Cumulative postural exposure measured by a novel device: a preliminary study

Ergonomics. 2011 Sep;54(9):858-65. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2011.600776.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the within-day reliability of the Spineangel® postural monitoring device and to measure cumulative lumbo-pelvic posture exposure of health care workers. Twenty-one workers from an aged-care residential home wore the Spineangel, attached to the belt or waistband of their normal work apparel, during a period of the work shift. To assess the within-day reliability of measurements, 11 workers performed two sets of three lumbo-pelvic forward flexion, sustaining them for five 5 s each, at the beginning and at the end of the work shift. Different thresholds for cumulative postural exposure were measured. The reliability was found to be excellent (ICC = 0.81). On average, a threshold of 30° of lumbo-pelvic forward flexion was exceeded 1069 times/h (SD 2157.1); at 45°, 121 times/h (SD 223.8); and at 60°, 8 times/h (SD 21.8). The use of Spineangel is thus likely to be a useful device for monitoring work posture. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The Spineangel® is capable of providing reliable postural measurements in the workplace. Different cumulative postural exposure thresholds were established considering three domains of cumulative exposure: magnitude (range of motion), frequency and duration. The implementation of such domains for cumulative exposure allowed us to explore interesting forms of monitoring posture exposure.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation*
  • Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / trends
  • Female
  • Health Personnel
  • Hip / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Low Back Pain / prevention & control
  • Lumbar Vertebrae / physiology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / instrumentation*
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / methods
  • Movement
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Posture / physiology*
  • Range of Motion, Articular / physiology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult