Abstract
The risk for musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and shoulder regions was evaluated for different fabric-seaming work tasks. Forty-seven seaming operators answered a questionnaire and 12 of then also participated in an in-depth study. Ratings of perceived exertion, video filming followed by posture analysis and trapezius EMG with temporal pattern analysis were applied. The results from all methods were in agreement, showing that manual seaming of especially wide and complex seams was the most difficult work task, imposing a substantial risk for musculoskeletal disorders. Automated seaming imposed no risk according to the criteria used for head posture and EMG amplitude distribution. The results also demonstrated an increased variability for automated seaming compared to manual seaming concerning posture and EMG temporal pattern analysis. However, in the comparison between the right and left sides, there were no significant differences of EMG parameters despite the differences in musculoskeletal complaints and in arm movement patterns. This was judged to reflect that the trapezius activity, in spite of these differences, had a similar temporal pattern. Amplitude analysis of EMG does not give sufficient information about the variation of muscle load over time. Temporal pattern analysis gives further possibilities in that respect.
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