Towards Reducing Risk of Injury in Nursing: Design and Analysis of a New Passive Exoskeleton for Torso Twist Assist

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-222
Author(s):  
Pranav Madhav Kuber ◽  
Ehsan Rashedi
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Costs ◽  
The Body ◽  
Patient Handling ◽  
Hospital Governance ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Passive Exoskeleton ◽  
General Work ◽  
Similar Force

Nursing is among the most physically challenging occupations and involves intensive lifting activities often including twisting of torso while performing tasks such as patient handling. Frequent and repetitive twisting of the body is known to induce large demands on the musculature, which may lead to MSD with direct and indirect costs to the hospital governance. One solution proposed through this article includes an exoskeleton specifically designed to assist in twisting movements of the trunk. This involves a double-actuator fully passive system that assists in rotation of the torso with the help of mechanical springs and cable modules. Our study provides a conceptual design of the mechanism, and a preliminary analysis using the concepts of kinematics, dynamics, usability, wearability, and freedom of movement. Results show that the mechanism could offer freedom of rotation for the wearer’s torso up to 52, 25 and 22 degrees (with stationary hip joint) along the transverse, sagittal and coronal planes, respectively. Moreover, similar force generation (up to 80N) was obtained in both actuators for same rotation on transverse plane in both directions for a combination of spring stiffness (0.5 – 1 N/mm) and damping (0.1 - 0.5 N-sec/mm) parameters. Our proposed design could also be integrated to the current exoskeletons in the form of a module and could be beneficial in more general work settings.

Posture Analysis Using Nordic Body Map and Rapid Office Strain Assessment Methods to Improve Work Posture

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melia Agustin ◽  
Hendy Tannady ◽  
Octa Ferdian ◽  
Samuel Imanuel Gunawan Alamsjah
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Severe Pain ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
The Body ◽  
Educational Services ◽  
Posture Analysis ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Work Posture ◽  
Body Map ◽  
A Company

<p><em>Jaya Launch Pad is a company engaged in educational services. It is undeniable that service sector companies such as Jaya Launch Pad also have a workforce whose work posture may be less ergonomic, which can lead to musculoskeletal disorders. Musculoskeletal disorders can be experienced by people of all ages. Therefore, this study focuses on work posture. This research occurred because of complaints experienced by staff. The number of samples used in this study was 1 person. This was influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic situation so that there was only 1 staff when the observation was made. The research method used was the nordic body map (NBM) to determine which parts of the body are experiencing complaints, and the rapid office strain assessment (ROSA) to measure the risk of injury due to the posture of sitting at a computer for 8 hours. The result is that the complaint assessment using the NBM questionnaire has a score of 52 (needs improvement at a later date) with 4 categories of severe pain, namely back, waist, buttocks, and buttocks. Meanwhile, the score from the ROSA table is 6 which means it is risky / dangerous so that it needs improvement. Therefore, a proposed condition is given in the form of a replacement of work facilities in the form of a work chair with adjustable height and adjustable armrests. This improvement is assumed to be able to reduce the level of staff complaints, and the calculation result of the rapid office strain assessment (ROSA) is 4 which means no risk so that this improvement is accepted and can solve the work posture problem of staff at Jaya Launch Pad.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Development of Upper-Limb Assist Suit for Reduction Physical Load in Leaf Photosynthesis Measurement

2020 ◽  
pp. 185-190
Author(s):  
Toshitake Araie ◽  
◽  
Ikeda Tomozumi ◽  
Akira Kakimoto ◽  
Shunsuke Adachi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Photosynthetic Capacity ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
The Body ◽  
Physical Load ◽  
Leaf Photosynthesis ◽  
Measuring Device ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Work Posture

Agricultural tasks result in significant strain on the arms, thereby necessitating posture support. One such task is measuring the photosynthetic capacity of individual leaves. This task requires the operator to hold a measuring device for long periods, which is physically demanding. This study aims to develop an assist suit to reduce the physical load involved in photosynthesis measurement work. We used work posture evaluation methods to quantify the workload of this task and identified the parts of the body at high-risk of injury. Then, we designed an assist suit based on the required specifications and verified its effectiveness.

Pain Status Monitoring in Adolescent Dancers

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-123
Author(s):  
Alen Miletic ◽  
Radmila Kostic ◽  
Ana Bozanic ◽  
Durdica Miletic
Keyword(s):  
Knee Injuries ◽  
The Body ◽  
Status Monitoring ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Pain Status ◽  
Systematic Training ◽  
Accelerated Growth ◽  
Adolescent Dancers ◽  
Dance Groups

Various dance techniques and performances have different effects on the biomechanics of the body and may lead to different injury profiles. Few studies have analyzed the risk of injury associated with particular types of dance, especially in adolescents when accelerated growth compounds the risk of injury. Ninety-six female dancers with international competitive dance experience from four Balkan European countries were selected from a population of 347 adolescent dancers for this study. Their average age was 13.8 yrs (range, 12 to 16). The subjects were divided into four groups according to their dance styles: cheerleading, dance show, disco dance, and standard and Latin dance. The first aim of the study was to identify differences between the various dance style groups in body mass index (BMI) and dance sport involvement. According to Wilks' test (oneway MANOVA), there was a significant multivariate effect (F = 13.8; p < 0.001) between the four dance groups. The dancers belonging to the disco group started systematic training earlier than the other dancers, the standard and Latin dancers practiced the most intensively, and the show dancers had considerably lower BMI than the disco dancers. The second aim of the study was to define the pain status in 14 body regions for dancers in the various dance styles by monitoring their pain status with the SEFIP questionnaire. The most common locations for pain were the calves (43.7%), knees (32.7%), and ankles (27.2%). According to the χ2 test, cheerleading dancers reported a significantly higher frequency of knee injuries, and standard and Latin dancers reported a significantly higher frequency of toe injuries. The specific way in which some dance disciplines are practiced and their dance techniques do induce characteristic injuries.

Spatial Preferences of farrowing sows

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 ◽  
pp. 63-63
Author(s):  
A M Petchey
Keyword(s):  
Nest Site ◽  
Enriched Environment ◽  
The Body ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Body Width ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Building Activity ◽  
High Standards

To satisfy stringent welfare criteria a farrowing pen must meet the sows’ needs for freedom of movement and allow her to exhibit most normal behaviours.Pens must be designed which provide adequate space for the loose housed farrowing sow but which have additional features to promote high standards of pig care. The sow should not be left to farrow indiscriminately within the pen but must be provided with an enriched environment to satisfy both her needs and those of the piglets. Within the pen the sow requires a suitable nest site and material to manipulate immediately pre-farrowing. These features can only be provided when it becomes known what the sows’ find desirable. In previous work it was shown that sows’ preferred to build their nests and farrow within a cubicle rather than in a corner or against a straight but open wall and that sows exhibit intensive nest building activity in the 14 hours before farrowing. In this trial the objective was to determine the farrowing sows’ response to an arrangement of parallel walls spaced 0.55, 0.95 and 1.35 m apart. The rationale behind the measurements was that they approximated to the body width, height and length of a generalised sow. Information about the sows’ response to such a wall arrangement would be useful if pens with walk-through nests were being designed.

Subsequent Injury Risk Is Elevated Above Baseline After Return to Play: A 5-Year Prospective Study in Elite Australian Football

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 2225-2231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan J. Stares ◽  
Brian Dawson ◽  
Peter Peeling ◽  
Jarryd Heasman ◽  
Brent Rogalski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injury Risk ◽  
The Body ◽  
Return To Play ◽  
Time Loss ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Australian Football ◽  
Subsequent Injury

Background: The risk of sustaining a subsequent injury is elevated in the weeks after return to play (RTP) from an index injury. However, little is known about the magnitude, duration, and nature by which subsequent injury risk is increased. Purpose: To quantify and describe the risk of injury in a 12-week period after RTP from an index injury in Australian football players. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Injury data were collected from 79 players over 5 years at 1 Australian Football League club. Injuries were classified with the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System and by side of the body. Furthermore, injury severity was classified as time loss (resulting in ≥1 matches being missed) or non–time loss (no matches missed). Subsequent injury was categorized with the SIC-2.0 model and applied to the data set via an automated script. The probability of a time loss subsequent injury was calculated for in-season index injuries for each week of a 12-week period after RTP via a mixed effect logistic regression model. Results: Subsequent injury risk was found to be highest in the week of RTP for both time loss injuries (9.4%) and non–time loss injuries (6.9%). Risk decreased with each week survived after RTP; however, it did not return to baseline risk of participation (3.6%). Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that athletes returning to play are at an increased risk of injury for a number of weeks, thus indicating the requirement for tertiary prevention strategies to ensure that they survive this period.

scholarly journals Clues to basis of exploratory behaviour of the C. elegans snout from head somatotropy

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1758) ◽  
pp. 20170367 ◽  
Author(s):  
John White
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
The Body ◽  
Exploratory Behaviour ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Complex Behaviour ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Exploratory Movements ◽  
Ventral Muscle

Wave propagation during locomotory movements of Caenorhabditis elegans is constrained to a single dorso/ventral plane. By contrast, the tip of the head (snout) can make rapid exploratory movements in all directions relative to the body axis. These extra degrees of freedom are probably important for animals to seek and identify desirable passages in the interstices of the three-dimensional matrix of soil particles, their usual habitat. The differences in degrees of freedom of movement between snout and body are reflected in the innervation of the musculature. Along the length of the body, the two quadrants of dorsal muscle receive common innervation as do the two quadrants of ventral muscle. By contrast, muscles in the snout have an octagonal arrangement of innervation. It is likely that the exploratory behaviour of the snout is mediated by octant-specific motor and sensory neurons, together with their associated interneurons. The well-defined anatomical structure and neural circuitry of the snout together with behavioural observations should facilitate the implementation of models of the neural basis of exploratory movements, which could lead to an understanding of the basis of this relatively complex behaviour, a behaviour that has similarities to foraging in some vertebrates. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Connectome to behaviour: modelling C. elegans at cellular resolution’.

Circus aerialism and emotional labour

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-232
Author(s):  
Kevin Walby ◽  
Dale Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Management ◽  
The Body ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Emotional Labour ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Collective Emotions

<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="CIT0019">Hochschild (1983)</xref> introduced the idea of emotional labour to examine how emotions are performed and managed in work settings. Recent writings have extended Hochschild’s works on emotional labour by focusing on the body and collective emotions. Contributing to this literature, we draw on interviews conducted with circus aerialists from several Canadian cities to understand the complexities of emotions, performance and work. Drawing from interviews with 31 aerialists, we examine what aerialists say about emotion management during their performances and travels. We analyse how emotional labour overlaps with the bodily control necessary to engage in circus aerialism as a form of risky work. We also examine how emotional labour is conducted in relation to audience type and the emotional climates that emerge at the group level in aerialist troupes. We conclude by discussing what these findings mean for literatures on emotions and on circus work.

Patient handling with and without slings: an analysis of the risk of injury to the lumbar spine

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Elford ◽  
Leon Straker ◽  
Geoffrey Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Lumbar Spine ◽  
Patient Handling ◽  
Risk Of Injury

scholarly journals COMPARISON OF MUSCULOSKELETAL STRESS ON LUMBAR, SHOULDER, AND WRIST JOINTS WHILE MAKING A BED USING EASYTUCK PAD VERSUS OTHER BED-MAKING TOOLS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARMIA ABDO ◽  
HANI AL-NAKHLI
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Random Order ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Subjective Data ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Repeated Measures Analysis ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Queen Size

Objective: Currently, there are multiple bed-making tools utilized by consumers and businesses with the intention of increasing safety and reducing time to make a bed. In this study, we will compare musculoskeletal stress, time, and preference of making a bed using the EasyTuck pad versus three other bed-making tools and making a bed without any bed-making tool. Methods: A sample of ten subjects performed the task of making a queen size mattress bed with one bottom fitted sheet and one top flat sheet, using the EasyTuck pad versus three other bed-making tools, and making a bed without any bed-making tool, in a random order. Time to make the bed, forces on the low back, shoulders and wrist, and the number of times each individual bent forward were measured during each trial. In addition, subjective preferences were measured using a simple questionnaire. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences between the five different procedures. There were significant differences for all the measured variables. Regarding the time needed to make one bed, the EasyTuck pad had the least time range (80.6 s±4.3), which was approximately 40 s less than making the bed with no tool (p<0.001). Furthermore, for the overall lumbar spine impulse force, the EasyTuck pad had the largest overall reduction in this category (90.6%). Regarding the subjective data, the EasyTuck pad had an overall rating of 9.4 out of 10, compared to the other tools with ratings of 5.9, 5.1, and 3.4 out of 10, which was a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). Conclusion: Making beds on a regular basis poses risk of injury, especially for those who are required to perform this for their occupation. However, using assistive tools for bed-making, could minimize, and prevent injuries and overload to the lower back, and other parts of the body, making the bed-making task safer. Based on our findings, the EasyTuck pad was by far the most efficient and safest tool to assist in making beds, with the lowest possible risk of injury when compared to all the other tools tested.

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