Posture stress on firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) associated with repetitive reaching, bending, lifting, and pulling tasks

    Authors

    M. Gentzler;S. Stader

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Work

    Keywords

    Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA); Rapid Upper Body Assessment (RULA); Manual Material Handling (MMH); National Institute of Occupational; Safety Health (NIOSH); DESIGNING ERGONOMIC INTERVENTIONS; PAIN COMPLAINTS; EMS WORKERS; AMBULANCE; BACK; DISCOMFORT; PARAMEDICS; FITNESS; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

    Abstract

    Objective: These ergonomic evaluations analyze the threat of musculoskeletal injuries primarily due to awkward and extreme postures across two post-fire tasks and a patient care task. Participants: The participants were firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in an urban U.S. fire department. Methods: Ergonomic tools used for the evaluation included the National Institute of Occupational Safety Health (NIOSH) lifting equation, Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and anthropometric measurements of equipment and persons. Results: High to very high risks were found for lifting the hose above the shoulder to drain it of excess water and for rolling the hoses on the ground. Extreme risk was found for lifting the hose from chest height to above the shoulders during hose drainage. High risk was found for EMT patient care tasks that require reaching for overhead equipment or seated tasks that require horizontal bending and twisting. Conclusions: The risk was high enough for these tasks to warrant modification and changes. The recommendations given included creating new mechanical and technical devices, modifying existing devises, and making workers aware of associated risks to reduce the threat of injury.

    Journal Title

    Work-a Journal of Prevention Assessment & Rehabilitation

    Volume

    37

    Issue/Number

    3

    Publication Date

    1-1-2010

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    227

    Last Page

    239

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000283663100002

    ISSN

    1051-9815

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