Paper Info
Title
Evaluation of ceiling-supported back harnesses in preventing injury in sheep shearing
Abstract
Lower back injuries are a significant global problem. They are particularly common in occupations that require prolonged or repetitive spinal flexion. Sheep shearing is one such occupation and the prevalence of back injuries is severe. Ceiling-supported back harnesses are a commonly used safety device in this occupation but its effectiveness in sheep shearing tasks has yet to be quantified. It is likely that accumulated and time-dependent changes in kinematics and neuromuscular control are relevant in the development of many lower back injuries. This is supported by the literature in sheep shearing, where 68% more injuries occur towards the end of the working day compared to the start. This means that data collected over a full working day is beneficial for measuring the effectiveness of safety interventions. The previous research in safety interventions in shearing have not collected data for more than 15 minutes, and do not adequately address longer term effects. This study compares the effects of wearing a ceiling-supported back harness on shearer kinematics and muscle activity, from the collected data over a full working day and incorporating time-of-day effects. The outcome shows that the use of ceiling-supported back harness results in improvements in kinematic features, but also an increase in muscle activity and fatigue.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.1109/EMBC46164.2021.9629719
2021 43RD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBC)
DocType
Volume
ISSN
Conference
2021
1557-170X
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
0
Authors
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Mark Robinson100.34
Ying Tan273786.47
Kusal Goonewardena300.34
Denny Oetomo400.34
Chris Manzie500.34