Pressure Distribution on the Anatomic Landmarks of the Knee and the Effect of Kneepads

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mayton, Alan G. ; Moore SM ; Porter, William L.
• Description:
  This study examines stress transmitted to anatomic landmarks of the knee (patella, combined patella tendon and tibial tubercle) while in static kneeling postures without kneepads and while wearing two kneepads commonly worn in the mining industry. Ten subjects (7 male, 3 female) simulated postures utilized in low-seam mines: kneeling in full flexion; kneeling at 90 degrees of knee flexion; and kneeling on one knee while in one of three kneepad states (no kneepads, non-articulated kneepads, and articulated kneepads). For each posture, peak and mean pressure on the anatomic landmarks of the knee were obtained. The majority of the pressure was found to be transmitted to the knee via the combined patellar tendon and tibial tubercle rather than through the patella. While the kneepads tested decreased the maximum pressure experienced at the combined patellar tendon and tibial tubercle, peak pressures of greater than 25 psi were still experienced over structures commonly injured in mining (e.g. bursa sac - bursitis/Miner's Knee). The major conclusion of this study is that novel kneepad designs that redistribute the stresses at the knee across a greater surface area and to other regions of the leg away from key structures of the knee are needed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Ergonomics Mining Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Mining Biological-effects Biomechanical-modeling Biomechanics Injuries Injury-prevention Knee Mine-workers Mining-equipment Mining-industry Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Occupations Physical-stress Posture Repetitive-work Risk-analysis Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Work-analysis Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices Workplace Activity

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OMSHR - Office of Mine Safety and Health Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  106-113
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037032
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2010 Dec; 42(1):106-113
• Contact Point Address:
  William L. Porter, Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Email:
  wlporter@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining ; Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:20af44c51d36cb1eb9d13882953d60bd608801a5d1e227d32aac1f730445348879c5135c7741b7758b243682f32c448d52f53f01357d3dc056553a6afb0b5642
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/227231/cdc_227231_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 801.05 KB ]