Comparing standing posture and use of a sit-stand stool: Analysis of vascular, muscular and discomfort outcomes during simulated industrial work

Type de document

Études primaires

Année de publication

2015

Langue

Anglais

Titre de la revue

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

Première page

98

Dernière page

106

Résumé

Sit-stand stools are available for use in industrial settings, but there is a lack of quantitative evidence demonstrating benefits for lower limb, back and/or neck/shoulder outcomes. In this paper we describe an experiment conducted to compare and contrast posture and time-related differences in muscular and vascular outcomes during 34 min of manual repetitive work performed in either standing or sit-standing work posture. We measured vascular parameters in the lower limbs, and muscular parameters in the trunk and neck/shoulder, and discomfort in the three regions as participants accomplished a repetitive box-folding task. Results show that blood flow in the foot (p = 0.022) and ankle mean arterial pressure (p < 0.001) were greater during standing. Left gluteus medius and external oblique activation was higher during standing, while sit-standing work resulted in higher levels of co-activation between the left erector spinae and external oblique muscle pair (p = 0.026). Neck/shoulder muscle activity was not significantly different between the conditions. Reported discomfort did not differ significantly for the trunk and neck/shoulder region, but standing resulted in higher level of reported discomfort in the lower limb. The sit-stand posture used in this experiment appears to prevent the undesirable lower limb outcomes associated with static standing work posture.

Relevance to industry

This work demonstrates quantitative evidence to support the potential use of a sit-stand stool for industrial work operations, at least over relatively short durations.

Mots-clés

Posture assis-debout, Half-seated posture, Posture debout, Standing posture, Siège, Seat, Trouble circulatoire, Physiologie du muscle, Physiology of muscle, Évaluation du confort, Comfort assessment

Numéro de projet IRSST

2010-0063

Ce document n'est pas disponible pour le moment.

Partager

COinS