Spinal Loading and Immune Responses to Personality and Mental Load During Repetitive Lifting

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2011-09, Vol.55 (1), p.1034-1038
• Main Authors: Splittstoesser, Riley E., Marras, William S., Best, Thomas M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/1071181311551216

Objective: Investigate effects of interactions between biomechanical, psychosocial and individual risk factors on spinal loading and inflammatory responses. Background: Current low back pain causation theories do not explain the difficulty making specific diagnoses based on low back imaging. Methods: Two groups of subjects possessing sensor or intuitor personality trait performed repetitive lifting with high or low mental workload. Spinal loading was assessed using a biomechanical model and immune markers were collected before and after lifting. Results: Mental loading was associated with a decrease in AP shear. Both exposure conditions were characterized by a time-regulate immune response evidenced by markers of inflammation, tissue trauma and muscle damage. Intuitors CK levels increased over sensors following the low mental workload condition but not for the high mental workload condition. Conclusions: An immune response exists to lifting and mental loading that is influenced by personality and mental workload.