Effects of Localized Muscle Fatigue on Risk of Occupational Slips and Falls

描述（由申请人提供）：与滑倒事故相关的伤害继续给工业带来重大负担，无论是在人员痛苦还是经济损失方面。大多数导致受伤和死亡的职业跌落都是由于足部打滑造成的，通常是由劳动者经历的。文献提供了令人信服的论据，即局部肌肉疲劳会破坏来自周围的信号质量，从而在滑倒扰动期间有效地控制平衡，并增加滑倒和跌倒的风险。尽管政府、劳工和行业组织一直在努力减少与坠落相关的伤害风险，但工人仍然普遍面临与坠落事故相关的风险。这些发现证明需要进一步的研究，以提供更有效的预防策略和设计标准的工作和工作环境，以减少职业滑倒事故。本提案通过实验研究和生物力学建模的结合来解决这一需求。将进行两个实验室实验来量化局部肌肉疲劳对滑倒倾向和平衡恢复的影响。第一个实验将评估局部肌肉疲劳对在不滑的表面上行走时滑起过程的影响。远端肢体肌肉（踝关节跖屈肌、膝关节伸肌）以及踝关节、膝关节和髋关节肌肉的组合会在不同的周内独立疲劳。此外，亦会厘清楼面倾斜度、载物运载、工作速度（即步行速度）及楼龄的影响。第二个实验将评估局部肌肉疲劳对在意外光滑的表面上行走引起的滑倒后平衡恢复过程的影响。下肢远端肌肉和近端肌肉（即腰背部）在不同的周会分别出现疲劳。将确定地板倾斜度、工作速度和年龄的影响。在受干扰和未受干扰的脚上，跌落恢复特性将被量化。将开发一个模型，通过量化踝关节、膝关节、髋关节和下背部的关节力矩和力量来表征受干扰和未受干扰肢体的平衡控制策略。拟议的工作涉及几个NORA优先领域在工作相关的创伤性跌倒的背景下。主要优先领域是：1)风险评估方法；2)控制技术；3)干预效果研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Injuries associated with slip and fall accidents continue to pose a significant burden to industry, both in terms of human suffering and economic losses. A majority of occupational falls leading to injuries and deaths are a result of foot slippage and are typically experienced by laborers. The literature provides convincing arguments that localized muscle fatigue can disrupt the quality of the signal from the periphery for effective balance control during slip perturbations, and increase the risk of slips and falls. Although government, labor, and industry organizations have been working to reduce the risks of fall related injuries, workers are still broadly exposed to risks associated with fall accidents. These findings warrant the need for additional studies to provide more effective prevention strategies and design criteria for jobs and working environment to reduce occupational slip and fall accidents. This proposal addresses this need through a combination of experimental studies and biomechanical modeling. Two laboratory experiments will be conducted to quantify the effects of localized muscle fatigue on slip propensity and balance recovery. The first experiment will evaluate the effects of localized muscle fatigue on the slip initiation process while walking over a non-slippery surface. Distal limb muscles (ankle plantarflexors, knee extensors) and a combination of ankle, knee, and hip muscles will be fatigued independently on different weeks. Additionally, the effects of floor inclination, load carriage, work pace (i.e., walking speed) and age will be ascertained. The second experiment will evaluate the effects of localized muscle fatigue on the balance recovery process following slips induced by walking on an unexpectedly slippery surface. Distal limb muscles as well as proximal muscles (i.e., low back) will be fatigued independently on different weeks. The effects of floor inclination, work pace, and age will be ascertained. Fall recovery characteristics will be quantified on both the perturbed and unperturbed foot. A model will be developed to characterize balance control strategies of both perturbed and un-perturbed limbs by quantifying joint moments and power of the ankle, knee, hip, and low back. The proposed work addresses several NORA Priority Areas in the context of work-related traumatic falls. The main Priority Areas are: 1) Risk Assessment Methods; 2) Control Technology; and 3) Intervention Effectiveness Research.