Biomechanics of the back for prevention of occupational musculoskeletal disorders

我们的第一个研究兴趣是预防怀孕期间的肌肉骨骼疾病，特别是背部疼痛。在怀孕期间，由于体重的增加和躯干重心的前移，脊柱的负荷增加。孕妇也可能需要采取不同的工作姿势，因为腹部的大小增加（例如达到），这可能会引起不适和疼痛的姿势，如果长时间。目前还没有多少科学证据可以作为工作调整决策的依据，需要更多的研究来更好地理解怀孕生物力学变化与工作环境之间的相互作用。我们已经开发了方法来分析孕妇在实验室或现场执行的特定任务。在未来五年，我们会继续发展相关的研究工具来分析任务。我们还将分析在加拿大背景下（推沉重的手推车，电脑工作）和在非洲背景下（头部负重）确定为孕妇问题的任务。这些方法将主要用于妊娠研究，但也可用于其他人群的研究。

Our first research interest is the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders during pregnancy, particularly back pain. During pregnancy, the loads on the spine increase because of the increased body mass, and the shift forward of the trunk centre of mass. Pregnant women may also need to adopt different working postures because of the increased size of the abdomen (for example to reach), and this may cause discomfort and pain if the postures are prolonged. There is still little scientific evidence on which to base decisions on job adjustment, and more research is needed to better understand the interactions between the biomechanical changes of pregnancy and the work environment. We have developed methods to analyse specific tasks performed by pregnant women in the lab or in the field. In the next five years, we will continue to develop relevant research tools to analyse tasks. We will also analyse tasks identified as problematic for pregnant women in the Canadian context (pushing a heavy trolley, computer work) and in the African context (carrying loads on the head). These methods will be used primarily for pregnancy studies but will be available for the study of other populations as well.