Heart rate response to two lifting techniques

Abstract

Revuelta N, Dauphin A, Kowslowski O, Dubois D, Thevenon A. Heart rate response to two lifting techniques. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000;81:958-9. Objective: To determine the heart rate response to repetitive lifting of light weights employing two techniques, stoop and squat. Design: Randomized cross-over trial. Participants: Twenty healthy volunteers (11 women, 9 men), mean age of 25 years, recruited from the staff of a physical medicine and rehabilitation department. Methods: Subjects lifted and lowered a box weighing 0, 1, or 3kg, using the stoop (bent at waist with knees straight) and squat (knees bent) techniques, 20 times in 1 minute. Main Outcome Measures: The heart rate was recorded every 5 seconds during the effort and 30 seconds and 1 minute after the test. Results: Significantly higher heart rates were found during both the test and recuperation phases of the squat technique with each of the three loads (p <.05). The heart rate increase was also higher with the 3kg load than with the 1kg or 0kg load (p =.0001). Conclusion: The heart rate is lower using the stoop technique for lifting. This may explain why individuals choose the more ergonomically risky stoop technique in everyday lifting tasks. © 2000 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation