Citation

Chen YL. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 2003; 31(2): 111-117.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although many researchers have examined the effectiveness of abdominal belts, our review of the literature failed to find any systematic analysis that addressed the appropriate tightness of the belts. This motivated us to examine the effect of belt tightness on the determination of the maximal acceptable weight of lift (MAWL) in this study. Twenty healthy male subjects psychophysically determined their MAWL under the task conditions of two lifting frequencies (one time maximum, OTM; 4 lifts/min) and two lifting ranges (floor to knuckle height, FK; and knuckle to shoulder height, KS). Each subject performed a given task condition while wearing a belt at three levels of tightness (15, 20, and 25 mmHg) and no belt at all. The results indicated that the MAWL significantly differed with the tightness of the belt (pRelevance to industryOur literature review failed to find any systematic analysis that addressed the tightness of abdominal belts, we focused on examining the effect of belt tightness on the psychophysically determined lifting abilities in this study. To know the effect of the tightness of the belt on lifting abilities is useful to partially clarify why a great deal of controversy existed among belt-related studies. Furthermore, the belt would be used to a more cautious way in the prevention of back injury while manual materials handling (MMH) tasks are performed.