Authors:
Anna Brinkmann
;
Conrad Fifelski-von Böhlen
;
Sandra Hellmers
;
Ole Meyer
;
Rebecca Diekmann
and
Andreas Hein
Affiliation:
Assistive Systems and Medical Device Technology, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
Keyword(s):
Manual Patient Handling, Nursing, Care, Health Monitoring, EMG, Muscle Activity, Biomechanics.
Abstract:
Manual patient handling is a challenging part of daily care and leads to high mechanical loads as well as to the development of degenerative diseases, e.g. lower back pain. To prevent musculoskeletal overload effects, the use of ergonomic working techniques is essential as well as improving caregivers’ functional ability. However, most of the studies do not consider these aspects and biomechanical evaluations including dynamic electromyography (EMG) are rarely analyzed. In this work, we focus on the quantification of lower limb EMG muscle activation patterns of healthy caregiver students in an experimental setup. The extent of lifting different loads ergonomically is analyzed and similarities/dissimilarities of dynamic EMG data of three lower limb muscles are investigated via cross-correlation calculation. One of the main findings of our investigation is an indication of a more consistent mean activity of the quadriceps and hamstring musculature, as the load to be lifted increases. F
urthermore, we found an intra-as well as an interindividual similarity of EMG muscle activation patterns regarding time and shape of the signals generated during all of the conducted lifting tasks with a predominantly high cross-correlation coefficient for the selected muscles of the lower limb.
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