Allread W G, Waters T R
Institute for Ergonomics, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
J Agric Saf Health. 2007 Nov;13(4):375-93. doi: 10.13031/2013.23924.
Children and adolescents who perform farm chores are exposed to cumulative trauma injury risks, particularly to the low back. For example, they may routinely handle heavy materials and need to adopt awkward postures during farm chores. Two potential interventions aimed at reducing low-back injury risk were examined in the laboratory: the use of a rugged cart and proper orienting of feed bags to ease feed transport; and the use of a modified feed bin, intended to allow easier access to product scooped from the bin at different levels. A lumbar motion monitor device was used to quantify trunk movement and determine injury risk level. Fourteen male and female youth who regularly perform these farm chores participated in the study. The cart significantly reduced low-back injury risk by nearly 10%, compared with manual feed bag lifting and carrying. The modified feed bin did not significantly reduce low-back injury risk, compared with traditional scooping. Regardless of the method used, however, scooping feed from the top of the bin reduced lower back disorder risk by 50% or more compared to the two lower levels. This study showed that relatively simple and low-cost solutions can be applied to farm environments to help protect the low backs of youth who perform farm chores.
从事农场杂活的儿童和青少年面临累积性创伤伤害风险，尤其是下背部。例如，他们可能经常搬运重物，并且在农场杂活期间需要采取别扭的姿势。在实验室中研究了两种旨在降低下背部受伤风险的潜在干预措施：使用坚固的推车以及正确摆放饲料袋以方便饲料运输；使用改良的饲料箱，旨在便于从不同高度的饲料箱中舀取产品。使用腰部运动监测装置来量化躯干运动并确定受伤风险水平。十四名经常从事这些农场杂活的青年男女参与了该研究。与手动搬运饲料袋相比，推车显著降低了近10%的下背部受伤风险。与传统舀取方式相比，改良的饲料箱并未显著降低下背部受伤风险。然而，无论使用何种方法，与从较低的两个高度舀取饲料相比，从饲料箱顶部舀取饲料可将下背部疾病风险降低50%或更多。这项研究表明，相对简单且低成本的解决方案可应用于农场环境，以帮助保护从事农场杂活的青年的下背部。
