Title: The benefits of advanced exposure metrics to estimate occupational shoulder demands

Authors: Meghan E. Vidt; Nicholas J. La Delfa; Jacquelyn M. Maciukiewicz; Andrew J. Ho; Jack P. Callaghan; Clark R. Dickerson

Addresses: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 29C Recreation Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Penn State College of Medicine, 700 Hershey Medical Center Crescent Road, Hershey, PA 17033, USA ' Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Science Building – Room B347, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON L1H7K4, Canada ' Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L3G1, Canada ' Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L3G1, Canada ' Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L3G1, Canada ' Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L3G1, Canada

Abstract: Physical exposure assessment is a critical component of ergonomic analysis in occupational settings. This work used a computational model to obtain quantitative measures of shoulder moment, glenohumeral joint contact force and rotator cuff muscle demand based on recorded postures and manual force estimates during the performance of ten different occupational tasks. Outcomes of simulation analyses demonstrated that advanced model outputs can enhance resolution of shoulder-specific exposures currently unavailable with standard ergonomics assessment techniques. A novel composite injury risk score effectively discriminated between shoulder exposure levels. It includes multiple complementary parameters into a single exposure risk assessment tool. The major contribution of the work is to establish the feasibility and utility of incorporating a computational model into ergonomic assessments across occupational tasks.

Keywords: occupational; ergonomics; muscle; model; computational; shoulder; rotator cuff; glenohumeral; injury risk; assessment; biomechanical; work; exposure; human factors; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFMS.2019.102159

International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation, 2019 Vol.7 No.1, pp.13 - 33

Received: 29 Nov 2018
Accepted: 17 Feb 2019
Published online: 09 Sep 2019 *

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