Ahn Jangwhan, Jung Hyeonhee, Moon Jeongin, Kwon Cheolmin, Ahn Jooeun
Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
Soft Robotics Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 31;15(1):3926. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-88471-w.
Various back support exoskeletons (BSEs) have been developed to reduce the workload and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. However, the evaluations of such devices have primarily focused on specific quantitative aspects like muscle activation level or metabolic cost without any assessment of the user perception or comfort. In addition, the absence of an universal guidance or agreement on the methods for quantifying the efficacy of exoskeletons has hampered a systematic comparison among the developed devices. This study introduces a newly developed passive BSE for heavy load handling workers, and verifies its assistive effect through a rigorous and multifaceted evaluation. Fifteen young and healthy males participated in two experiment sessions. In the first session, participants lifted a 15 kg box and held it in a static position. In the second session, participants performed repetitive lifting tasks with a 10 kg box. The developed BSE reduced root mean square, peak, and integrated muscle activation with statistical significance in the key muscles. The BSE alleviated muscle fatigue by delaying spectral shift of instantaneous median frequency in the lumbar erector spinae (p < 0.001) and gluteus maximus (p < 0.001). The BSE also decreased energy expenditure by 13.6% (p < 0.001). In addition, the BSE reduced participants' rate of perceived exertion and local musculoskeletal discomfort by 14.7% (p = 0.005) and 30.5% (p = 0.001), respectively. These results support the efficacy of the developed BSE. The multifaceted evaluation process used in this study also contributes to proposing a systematic guidance on evaluating BSEs.
为了减轻工作量和降低肌肉骨骼疾病的风险，人们开发了各种背部支撑外骨骼（BSE）。然而，对此类设备的评估主要集中在特定的定量方面，如肌肉激活水平或代谢成本，而没有对用户的感知或舒适度进行任何评估。此外，由于缺乏关于外骨骼功效量化方法的通用指南或共识，阻碍了对已开发设备进行系统比较。本研究介绍了一种新开发的用于重物搬运工人的被动式BSE，并通过严格且多方面的评估验证了其辅助效果。15名年轻健康的男性参与了两个实验环节。在第一个环节中，参与者举起一个15公斤的箱子并保持静止姿势。在第二个环节中，参与者用一个10公斤的箱子进行重复举升任务。所开发的BSE在关键肌肉中显著降低了均方根、峰值和积分肌肉激活。该BSE通过延迟竖脊肌（p<0.001）和臀大肌（p<0.001）的瞬时中频谱偏移，减轻了肌肉疲劳。该BSE还使能量消耗降低了13.6%（p<0.001）。此外，该BSE分别使参与者的主观用力率和局部肌肉骨骼不适降低了14.7%（p=0.005）和30.5%（p=0.001）。这些结果支持了所开发的BSE的功效。本研究中使用的多方面评估过程也有助于提出评估BSE的系统指南。
