title: A Box Lift and Place Assessment is Related to Performance of Several Military Manual Handling Tasks.
abstract: Soldiers undergo regular physical testing to assess their functional capacity. However, current physical tests, such as push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, do not necessarily assess job-specific physical capability. This article assesses the utility of generic predictive tests and a task-related predictive test in predicting performance against four job-critical military manual handling tasks. The box lift and place test was found to be the superior predictor in performance of four job tasks; a pack lift and place (R(2) = 0.76), artillery gunner loading simulation (R(2) = 0.36), bombing up an M1 tank simulation, (R(2) = 0.47) and a bridge building simulation (R(2) = 0.63). Pull-ups and push-ups were poor predictors of performance in the majority of job tasks. Although the box lift and place had a larger correlation with the artillery gunner loading task than the generic assessment, it only accounted for 36% of the variance, indicating that a task simulation may be more appropriate to assess soldiers' capacity to perform this job task. These results support the use of a box lift and place rather than generic fitness tests for the evaluation of military manual handling tasks.
authors.affiliation: Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia.
authors.forename: Greg L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Carstairs
authors.affiliation: Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.affiliation: Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.affiliation: Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia.
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Best
authors.affiliation: Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, VIC 3207, Australia.
authors.forename: Timothy L A
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Doyle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D017770:Lifting; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D010809:Physical Fitness; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D016474:Weight-Bearing; D055815:Young Adult