Effects of agricultural quad bike driving on postural control during static, dynamic and functional tasks – A field study

Abstract

BackgroundDriving a quad bike in a rural occupational setting is likely to expose the driver to various physical stimuli including whole-body vibration (WBV). These exposures may be linked to post-driving postural alterations which in turn could lead to an increased risk of spinal injury while undertaking manual material handling activities immediately following driving or falls while exiting from a vehicle. PurposeThe purpose of this study was to use a battery of postural tasks namely; bipedal and unipedal stance, limits of stability (LOS) and lifting task to assess how quad bike driving alters the postural control (PC) in a group of rural workers. MethodsThe PC, determined from centre of pressure (COP) displacements in a group of rural workers (n = 34), was evaluated at three time (T) periods, once (T-I) before the 30 min quad bike driving session on a typical New Zealand farm terrain and twice (T-II and T-III) immediately following driving, each time period lasted approximately 10 min later. ResultsThe results demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) increase and decrease in the magnitude of the COP measures for the lifting task and unipedal stance respectively during both T-II and T-III periods. However significant (p < 0.05) increase in the magnitude COP measures of bipedal stance, and increase in the maximal stability limits (LOS) were demonstrated only in the T-III. ConclusionsThese results demonstrate both immediate and sustained alterations in the PC following a period of occupational vehicle driving. Also, the results demonstrate both a worsening and improvement in postural control during the performance of a battery of tasks. Observed adverse or facilitatory postural effects will require further laboratory based investigations in order to determine how such disparity can best be explained or challenged. Relevance to industryThe findings will inform ergonomists about the potential risk involved in carrying out physically demanding occupational tasks following vehicle driving. This putative situation could be prevented by adopting behavioural strategies by drivers, and engineered interventions designed to reduce WBV exposure.