The Impact of Inter-limb Leg Lean Tissue Mass Asymmetry on Stair Climb Performance in Career Firefighters.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Ergonomics, 2025, v. 68, no. 3: The Impact of Inter-limb Leg Lean Tissue Mass Asymmetry on Stair Climb Performance in Career Firefighters.
• Journal Article:
  Ergonomics
• Personal Author:
  Buoncristiani, Nicholas A. ; Gerstner, Gena R. ; Laffan, Megan R. ; Trivisonno, Abigail J. ; Mota, Jacob A. ; Giuliani-Dewig, Hayden K. ; Ryan, Eric D.
• Description:
  The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of inter-limb leg lean tissue mass (LTM) asymmetry on stair climb (SC) performance in firefighters. Forty-one career firefighters (age = 32.3 ± 8.2 years, body mass = 92.1 ± 18.6 kg, stature = 178.3 ± 7.9 cm) visited the laboratory on one occasion and completed a whole body and leg composition assessment followed by a timed and weighted SC task. Percent body fat (%BF) and leg LTM were determined during a DEXA scan and regional thigh analysis. Asymmetry was assessed by the percent difference between limbs (dominant limb LTM - non-dominant limb LTM)/dominant limb LTM × 100) and a ± 3% cut-off for asymmetry classification. Participants ascended and descended 26 stairs four times as quickly as possible while wearing a weighted (22 kg) vest. Point biserial correlations were used to assess the relationship of inter-limb leg LTM asymmetry and SC performance before and after controlling for age and %BF. Results indicated that inter-limb leg LTM asymmetry was associated with longer SC task time (poorer performance) both before (
  
   = 0.432,
  
   = 0.005) and after (
  
   = 0.502,
  
   = 0.001) controlling for age and %BF. Our findings indicated that inter-limb leg LTM asymmetry negatively impacts firefighter SC performance, which may be improved with appropriate exercise interventions.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Firefighters
  • Adult
  • Male
  • Stair Climbing
  • Leg
  • Body Composition
  • Young Adult
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Female
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Tactical
  • occupational health
  • body composition
  • occupational performance
  • aging
• Source:
  Ergonomics, 2025, v. 68, no. 3
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2024.2327582
• ISSN:
  0014-0139 ; 1366-5847
• Pubmed ID:
  38465900
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12038821
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  U19 OH012303/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Pages in Document:
  338-344 (12 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  68
• Issue:
  3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/262103/cdc_262103_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 530.49 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c858f5230b0ef0b6f21bc9b1c70df77d4ecdd08066b5851dc1b0a2162185a3af70b7df40fc3afce34b017a5c857dd131fa63d88e95ec97d2bf929febfaeae791