A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons
Cumulative back muscle fatigue plays a role in the occurrence of low-back injuries in occupations that require repetitive lifting of heavy loads and working in forward leaning postures. Lift-support exoskeletons have the potential to reduce back and hip muscle activity, thereby delaying the onset of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Wearable Technologies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000329/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811155683668656128 |
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| author | Rachel M. van Sluijs David Rodriguez-Cianca Clara B. Sanz-Morère Stefano Massardi Volker Bartenbach Diego Torricelli |
| author_facet | Rachel M. van Sluijs David Rodriguez-Cianca Clara B. Sanz-Morère Stefano Massardi Volker Bartenbach Diego Torricelli |
| author_sort | Rachel M. van Sluijs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cumulative back muscle fatigue plays a role in the occurrence of low-back injuries in occupations that require repetitive lifting of heavy loads and working in forward leaning postures. Lift-support exoskeletons have the potential to reduce back and hip muscle activity, thereby delaying the onset of fatigue in these muscles. Therefore, exoskeletons are being considered a potentially important tool to further reduce workload-related injuries. However, today no standards have been established on how to benchmark the support level of lift-support exoskeletons. This work proposes an experimental protocol to quantify the support level of a lift-support exoskeletons on instant changes in muscle activity and fatigue development while maintaining a static forward leaning posture. It then applies the protocol to experimentally assess the effect of the support provided by a commercially available lift-support exoskeleton, the LiftSuit 2.0 (Auxivo AG, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland), on the user. In a sample of 14 participants, the amplitude of the muscle activity of the back muscles
$ \left({\Delta}_{\mathrm{erectorspinae},\mathrm{thoracic}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 33.0\%,{\Delta}_{\mathrm{erectorspinae},\mathrm{lumbar}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 13.2\%\right) $
and hip muscles (
$ {\Delta}_{\mathrm{gluteusmaximus}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 16.3\% $
) was significantly reduced. Wearing the exoskeleton significantly reduced the amount of fatigue developed during the task (
$ {\Delta}_{\mathrm{quadratuslumborum}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 10.1\%,{\Delta}_{\mathrm{gluteusmaximus}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 44.0\% $
). Changes in muscle fatigue can be objectively recorded and correlated with relevant changes for exoskeleton users: the time a task can be performed and perceived low-back fatigue. Thus, including such measures of fatigue in standardized benchmarking procedures will help quantify the benefits of exoskeletons for occupational use. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:38:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81e37419509e418e91c394f38b235119 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2631-7176 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:38:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wearable Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-81e37419509e418e91c394f38b2351192023-03-09T12:43:46ZengCambridge University PressWearable Technologies2631-71762023-01-01410.1017/wtc.2022.32A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletonsRachel M. van Sluijs0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7939-7554David Rodriguez-Cianca1Clara B. Sanz-Morère2Stefano Massardi3Volker Bartenbach4Diego Torricelli5Auxivo AG, Zurich, SwitzerlandCajal Institute, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, SpainCenter for Clinical Neuroscience – Hospital Los Madroños, Madrid, SpainCajal Institute, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, SpainAuxivo AG, Zurich, SwitzerlandCajal Institute, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, SpainCumulative back muscle fatigue plays a role in the occurrence of low-back injuries in occupations that require repetitive lifting of heavy loads and working in forward leaning postures. Lift-support exoskeletons have the potential to reduce back and hip muscle activity, thereby delaying the onset of fatigue in these muscles. Therefore, exoskeletons are being considered a potentially important tool to further reduce workload-related injuries. However, today no standards have been established on how to benchmark the support level of lift-support exoskeletons. This work proposes an experimental protocol to quantify the support level of a lift-support exoskeletons on instant changes in muscle activity and fatigue development while maintaining a static forward leaning posture. It then applies the protocol to experimentally assess the effect of the support provided by a commercially available lift-support exoskeleton, the LiftSuit 2.0 (Auxivo AG, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland), on the user. In a sample of 14 participants, the amplitude of the muscle activity of the back muscles $ \left({\Delta}_{\mathrm{erectorspinae},\mathrm{thoracic}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 33.0\%,{\Delta}_{\mathrm{erectorspinae},\mathrm{lumbar}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 13.2\%\right) $ and hip muscles ( $ {\Delta}_{\mathrm{gluteusmaximus}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 16.3\% $ ) was significantly reduced. Wearing the exoskeleton significantly reduced the amount of fatigue developed during the task ( $ {\Delta}_{\mathrm{quadratuslumborum}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 10.1\%,{\Delta}_{\mathrm{gluteusmaximus}}\hskip0.35em =\hskip0.35em 44.0\% $ ). Changes in muscle fatigue can be objectively recorded and correlated with relevant changes for exoskeleton users: the time a task can be performed and perceived low-back fatigue. Thus, including such measures of fatigue in standardized benchmarking procedures will help quantify the benefits of exoskeletons for occupational use.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000329/type/journal_articlebiomechanicsexoskeletonsexosuitsindustry |
| spellingShingle | Rachel M. van Sluijs David Rodriguez-Cianca Clara B. Sanz-Morère Stefano Massardi Volker Bartenbach Diego Torricelli A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons Wearable Technologies biomechanics exoskeletons exosuits industry |
| title | A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons |
| title_full | A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons |
| title_fullStr | A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons |
| title_full_unstemmed | A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons |
| title_short | A method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift-support exoskeletons |
| title_sort | method to quantify the reduction of back and hip muscle fatigue of lift support exoskeletons |
| topic | biomechanics exoskeletons exosuits industry |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2631717622000329/type/journal_article |
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