices), lifting postures (e.g., squat, stoop, freestyle), and lifted weights (5-20 kg), so it is difficult to generalize these findings or even compare the quantitative results between studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Can back exosuits simultaneously increase lifting endurance and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risk?

Rodzak,

Slaughter,

Wolf

et al. 2023

Preprint

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<p>Back exosuits are wearable technologies designed to make lifting easier and reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorder risks by relieving low back strain. The study objective was to test whether an elastic back exosuit could increase a wearer’s endurance when lifting heavy objects, and if so, to assess whether lifting more cancels out the exosuit’s risk reduction benefits. We performed two case series studies with field artillery Soldiers from the U.S. Army who frequently lift heavy objects. These participants repeatedly lifted 45-55 kg until failure. We counted the number of lifting repetitions to evaluate their lifting endurance with vs. without the exosuit. We found that seven of eight participants increased their lifting repetitions while wearing the exosuit, with endurance increases ranging from 28-75%. We then used these empirical data with an ergonomics assessment tool to model the effects on low back disorder risk when an exosuit is worn and more lifts are performed. Participants exhibited 34-89% lower cumulative back damage (an indicator of low back disorder risk) when wearing the exosuit. These results confirmed that participants wearing the exosuit increased their physical capacity to perform lifting work without canceling out the injury risk reduction benefits. Ergonomic models indicate that to achieve dual benefits—performance enhancement and risk reduction—it is better to increase lifting repetitions, not the weight of objects being lifted. These results have important implications for workers in civilian and defense sectors, suggesting that back exosuits may make it possible to simultaneously boost productivity and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risks.</p>

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Case Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%