Validation of an instrumented dummy to assess mechanical aspects of discomfort during load carriage

Due to the increasing load in backpacks and other load carriage systems over the last decades, load carriage system designs have to be adapted accordingly to minimize discomfort and to reduce the risk of injury. As subject studies are labor-intensive and include further challenges such as intra-subj...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2017-06, Vol.12 (6), p.e0180069-e0180069
Main Authors: Wettenschwiler, Patrick D, Annaheim, Simon, Lorenzetti, Silvio, Ferguson, Stephen J, Stämpfli, Rolf, Psikuta, Agnes, Rossi, René M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Ankle
Backpacks
Biology and Life Sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Biosensing Techniques
Blood flow
Correlation analysis
Discomfort
Health risks
Hip
Human mechanics
Humans
Independent variables
Injuries
Injury prevention
Labor
Laboratories
Load
Male
Manikins
Materials science
Measuring instruments
Mechanical properties
Medicine and Health Sciences
Movement
Outdoor activities
Peak pressure
Physical Sciences
Physiology
Posture
Pressure
Prevention
Research and Analysis Methods
Risk reduction
Simulation
Skin
Studies
Variance (statistics)
Walking
Weight-Bearing
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Summary:Due to the increasing load in backpacks and other load carriage systems over the last decades, load carriage system designs have to be adapted accordingly to minimize discomfort and to reduce the risk of injury. As subject studies are labor-intensive and include further challenges such as intra-subject and inter-subject variability, we aimed to validate an instrumented dummy as an objective laboratory tool to assess the mechanical aspects of discomfort. The validation of the instrumented dummy was conducted by comparison with a recent subject study. The mechanical parameters that characterize the static and dynamic interaction between backpack and body during different backpack settings were compared. The second aim was to investigate whether high predictive power (coefficient of determination R2>0.5) in assessing the discomfort of load carriage systems could be reached using the instrumented dummy. Measurements were conducted under static conditions, simulating upright standing, and dynamic conditions, simulating level walking. Twelve different configurations of a typical load carriage system, a commercially available backpack with a hip belt, were assessed. The mechanical parameters were measured in the shoulder and the hip region of the dummy and consisted of average pressure, peak pressure, strap force and relative motion between the system and the body. The twelve configurations consisted of three different weights (15kg, 20kg, and 25kg), combined with four different hip belt tensions (30N, 60N, 90N, and 120N). Through the significant (p
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0180069