Abstract
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.
Highlights
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) make up a large proportion of occupational diseases, especially in countries with a large industrial production sector [1]
This study investigated the biomechanical and metabolic effects of a passive exoskeleton under laboratory conditions for two specific tasks representing typical overhead work activities
The present work demonstrates the potential of lightweight passive exoskeletons to make overhead work activities easier for workers
Summary
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) make up a large proportion of occupational diseases, especially in countries with a large industrial production sector [1]. It was reported that 69% of patients with shoulder pain did jobs involving large anteversion angles in the shoulder joint [3], which led to the inference that such postures were directly related to a significant increase in stress to the joint [3,4]. Ergonomic arrangements, such as the use of handling tools (e.g., hand-held manipulators, industrial robots), proved to be advantageous in some areas. The major disadvantages of these approaches include low user acceptance due to time delays, increased “movement effort” as well as the lack of necessary flexibility while working [5].
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