Application of Inertial Measurement Units for Directly Measuring Occupational Exposure to Non-Neutral Postures of the Low Back and Shoulder

Details

• Personal Author:
  Schall MC
• Description:
  Low back pain and disorders of the shoulder are among the most common and expensive of all occupational injuries and illnesses. Gaining a better understanding of how and why workers develop these conditions is important for protecting worker safety, health, and well-being. Current methods used to measure occupational exposure to non-neutral working postures, a common risk factor associated with low back pain and shoulder disorders, in a real work environment are lacking. Novel technology has recently become available that may be better suited for measuring occupational exposure to non-neutral working postures than previous methods. However, limited research has been conducted to evaluate this technology for use in real work environments. The aims of this thesis were, therefore, to (i) evaluate the accuracy and repeatability of the novel technology designed to estimate exposure to non-neutral working postures, (ii) explore the effects of wearing the technology in slightly different configurations and using different data processing options on its accuracy and repeatability, and to (iii) demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology by applying it in a study comparing old work equipment with innovative work equipment designed to reduce the development of disabling low back and shoulder conditions in healthcare workers. Results of the thesis showed that the novel technology may be used to accurately and repeatedly estimate exposures to non-neutral working postures in studies involving real work environments. Researchers can now more confidently use this technology in studies designed to better understand the reasons why people develop disabling low back and shoulder conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Electromagnetic Phenomena Metals Mining Occupational Health Radiation Radio Waves Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Inertial Measurement Biomechanics Body Mechanics Ergonomics Low Back Pain Motion Studies MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Posture Sensors Shoulder Disorder Wearable Technologies

  More +
• Publisher:
  University of Iowa
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Dissertation
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-117
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052576
• Citation:
  Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa, 2014 Dec; :1-117
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Application of inertial measurement units for directly measuring occupational exposure to non-neutral postures of the low back and shoulder
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3b493623824de7dfc596984749542cf9a2cc35ddc89accbd58645f3c82a176928cb910d6d016286c562c156f5088a4a680f0d7ec3afee3bafa4096ff0f87c2d7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212085/cdc_212085_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.17 MB ]