Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations
Firefighters and military personnel employ multiple backpack designs for carrying air tanks along with other heavy gear for occupational purposes. As the load increases, the biomechanical and physiological demands on the carrier change as well. The xPk® harness, a new design, claims to improve the l...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2018-01-01
|
| Series: | Cogent Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2018.1502231 |
| _version_ | 1797723875054714880 |
|---|---|
| author | Rumit Singh Kakar Joshua M Tome Deborah L. King Zhongmin Jin |
| author_facet | Rumit Singh Kakar Joshua M Tome Deborah L. King Zhongmin Jin |
| author_sort | Rumit Singh Kakar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Firefighters and military personnel employ multiple backpack designs for carrying air tanks along with other heavy gear for occupational purposes. As the load increases, the biomechanical and physiological demands on the carrier change as well. The xPk® harness, a new design, claims to improve the load carriage ability for firefighters by allowing the load to be carried closer to the individual’s center of mass (COM) thus reducing the energy cost and increasing comfort level compared with the traditional design. The study compared biomechanical and physiological differences during walking at 1.79m/s (4 mph) at different grades, while carrying a firefighter air tank in traditional harness to xPk® double strap harnesses. There were significant differences in grade kinematics, but differences between old and new harnesses were minor. The minimal differences and subjective preference for xPk® could potentially be helpful in improving load carrying capacity without having to retrain carrying mechanics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:09:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1ae4e89a3024322b6f6190a2fabe104 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2331-1916 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:09:03Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1ae4e89a3024322b6f6190a2fabe1042023-09-02T11:03:31ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Engineering2331-19162018-01-015110.1080/23311916.2018.15022311502231Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variationsRumit Singh Kakar0Joshua M Tome1Deborah L. King2Zhongmin Jin3Ithaca CollegeSchool of Health Science and Human Performance, Ithaca CollegeIthaca CollegeXian Jiao Tong University (China) and Leeds University.(UK)Firefighters and military personnel employ multiple backpack designs for carrying air tanks along with other heavy gear for occupational purposes. As the load increases, the biomechanical and physiological demands on the carrier change as well. The xPk® harness, a new design, claims to improve the load carriage ability for firefighters by allowing the load to be carried closer to the individual’s center of mass (COM) thus reducing the energy cost and increasing comfort level compared with the traditional design. The study compared biomechanical and physiological differences during walking at 1.79m/s (4 mph) at different grades, while carrying a firefighter air tank in traditional harness to xPk® double strap harnesses. There were significant differences in grade kinematics, but differences between old and new harnesses were minor. The minimal differences and subjective preference for xPk® could potentially be helpful in improving load carrying capacity without having to retrain carrying mechanics.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2018.1502231firefighterharnessscbabackpackgait |
| spellingShingle | Rumit Singh Kakar Joshua M Tome Deborah L. King Zhongmin Jin Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations Cogent Engineering firefighter harness scba backpack gait |
| title | Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations |
| title_full | Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations |
| title_fullStr | Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations |
| title_short | Biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations |
| title_sort | biomechanical and physiological load carrying efficiency of two firefighter harness variations |
| topic | firefighter harness scba backpack gait |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2018.1502231 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rumitsinghkakar biomechanicalandphysiologicalloadcarryingefficiencyoftwofirefighterharnessvariations AT joshuamtome biomechanicalandphysiologicalloadcarryingefficiencyoftwofirefighterharnessvariations AT deborahlking biomechanicalandphysiologicalloadcarryingefficiencyoftwofirefighterharnessvariations AT zhongminjin biomechanicalandphysiologicalloadcarryingefficiencyoftwofirefighterharnessvariations |