Division of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Abertay Dundee, Dundee DD1 1HG, UK.
Appl Ergon. 2010 Jul;41(4):522-9. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2009.11.001.
The purpose of this study was to compare the subjective perceptual responses to both head-loading and back-loading in a group of Xhosa women. Thirty two women were divided into three groups based on their experience of head-loading and walked on a treadmill on two occasions, head-loading and back-loading, at a self selected walking speed for 4 min with a variety of loads until pain or discomfort caused the test to be terminated or a load of 70% body mass was successfully carried. After each workload there was a 1 min rest period during which the women indicated feelings of pain or discomfort in particular areas of the body via visual analogue scales. At the end of each test the women were asked to complete further questionnaires relating to pain and discomfort and on completion of the second test were also asked to compare the two loading conditions. Finally the women were interviewed to establish their history of load carriage and associated pain and discomfort. The data indicate that whilst back-loading was generally associated with more areas of discomfort than head-loading, the pain and discomfort in the neck associated with head-loading was the predominant factor in the termination of tests and that this was independent of head-loading experience. This early termination meant that, on average, the women could carry greater loads on their backs than on their heads. The study suggests that further work needs to be carried out to establish viable alternatives to head-loading for rural dwellers in Africa.
本研究的目的是比较一组科萨妇女对头载和背载的主观感知反应。32 名妇女根据头载经验分为三组，在跑步机上以自选择的步行速度行走两次，头载和背载，持续 4 分钟，各种负载，直到疼痛或不适导致测试终止或成功携带 70%的体重。在每次工作量后，有 1 分钟的休息时间，在此期间，妇女通过视觉模拟量表表示身体特定部位的疼痛或不适感觉。在每次测试结束时，妇女被要求完成与疼痛和不适有关的进一步问卷，在完成第二次测试后，还被要求比较两种加载条件。最后，对妇女进行访谈，以确定她们的负载携带历史和相关疼痛和不适。数据表明，虽然背载通常与更多的不适区域相关，但与头载相关的颈部疼痛是导致测试终止的主要因素，而且这与头载经验无关。这种早期终止意味着，平均而言，女性可以在背部携带比头部更大的负载。该研究表明，需要进一步开展工作，为非洲农村居民寻找可行的头载替代品。
