This study aimed to systematically compare three representative observational methods for assessing musculoskeletal loadings and their association with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs): Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). The comparison was based on a literature review without time limitations and was conducted on various factors related to observational methods. The comparisons showed that although it has a significant limitation of comprising only two classifications for the leg postures, (1) the RULA is the most frequently used method among the three techniques; (2) many studies adopted the RULA even in evaluation of unstable lower limb postures; (3) the RULA assessed postural loads as higher risk levels in most studies reviewed in this research; (4) the intra- and inter-reliabilities for the RULA were not low; and (5) the risk levels assessed by the RULA were more significantly associated with postural load criteria such as discomfort, MHTs and % capable at the trunk, and MSDs.

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Systematic Comparison of OWAS, RULA, and REBA Based on a Literature Review

Part I: Differences Between Women and Men: Chapter 1. Morphological Differences and Similarities. Chapter 2. Physiological Differences and Similarities. Chapter 3. Performance Differences. Part II: Exercise and the Menstruating Woman: Chapter 4. The Menstrual Cycle: A Unique Function. Chapter 5. Effects of the Menstrual Cycle on Physical Performance. Chapter 6. The Effects of Exercise on Menstrual Function. Chapter 7. Menstruation and Sport: Practical Implications. Chapter 8. Athletic Amenorrhea. Part III: Exercise and the Nonmenstruating Woman: Chapter 9. Exercise During Pregnancy. Chapter 10. Exercise and the Menopause. Chapter 11. Exercise and the Elderly Woman. Part IV. Nutrition, Exercise, and Nutritional Disorders: Chapter 12. Nutrition and the Active Woman. Chapter 13. Nutritional Disorders. Part V: The Athletic Woman: Chapter 14. Adaptation to Training. Chapter 15. Athletic Injuries. Chapter 16. The Female Athlete: A Profile. Chapter 17. Epilogue.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/25/4/247.1.full.pdf

Women, Sport and Performance: a Physiological Perspective

In the ordinary course of aging, individuals change their body composition, mainly reducing their skeletal muscle mass and increasing their fat mass. In association, muscle strength and functionality also decrease. The geriatric assessment allows knowing the baseline situation of the patients, determines the impact of diseases, and defines specific treatments. There are various tools to evaluate the health condition of older people. These tools include the assessment scales of necessary Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), physical and functional assessment scales, and instruments that assess the cognitive state of the person. There are several strategies that have been proposed to combat skeletal muscle atrophy due to aging, such as physical exercise, nutritional supplements, or drugs. Some researchers have highlighted the efficacy of the combination of the mentioned strategies. In this chapter, we will focus only on physical exercise as a strategy to reduce skeletal muscle loss during aging.

Skeletal Muscle Aging Atrophy: Assessment and Exercise-Based Treatment

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are among the most common disorders in any work sector and industry. Ergonomic risk assessment can reduce the risk of WMSDs. Motion capture that can provide accurate and real-time quantitative data has been widely used as a tool for ergonomic risk assessment. However, most ergonomic risk assessments that use motion capture still depend on the traditional ergonomic risk assessment method, focusing on qualitative data. Therefore, this article aims to provide a view on the ergonomic risk assessment and apply current motion capture technology to understand classical mechanics of physics that include velocity, acceleration, force, and momentum in ergonomic risk assessment. This review suggests that using motion capture technologies with kinetic and kinematic variables, such as velocity, acceleration, and force, can help avoid inconsistency and develop more reliable results in ergonomic risk assessment. Most studies related to the physical measurement conducted with motion capture prefer to use non-optical motion capture because it is a low-cost system and simple experimental setup. However, the present review reveals that optical motion capture can provide more accurate data.

Implementation of Kinetic and Kinematic Variables in Ergonomic Risk Assessment Using Motion Capture Simulation: A Review.

Interactions of personal and occupational risk factors on hand grip strength of winter pruners

Agricultural upper limb assessment (AULA), which was developed for evaluating upper limb body postures, was compared with the existing assessment tools such as rapid upper limb assessment (RULA), rapid entire body assessment (REBA), and ovako working posture analysis system (OWAS) based on the results of experts' assessments of 196 farm tasks in this study. The expert group consisted of ergonomists, industrial medicine experts, and agricultural experts. As a result of the hit rate analysis, the hit rate (average: 48.6%) of AULA was significantly higher than those of the other assessment tools (RULA: 33.3%, REBA: 30.1%, and OWAS: 34.4%). The quadratic weighted kappa analysis also showed that the kappa value (0.718) of AULA was significantly higher than those of the other assessment tools (0.599, 0.578, and 0.538 for RULA, REBA, and OWAS, respectively). Based on the results, AULA showed a better agreement with expert evaluation results than other evaluation tools. In general, other assessment tools tended to underestimate the risk of upper limb posture in this study. AULA would be an appropriate evaluation tool to assess the risk of various upper limb postures.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6479/pdf

Application of AULA Risk Assessment Tool by Comparison with Other Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tools.

The aim of this study was to determine the muscle load reduction of the upper extremities and lower extremities associated with wearing an exoskeleton, based on analyses of muscle activity (electromyography: EMG) and the AnyBody Modeling System (AMS). Twenty healthy males in their twenties participated in this study, performing bolting tasks at two working heights (60 and 85 cm). The muscle activities of the upper trapezius (UT), middle deltoid (MD), triceps brachii (TB), biceps brachii (BB), erector spinae (ES), biceps femoris (BF), rectus femoris (RF), and tibialis anterior (TA) were measured by EMG and estimated by AMS, respectively. When working at the 60 cm height with the exoskeleton, the lower extremity muscle (BF, RF, TA) activities of EMG and AMS decreased. When working at the 85 cm height, the lower extremity muscle activity of EMG decreased except for TA, and those of AMS decreased except for RF. The muscle activities analyzed by the two methods showed similar patterns, in that wearing the exoskeleton reduced loads of the lower extremity muscles. Therefore, wearing an exoskeleton can be recommended to prevent an injury. As the results of the two methods show a similar tendency, the AMS can be used.

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Ergonomic Assessment of a Lower-Limb Exoskeleton through Electromyography and Anybody Modeling System

Introduction. Force control of the hand is an essential factor for operating tools and moving objects. Therefore, a method for quantifying hand functionality more accurately and objectively is very...

Evaluation of the controlled grip force exertion tasks associated with age, gender, handedness and target force level.

Study on the grip spans of combination pliers in a maximum gripping task

Background Measurement of hand exertion is very important to quantify the risk of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) in manufacturing fields. Although a direct measurement is the most accurate way to quantify physical load, it is expensive and time consuming. To solve this limitation, a subjective self-report method has been proposed as a possible alternative. Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze the accuracy of subjective perception for grip force exertions associated with handedness (dominant and non-dominant hands). Methods A total of nine healthy adults participated in this study. All participants were asked to exert hand grip forces for randomly selected target force levels without any information about the actual target force levels. Then, participants were also asked to rate the subjective perception of their exertion level using % Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) after each hand grip force exertion. Results The trend of subjective perception for various target force levels was different according to the handedness. In the case of the dominant hand, participants tend to rate less MVC levels (under-estimation) than the actual target force levels at lower than 50% MVC, whereas they tend to rate more MVC levels (over-estimation) than the actual target force levels at higher than 50% MVC, respectively. In case of non-dominant hand, generally participants showed over-estimate for all levels of MVCs in this study. Conclusions According to the results of this study, subjective perception of exertion showed different patterns on the handedness (S-shape for dominant hand vs. over-estimation for non-dominant hand) for various target force levels. Therefore, it would be necessary to apply different criteria for each hand to evaluate subjective perception of hand grip exertion tasks.

Kyeong-Hee Choi

Papers

Application of AULA Risk Assessment Tool by Comparison with Other Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tools.

Ergonomic Assessment of a Lower-Limb Exoskeleton through Electromyography and Anybody Modeling System

Evaluation of the controlled grip force exertion tasks associated with age, gender, handedness and target force level.

Study on the grip spans of combination pliers in a maximum gripping task

Evaluation of subjective perceived rating for grip strength depending on handedness for various target force levels.