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Estimation of Spinal Loading During Manual Materials Handling Using Inertial Motion Capture

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Abstract

Musculoskeletal models have traditionally relied on measurements of segment kinematics and ground reaction forces and moments (GRF&Ms) from marked-based motion capture and floor-mounted force plates, which are typically limited to laboratory settings. Recent advances in inertial motion capture (IMC) as well as methods for predicting GRF&Ms have enabled the acquisition of these input data in the field. Therefore, this study evaluated the concurrent validity of a novel methodology for estimating the dynamic loading of the lumbar spine during manual materials handling based on a musculoskeletal model driven exclusively using IMC data and predicted GRF&Ms. Trunk kinematics, GRF&Ms, L4–L5 joint reaction forces (JRFs) and erector spinae muscle forces from 13 subjects performing various lifting and transferring tasks were compared to a model driven by simultaneously recorded skin-marker trajectories and force plate data. Moderate to excellent correlations and relatively low magnitude differences were found for the L4–L5 axial compression, erector spinae muscle and vertical ground reaction forces during symmetrical and asymmetrical lifting, but discrepancies were also identified between the models, particularly for the trunk kinematics and L4–L5 shear forces. Based on these results, the presented methodology can be applied for estimating the relative L4–L5 axial compression forces under dynamic conditions during manual materials handling in the field.

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Abbreviations

GRF&Ms:

Ground reaction forces and moments

IMC:

Inertial motion capture

JRF:

Joint reaction force

IDA:

Inverse dynamic analysis

OMC:

Optical motion capture

GRF:

Ground reaction force

IMU:

Inertial measurement unit

OMC-MGRF:

Optical motion capture with measured ground reaction forces

OMC-PGRF:

Optical motion capture with predicted ground reaction forces

IMC-PGRF:

Inertial motion capture with predicted ground reaction forces

GRM:

Ground reaction moment

%BW:

Percentage of body weight

%BW*BH:

Percentage of body weight times body height

RMSE:

Root-mean-square error

rRMSE:

Relative root-mean-square error

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

LoA:

Limits of agreement

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Independent Research Fund Denmark under Grant No. DFF-7026-00099 to Sebastian Skals.

Conflict of interest

Mark de Zee is co-founder of the company AnyBody Technology A/S that owns and sells the AnyBody Modeling System, which was used for the simulations. Mark de Zee is also a minority shareholder in the company.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sport Sciences, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Frederik Greve Larsen, Frederik Petri Svenningsen, Mark de Zee & Sebastian Skals

  2. Department of Materials and Production, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Michael Skipper Andersen

  3. Musculoskeletal Disorders, National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark

    Sebastian Skals

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  1. Frederik Greve Larsen
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Correspondence to Sebastian Skals.

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Associate Editor Thurmon E. Lockhart oversaw the review of this article.

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Larsen, F.G., Svenningsen, F.P., Andersen, M.S. et al. Estimation of Spinal Loading During Manual Materials Handling Using Inertial Motion Capture. Ann Biomed Eng 48, 805–821 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-019-02409-8

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