Title: Manual material handling and occupational low back disorders: a narrative literature review emphasising maximum acceptable weight of load

Authors: N. Girish; Rauf Iqbal; Vivek Khanzode; Amithabha De

Addresses: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, India ' National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Vihar Lake, Powai Mumbai, India ' National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Vihar Lake, Powai Mumbai, India ' Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Mayurbhanj Complex, Nongthymmai, Shillong, India

Abstract: Manual material handling activities pose major risk to the health of the workers, however, literature reviews related to load lifting capacity is lacking. The objective of this study is to review the literatures related to various methods of determining maximum acceptable weight of load in manual material handlers. In this review, 72 studies were appraised by the authors independently and were synthesised based on the methodological quality and relevance. A comprehensive synthesis of the published information related to prevalence, risk factors and methods of determining maximum acceptable weight of load has been done. The weight and characteristics of the load are the main risk factor for low back disorders among manual material handlers. Psychophysical methodology is the commonly adopted approach for determining maximum acceptable weight of load. Progressive isoinertial lifting evaluation is considered to be the gold standard for determining lifting capacity.

Keywords: maximum acceptable weight; load weight; manual handling; materials handling; occupational health; lower back disorders; psychophysical methods; biomechanics; physiology; isometric approach; isokinetic approach; isoinertial approach; literature review; load lifting capacity; prevalence; risk factors; lifting evaluation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2015.073010

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2015 Vol.3 No.3/4, pp.376 - 392

Received: 22 Jun 2015
Accepted: 19 Aug 2015
Published online: 11 Nov 2015 *

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