Manual material handling in the supermarket sector. Part 2: Knee, spine and shoulder joint reaction forces

Technical field measurements of muscular workload during stocking activities in supermarkets: cross-sectional study

“…For instance, a common work task in this department is stocking of heavy parcels of bananas ranging in weight from 17 to 22 kilos. As reported by Skals and colleagues, handling of fruit and vegetables like bananas and cucumbers (in addition to milk in the dairy department) is associated with extraordinarily high peak muscle activity as well as compressive and shear forces in the low-back compared to stocking tasks in other departments 22 , 28 .…”

“…Previous EMG-based studies comparing workload of different muscles among supermarket workers have also reported highest workload in the low-back 22 , 27 , 46 . Moreover, some supermarket stocking tasks have recently been reported to exceed well-known tolerance limits for compression and shear forces in the lumbar spine 28 . These findings altogether suggest that preventative focus should be targeted at reducing physical work demands of especially the low-back muscles.…”

“…Hitherto, the available studies assessing the physical work demands of supermarket work are predominantly based on qualitative interviews of retailers 26 and observational methods 13 , 14 , 17 , 18 , with only few technical field measurements available (i.e. electromyography ( EMG )) 19 , 22 , 27 , 28 . While every method contains both strengths and limitations, technical field measurements, e.g.…”

“…Further, more recent studies are needed within the supermarket sector since the physical work demands may have changed over time due to changes in store design, technical assistive devices, flow of customers and goods 17 . Our research group recently reported a comprehensive assessment of the physical work demands during stocking activities among supermarket workers 22 , 28 . However, while these studies were carried out in a supermarket setting and closely mimicked real-life stocking work, they were performed under standardized conditions where workers were instructed what to lift and when to lift as it is normally done in the laboratory.…”

Torsional deformities and overuse injuries: what does the literature tell us

“…Computational methods such as musculoskeletal modelling and finite element analysis that combine patient-specific anatomy, kinematics, and kinetics can estimate the mechanical stimulus experienced in the regions of interest, such as cartilage stresses and contact pressures (71,72,73,74); ligament forces, strains and elongation patterns (75,76); strains and stresses on the bone (77,78,79); as well as on specific sub-regions of the bone, such as the proximal femur growth plate (80,81,82). The computational nature of these methods enables a thorough evaluation of the musculoskeletal loads occurring during various activities of daily living, demanding occupational tasks, sport activities, and strengthening programs across large samples of the population (83,84,85,86,87). Motion analysis of specific tasks and activities could help identifying some of the overuse and traumatic injury mechanisms and risk factors (2,88,89,90,91), especially through the use of wearable technologies (92,93).…”