title: Cumulative postural exposure measured by a novel device: a preliminary study.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to examine the within-day reliability of the Spineangel® postural monitoring device and to measure cumulative lumbo-pelvic posture exposure of health care workers. Twenty-one workers from an aged-care residential home wore the Spineangel, attached to the belt or waistband of their normal work apparel, during a period of the work shift. To assess the within-day reliability of measurements, 11 workers performed two sets of three lumbo-pelvic forward flexion, sustaining them for five 5 s each, at the beginning and at the end of the work shift. Different thresholds for cumulative postural exposure were measured. The reliability was found to be excellent (ICC = 0.81). On average, a threshold of 30° of lumbo-pelvic forward flexion was exceeded 1069 times/h (SD 2157.1); at 45°, 121 times/h (SD 223.8); and at 60°, 8 times/h (SD 21.8). The use of Spineangel is thus likely to be a useful device for monitoring work posture. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The Spineangel® is capable of providing reliable postural measurements in the workplace. Different cumulative postural exposure thresholds were established considering three domains of cumulative exposure: magnitude (range of motion), frequency and duration. The implementation of such domains for cumulative exposure allowed us to explore interesting forms of monitoring posture exposure.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, 9015, Dunedin, New Zealand. daniel.cury.ribeiro@gmail.com
authors.forename: Daniel Cury
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sole
authors.forename: J Haxby
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milosavljevic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006615:Hip / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009068:Movement; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult