K-score: A novel scoring system to quantify fatigue-related ergonomic risk based on joint angle measurements via wearable inertial measurement units

Martinez, Karla Beltran; Nazarahari, Milad; Rouhani, Hossein

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103757

Cited by 12 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Furthermore, the usability and reliability of technologies that allow for quantitative assessments were tested. The use of inertial measurement units (IMU) or Kinect cameras for fatigue assessments allow for the detection of kinematic changes in long-duration manual tasks [ 286 ]. These methods are easy-to-use in real time and could assist ergonomists in risk evaluations on site [ 306 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies proposed exoskeletons or supporting devices in order to reduce the FSE, especially in prolonged posture maintenance and overhead working tasks [ 259 , 263 ] that require high loads on the neck, back and shoulder [ 261 ]. Another category included papers that design and validate alternative methods for assessing FSE during working activities, such as marker-less systems [ 286 , 306 ] or EMG measures [ 293 ]. Finally, few papers described new protocols for assessing FSE or for implementing intervention programs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biomechanical Assessments of the Upper Limb for Determining Fatigue, Strain and Effort from the Laboratory to the Industrial Working Place: A Systematic Review

et al. 2023

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Recent human-centered developments in the industrial field (Industry 5.0) lead companies and stakeholders to ensure the wellbeing of their workers with assessments of upper limb performance in the workplace, with the aim of reducing work-related diseases and improving awareness of the physical status of workers, by assessing motor performance, fatigue, strain and effort. Such approaches are usually developed in laboratories and only at times they are translated to on-field applications; few studies summarized common practices for the assessments. Therefore, our aim is to review the current state-of-the-art approaches used for the assessment of fatigue, strain and effort in working scenarios and to analyze in detail the differences between studies that take place in the laboratory and in the workplace, in order to give insights on future trends and directions. A systematic review of the studies aimed at evaluating the motor performance, fatigue, strain and effort of the upper limb targeting working scenarios is presented. A total of 1375 articles were found in scientific databases and 288 were analyzed. About half of the scientific articles are focused on laboratory pilot studies investigating effort and fatigue in laboratories, while the other half are set in working places. Our results showed that assessing upper limb biomechanics is quite common in the field, but it is mostly performed with instrumental assessments in laboratory studies, while questionnaires and scales are preferred in working places. Future directions may be oriented towards multi-domain approaches able to exploit the potential of combined analyses, exploitation of instrumental approaches in workplace, targeting a wider range of people and implementing more structured trials to translate pilot studies to real practice.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomechanical Assessments of the Upper Limb for Determining Fatigue, Strain and Effort from the Laboratory to the Industrial Working Place: A Systematic Review

et al. 2023

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“…Regarding the two factors of horizontal distance between the body and the lift and the need for external augmentation, external augmentation is needed when the height is less than 150 cm, but changing the height of the lift is also an option, and proper adjustment of the height of the lift can avoid physical injury. Muscle activity levels are also generally higher when loads are higher ( Martinez et al, 2022 ). Table 4 shows the relationship between height range and horizontal distance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of different postures and loads on joint motion and muscle activity in older adults during overhead retrieval

Zhou,

Xu,

Huang

et al. 2024

Front. Physiol.

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Introduction: Pain is a common health problem among older adults worldwide. Older adults tend to suffer from arm, lumbar, and back pain when using hanging cabinets.Methods: This study used surface electromyography to record muscle activity and a motion capture system to record joint motion to research effects of different loads and retrieval postures on muscle activity and joint range of motion when older adults retrieve objects from a high place, to provide optimised feedback for the design of hanging cabinet furniture.Results: We found that: 1) The activity of BB (Biceps brachii) on the side of the body interacting with the cabinet door was greater than that of UT (Upper trapezius) and BR (Brachial radius) when retrieving objects from a high place, the activity of UT on the side of the body interacting with a heavy object was greater than that of BB and BR. 2) The activity of UT decreases when the shoulder joint angle is greater than 90°, but the activity of BB increases as the angle increases. In contrast, increasing the object’s mass causes the maximum load on the shoulder joint. 3) Among the different postures for overhead retrieval, alternating between the right and left hand is preferable for the overhead retrieval task. 4) Age had the most significant effect on overhead retrieval, followed by height (of person), and load changes were significantly different only at the experiment’s left elbow joint and the L.BR. 5) Older adults took longer and exerted more effort to complete the task than younger adults, and static exercise in older adults may be more demanding on muscle activity in old age than powered exercise.Conclusion: These results help to optimise the design of hanging cabinet furniture. Regarding the height of hanging cabinets, 180 cm or less is required for regular retrieval movements if the human height is less than 150 cm. Concerning the depth of the hanging cabinets, different heights chose different comfort distances, which translated into the depth of the hanging cabinets; the greater the height, the greater the depth of the hanging cabinets to use.

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“…We designed an experimental setup and procedure, described in our previous work [ 27 ], to physically exhaust participants during a standard material handling job while measuring their muscle fatigue levels with two different tools: EMG recordings, and a kinematic score (K-score) measured using wearable IMUs. Nine able-bodied participants (all male, age: 24 ± 2, body mass: 71 ± 9 kg, body height: 177 ± 2 cm) performed a material handling job.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite previous efforts to study this research question [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], there is still a need for an objective tool to prove if specific work–rest schedules can reduce muscle fatigue. In our last study [ 27 ], we introduced a postural phenomenon that occurs during fatigue measured with IMU sensors. In this paper, we want to (1) assess the ability of our system to detect muscle fatigue via inertial measurement units (IMUs) during a standard material handling job with three different work–rest schedules and validate it with an EMG sensor, and (2) compare the muscle fatigue among these three schedules to quantify the impact of each schedule on muscle fatigue and potentially the risk of fatigue-induced WMSDs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking the Fatigue Cycle: Investigating the Effect of Work-Rest Schedules on Muscle Fatigue in Material Handling Jobs

Beltran Martinez,

Nazarahari,

Rouhani

2023

Sensors

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Muscle fatigue has proven to be a main factor in developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Taking small breaks or performing stretching routines during a work shift might reduce workers’ fatigue. Therefore, our objective was to explore how breaks and/or a stretching routine during a work shift could impact muscle fatigue and body kinematics that might subsequently impact the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) risk during material handling jobs. We investigated muscle fatigue during a repetitive task performed without breaks, with breaks, and with a stretching routine during breaks. Muscle fatigue was detected using muscle activity (electromyography) and a validated kinematic score measured by wearable sensors. We observed a significant reduction in muscle fatigue between the different work–rest schedules (p < 0.01). Also, no significant difference was observed between the productivity of the three schedules. Based on these objective kinematic assessments, we concluded that taking small breaks during a work shift can significantly reduce muscle fatigue and potentially reduce its consequent risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders without negatively affecting productivity.

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K-score: A novel scoring system to quantify fatigue-related ergonomic risk based on joint angle measurements via wearable inertial measurement units

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

Biomechanical Assessments of the Upper Limb for Determining Fatigue, Strain and Effort from the Laboratory to the Industrial Working Place: A Systematic Review

Biomechanical Assessments of the Upper Limb for Determining Fatigue, Strain and Effort from the Laboratory to the Industrial Working Place: A Systematic Review

Effect of different postures and loads on joint motion and muscle activity in older adults during overhead retrieval

Breaking the Fatigue Cycle: Investigating the Effect of Work-Rest Schedules on Muscle Fatigue in Material Handling Jobs

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