title: Effect of external load at varying hand positions on perceived discomfort.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of external load at varying hand positions on discomfort, and to provide a new classification of external load. An experiment was carried out in which 16 postures with an external load of 0, 1.5, 3 kg were tested. The postures were controlled by 2 independent variables of hand distance and hand height. The subjects were instructed to rate their perceived discomfort with magnitude estimation after holding a given posture for 1 min. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) exhibited that the main effects of the 3 independent variables were statistically significant for discomfort. Discomfort increased linearly with external load and hand distance. Hand height showed a quadratic relation with discomfort, which exhibited a slightly different trend from hand distance and external load. Based on the results, a new classification of external load was proposed with 3 classes grouped by perceived discomfort.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Dohyung
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kee
authors.forename: Seokhee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Na
authors.forename: Min K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D005082:Physical Exertion; D011187:Posture; D016474:Weight-Bearing; D055815:Young Adult