Helicopter pilots espouse ergonomically unfavourable postures and endure vibration which result in low back pain. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a helicopter flight on pilots back and shoulder muscles using surface Electromyography (sEMG) analysis. This study also correlates low back pain symptoms from Rehabilitation Bioengineering Group Pain Scale (RBGPS) questionnaire with muscle fatigue rates obtained. RBGPS was administered on 20 Coast Guard helicopter pilots. sEMG was acquired before and after flight from erector spinae and trapezius muscles in 8 of these 20 pilots. Statistical analysis of time and frequency domain parameters indicated significant fatigue in right trapezius muscle due to flying. Muscle fatigue correlated with average duration of flight (r2 = 0.913), total service as pilot (r2 = 0.825), pain (r2 = 0.463) and total flying hours (r2 = 0.507). However, muscle fatigue weakly correlated with Body Mass Index (BMI) (r2 = 0.000144) and age (r2 = 0.033). © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society.

Venkatesh Balasubramanian

Department of Engineering Design

Electromyography

Frequency domain analysis

Health

Helicopters

Body mass index

LOW BACK PAIN

MUSCLE FATIGUES

RBGPS

SEMG STUDY

SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY

Time and frequency domains

TRAPEZIUS MUSCLE

Muscle

adult

AIRPLANE PILOT

article

body mass

CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION

controlled study

ERECTOR SPINAE

flight

Human

male

MUSCLE FATIGUE

PAIN ASSESSMENT

Questionnaire

Skeletal muscle

symptom

WORKING TIME

IIT Madras is a public technical and research university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1959, it is recognised as an Institute of National Importance.

IIT Madras has been ranked as the top engineering institute in India for four years in a row by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the MHRD

It currently offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees across 16 disciplines in Engineering, Sciences, Humanities and Management. About 596 faculty belonging to science and engineering departments and centres of the Institute are engaged in teaching, research and industrial consultancy.

IIT Madras

Applied Ergonomics

Hand position while driving varies considerably among drivers and it depends on their training and habit of driving. In this paper, we have estimated muscle fatigue of drivers using sensors to measure interfacial grip pressure and surface electromyography (sEMG) for three different steering wheel holding positions, i.e., 10-2, 9-3, and 8-4, during simulated driving. Thirty volunteers participated in this study by performing 60 min of simulated driving. sEMG study did not show a significant ( {p} < 0.05 ) rate of increase in muscle fatigue while driving in 8-4 position when compared with 10-2 and 9-3 positions. Interfacial grip pressure showed that the mechanical loading acting on the palm of the hands was distributed while holding steering wheel in 8-4 position. In comparison, 10-2 and 9-3 positions showed a point palmar loading. In 8-4 position, the rate of decrease of interfacial grip pressure features such as contact pressure was observed to be significantly ( {p} < 0.05 ) lower than 10-2 and 9-3 positions. This implies that the rate of fatigue will be lower while holding steering wheel in the 8-4 position. Based on the result from this paper, the 8-4 position can be concluded as the best position to hold the steering wheel to reduce the risk of muscle fatigue and other injuries to drivers during prolonged driving. © 2001-2012 IEEE.

IEEE Sensors Journal

Grip and Electrophysiological Sensor-Based Estimation of Muscle Fatigue while Holding Steering Wheel in Different Positions

Electromyography (EMG) is considered to be the good measure of muscles activity and also known as the gold standard for estimating muscle fatigue. In this study, we have estimated association between EMG acquired from 60 min of simulator driving and EMG acquired from 60 min of on-road driving period. Twenty five male subjects participated in this study on their own volition. EMG electrodes were placed at three muscle group namely, trapezius medial (TM), latissimus dorsi medial (LDM), and erector spinae (ES) muscle group bilaterally. Mean power frequency (MPF) was calculated as a frequency domain analysis of EMG signal acquired from both simulator and on-road. Mean squared coherence (MSC) analysis was applied between EMG (Simulator) and EMG (on-road). In the result, we found significant (p>0.05) correlation between EMG (Simulator) and EMG (on-road) signals which was 0.91±0.04. Based on this finding, EMG study performed on the simulator can be used a surrogate of EMG on-road study. © 2018 IEEE.

2018 13th International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems, ICIIS 2018 - Proceedings

Comparison of Driver Fatigue Trend on simulator and on-road driving based on EMG correlation

Driver fatigue is an important contributor to road accidents. This paper reports a study that evaluated driver fatigue using multimodal fatigue measures, i.e., surface electromyography (sEMG), electroencephalography (EEG), seat interface pressure, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation level. Twenty male participants volunteered in this study by performing 60min of driving on a static simulator. Results from sEMG showed significant physical fatigue (ρ<0.05) in back and shoulder muscle groups. EEG showed significant (ρ<0.05) increase of alpha and theta activities and a significant decrease of beta activity during monotonous driving. Results also showed significant change in bilateral pressure distribution on thigh and buttocks region during the study. These findings demonstrate the use of multimodal measures to assess early onset of fatigue. This will help us understand the influence of physical and mental fatigue on driver during monotonous driving. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society.

Assessment of early onset of driver fatigue using multimodal fatigue measures in a static simulator

Prolonged standing during monotonous tasks such as assembly line jobs may lead to musculoskeletal disorders including increased fatigue, pain and stiffness in active muscles. This study evaluated the efficacy of a dynamic standing posture over the stationary standing posture in reducing physical stress using sEMG and psychophysical analysis. From the sEMG study, it was found that the fatigue rates in leg and lower back muscles were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the stationary standing posture as compared to the dynamic standing posture. This finding was corroborated by the results of psychophysical test. Ergonomic design of the dynamic posture that has been proposed in this study can be easily absorbed into most shop-floors to decrease the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders. Relevance to Industry: The proposed dynamic standing can decrease fatigue and risk of acquiring lower extremity disorders than a stationary standing during shop-floor and assembly line duties. Dynamic standing is simple to implement and can be incorporated in existing assembly line. This can improve occupational safety by reducing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

Comparing dynamic and stationary standing postures in an assembly task

The objective of this study was to determine muscle fatigue in cyclists with and without low back pain (LBP) using bilateral surface electromyography (sEMG). sEMG was acquired bilaterally from biceps brachii medial, trapezius medial, latissimus dorsi medial, and erector spinae medial muscles. Fourteen male volunteers split equally into two groups (with and without LBP) participated in this study. sEMG was recorded before, after 15 and 30 min of cycling when the subjects performed psychophysical tests to elicit maximal voluntary contraction of the relevant muscles. Statistical tests to determine fatigue difference using mean power frequency were performed. LBP group showed a significantly higher fatigue (P < 0.05) in right trapezius medial and erector spinae when compared to the without LBP group. The high fatigue in the back muscles in the LBP group is suggestive of the possibility for worsening of their condition due to cycling. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies

Low back pain and muscle fatigue due to road cycling-An sEMG study

Bar cutting involves manual cutting of reinforcement bars to specific dimensions. Repetitive nature and awkward postures adopted during bar cutting leads to musculoskeletal disorders. RULA was performed to evaluate muscle force and postures. Grand RULA score was found to be 7. Pain was graded on a scale of 0 to 5 on RBG pain scale (RBGPS). Questionnaire study showed that pain in forearm and shoulders were the most common. Good correlation (r2 = 0.912) was observed between RBGPS and RULA scores. Optimisation of lift frequency and hammer weight, along with intervention devices reduces RULA score to 3. © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Ergonomic assessment of bar cutting process in construction

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Assessment of the paraspinal muscles of subjects presenting an idiopathic scoliosis: an EMG pilot study

Industrial Health

Impedance Methods (Apparent Mass, Driving Point Mechanical Impedance and Absorbed Power) for Assessment of the Biomechanical Response of the Seated Person to Whole-body Vibration

Analysis of muscle fatigue in helicopter pilots

Journal	Data powered by TypesetApplied Ergonomics
Publisher	Data powered by TypesetElsevier Ltd
ISSN	00036870
Open Access	No