Development of a device to reduce the risk of injury in handling unstable loads.

BACKGROUND: Manual material handling (MMH) task is the most common cause of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Operators carrying unstable loads were recently shown to be at greater risk of back injury compared to workers carrying stable loads.

OBJECTIVE: This study focused on developing a device to minimize trunk muscle activity and cardiovascular demand while handling a 19-liter bottle.

METHOD: After evaluating several designs, one was selected to be developed, manufactured and tested through an experimental study. Healthy participants (n = 42) manually carried a 19-liter bottle. The carrying technique (i.e., carrying a lateral load while holding the load using the dominant hand, pulling the load using the developed device, carrying the load on the back using the developing device) was the independent variable. The muscular activities (e.g., neck extensor, upper trapezius, pectoralis major, deltoid medial, rectus abdominis, and erector spinae muscles of the dominant side), cardiac costs, plantar pressures, walking speeds, and subjective measures were the dependent variables.

RESULTS: Results show that carrying the developed device like a backpack significantly reduced trunk muscle activity, cardiovascular demand, and plantar pressure compared to the usual practice. The present results suggest that carrying a 19-liter water bottle using the developed device is likely to contribute to lower MSDs.

CONCLUSION: Implementation of the develop device recommended to lessen the risk of injury when handling unstable loads such as liquids.