Original scientific paper
LUMBAR SPINE INSTABILITY AS RISK FACTOR IN LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS
Aleksandar Sušić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9502-9276
; Fakultet strojarstva i brodogradnje, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Martina Žokalj
; Fakultet strojarstva i brodogradnje, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Mario Kasović
; Kineziološki fakultet, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The focus of interest is on the manual lifting and handling of heavy weights. The paper aims to establish how to ascertain the existence of conditions that impair or threaten spinal health, thus representing a health hazard to workers. To maintain the required level of efficiency in lifting and handling weights and to prevent lumbar spine injuries at work, risk factors need to be reduced to a minimum.
In view of the fact that lumbar spine injuries most frequently occur during uncontrolled motions and may also be caused by insufficiently conditioned or/and activated back musculature, monitoring of the changes in the lumbar momentum has been recognised as an exceptionally important source of information. Biomechanical analysis relies on the protocol especially developed to monitor the changes in biomechanical values recorded for different body movements and postures.
The results indicate that although in theory there is a proper method for carrying out of weight lifting tasks, the geometry of a weight and the position of its centre of gravity, the anthropometric parameters of the worker and his skills and capabilities all need to be examined prior to assigning a particular weight lifting task to a worker. Recognised also as a factor of paramount importance is that spine stability during lifting is greatly affected by all of the above parameters. Spine stability may be monitored primarily via changes in the lumbar momentum curve, but other indicators ought not to be excluded. Thus, in the event of spine instability during a weight lifting task, the risk of injury rises significantly even when other parameters affecting spinal load are of low intensity.
Keywords
lumbar spine stability; weight lifting; risk factors; lumbar spine momentum
Hrčak ID:
137600
URI
Publication date:
8.4.2015.
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