Occupational Exoskeletons: Overview of Their Benefits and Limitations in Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

Theurel, Jean; Desbrosses, Kévin

doi:10.1080/24725838.2019.1638331

Cited by 115 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The primary consequence of muscle activity reduction is the de-compression of the lumbar spine. Such results are confirmed by a more recent review (Theurel and Desbrosses, 2019 ) that stresses the clear potential of exoskeletons in limiting muscular demand. However, this report also warns that there is insufficient current knowledge to justify an unreserved adoption of this technology.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Applicability of an Active Back-Support Exoskeleton to Carrying Activities

et al. 2020

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Occupational back-support exoskeletons are becoming a more and more common solution to mitigate work-related lower-back pain associated with lifting activities. In addition to lifting, there are many other tasks performed by workers, such as carrying, pushing, and pulling, that might benefit from the use of an exoskeleton. In this work, the impact that carrying has on lower-back loading compared to lifting and the need to select different assistive strategies based on the performed task are presented. This latter need is studied by using a control strategy that commands for constant torques. The results of the experimental campaign conducted on 9 subjects suggest that such a control strategy is beneficial for the back muscles (up to 12% reduction in overall lumbar activity), but constrains the legs (around 10% reduction in hip and knee ranges of motion). Task recognition and the design of specific controllers can be exploited by active and, partially, passive exoskeletons to enhance their versatility, i.e., the ability to adapt to different requirements.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Applicability of an Active Back-Support Exoskeleton to Carrying Activities

et al. 2020

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“…The fact that the tests were conducted with a group of healthy young subjects in two specific overhead work activities can be seen as a general limitation of the study. Further studies should be conducted to address the question whether these results can be generalized to subjects of older age groups and for other overhead activities [14,15]. Furthermore, previous studies demonstrated that decreased loads in one part of the body may result in increased strain to other areas due to weight transfer by the exoskeleton and its own weight [27,31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This rarely used method indicates the metabolic effort a worker has to put into the execution of such activity [12,13]. Despite positive reports describing the benefits exoskeletons offer during overhead work, evidence regarding their functionality as well as possible adverse effects have become the subject to scientific discussion [14,15,16,17]. For example, it is important that the load transfer and possible kinematic changes do not significantly increase strain to other parts of the body, e.g., the lower back or pelvis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomechanical and Metabolic Effectiveness of an Industrial Exoskeleton for Overhead Work

Schmalz¹,

Schändlinger

Schuler

et al. 2019

IJERPH

106

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Overhead work activities can lead to shoulder pain and serious musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD), such as rotator cuff injury and degeneration. Recently developed exoskeletons show promising results in supporting workers in such activities. In this study, a novel exoskeleton was investigated for two different overhead tasks with twelve participants. To investigate the effects of the device, electromyographic (EMG) signals of different shoulder and adjacent muscles as well as kinematic and metabolic parameters were analyzed with and without the exoskeleton. The mean EMG amplitude of all evaluated muscles was significantly reduced when the exoskeleton was used for the overhead tasks. This was accompanied by a reduction in both heart rate and oxygen rate. The kinematic analysis revealed small changes in the joint positions during the tasks. This study demonstrated the biomechanical and metabolic benefits of an exoskeleton designed to support overhead work activities. The results suggest improved physiological conditions and an unloading effect on the shoulder joint and muscles which are promising indicators that the exoskeleton may be a good solution to reduce shoulder WMSD among workers who carry out overhead tasks on a regular basis.

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“…Previous studies generally agree on the efficiency of passive back-support exoskeletons to reduce lumbar muscular activity and perceived exertion/discomfort, particularly during operations involving trunk flexion/extension in the sagittal plane [9,10]. However, although occupational exoskeletons are deployed in the industrial sector [11], their use in the healthcare system is rarely reported, with no reported use in ICUs.…”

Section: Letter To the Editormentioning

confidence: 93%

The use of exoskeletons to help with prone positioning in the intensive care unit during COVID-19

Settembre

Maurice

Paysant

et al. 2020

Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

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Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre-including this research content-immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

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Occupational Exoskeletons: Overview of Their Benefits and Limitations in Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

Cited by 115 publications

References 62 publications

Applicability of an Active Back-Support Exoskeleton to Carrying Activities

Applicability of an Active Back-Support Exoskeleton to Carrying Activities

Biomechanical and Metabolic Effectiveness of an Industrial Exoskeleton for Overhead Work

The use of exoskeletons to help with prone positioning in the intensive care unit during COVID-19

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