Davis Kermit G, Sobeih Tarek M, Succop Paul, Jetter William, Kotowski Susan E, Bhattacharya Amit
Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Department of Industrial Medicine and Occupational Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Occup Ergon. 2009 Mar;8(2-3):115-123. doi: 10.3233/oer-2009-0159. Epub 2009 Mar 1.
Slips and falls account for a significant number of injuries suffered by firefighters. Obesity may be a contributing factor to these slips and falls since many firefighters have become significantly heavier over the last decade. This study's objective was to determine whether obesity places firefighters at a higher risk of slips/falls by impacting postural balance. Thirteen firefighters - 6 obese and 7 overweight/normal, had their postural balance measured over a single shift (at 12-hour intervals). Each assessment contained three specific tasks: eyes open while standing, eyes closed standing on foam, and a dynamic reach task. The firefighters wore turnout gear with and without SCBA. Obese firefighters were found to have less postural sway, particularly when their postural control systems were compromised. When standing on foam, obese firefighters reduced their sway area by 26% as compared to overweight/normal firefighters. Similarly, obese firefighters had an 18% decrease in postural sway during the reach task. In all, the results indicate obese firefighters compensated posturally, reducing the potential for external demands resulting in a slip or fall. The key issue is that the obese firefighters sampled in the current study were able to compensate under ideal situations, particularly when required to wear gear and equipment.
滑倒和跌倒占消防员受伤的很大比例。肥胖可能是导致这些滑倒和跌倒的一个因素，因为在过去十年中，许多消防员的体重显著增加。本研究的目的是确定肥胖是否通过影响姿势平衡使消防员面临更高的滑倒/跌倒风险。13名消防员——6名肥胖者和7名超重/正常体重者，在一个班次内（每隔12小时）测量他们的姿势平衡。每次评估包含三项特定任务：站立睁眼、站在泡沫上闭眼以及动态伸展任务。消防员穿着有和没有自给式呼吸器（SCBA）的灭火装备。研究发现，肥胖的消防员姿势摆动较小，尤其是当他们的姿势控制系统受到损害时。与超重/正常体重的消防员相比，站在泡沫上时，肥胖的消防员的摆动面积减少了26%。同样，在伸展任务中，肥胖的消防员的姿势摆动减少了18%。总体而言，结果表明肥胖的消防员通过姿势补偿，降低了因外部需求导致滑倒或跌倒的可能性。关键问题是，在当前研究中抽样的肥胖消防员能够在理想情况下进行补偿，特别是在需要穿戴装备时。
