Effects of unexpected lateral mass placement on trunk loading in lifting

J.C.E. van der Burg, I. Kingma, J.H. van Dieen

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    314 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Study Design. A repeated measurements experiment of spinal loading in healthy subjects. Objectives. To test whether unexpected lateral mass placement increases low back loading and trunk movement when subjects are lifting a mass in upright posture. Summary of Background Data. Epidemiologic studies suggest that sudden, unexpected loading will lead to low back pain. Also, asymmetric loading is considered to be harmful to the spine. It can be anticipated that unexpected asymmetric loading will increase the risk of injury even more. Methods. Ten subjects lifted in an upright posture a crate, in which a mass of 10 kg was placed laterally at the left side either expectedly or unexpectedly. The crate reaction forces, body movements, and trunk muscle activity were measured. From these, the L5-S1 net moments and muscle forces were estimated. Results. Unexpected lateral placement of the mass caused no clear increase in peak low back loading. The stiffness of the trunk was lower in the unexpected condition, which, in combination with inadequate net moments produced, resulted in movement of the trunk to the side of the displaced mass. Conclusions. Unexpected lateral mass placement does not increase the compression force. Perturbed trunk movement and lower muscle forces indicated a decreased stability of the spine, which may imply an injury risk.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)764-770
    JournalSpine
    Volume28
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2003

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of unexpected lateral mass placement on trunk loading in lifting'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this