BENDING, LIFTING AND

CARRYING
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Back
● When bending over, lifting, or carrying objects,
the anatomical system of interest is the back.
● The anatomical system for the back is:
● Proximal segment: Sacrum/pelvis (although the
sacrum is a continuation of the spine, it is a function
unit with the pelvis).
● Distal segment: Thoracolumbar spine (consisting of
twelve thoracic vertebral bones and five lumbar
vertebral bones).

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● Joint: Lumbo-sacral joint (defined as the intervertebral
space between the fifth lumbar vertebral bone and first
sacral vertebral bone within which the lumbosacral disc
is contained).
● Muscle (action): Erector spinae and sacrospinalis
muscle (extension of the spine, as when we stand
straight up, at attention, during a military inspection).

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● HFE Application:
● The vertical and horizontal reaction forces (Ry and
Rx) at the lumbosacral joint are translated to Ra
(axial reaction force along the central axis of the
spine) and Rs (shear reaction force perpendicular
to the axis of the spine).
● These are the forces that cause many of the injuries
to the low back.
● Excessive axial force can result in the fracture of
vertebral bones and/or injury of intervertebral disc.
● Excessive shear force can result in the dislocation
of adjacent vertebral bones and also injury to the
intervertebral disc.

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Bending
● HFE Applications:
● Workplace design is an important function of the
human factors engineering.
● One aspect of this is the design of worktable height
and working surface area so that people do not
experience back discomfort or unnecessary back
fatigue.
● When working in the erect position, the muscles of
the back should not be subjected to undue stress.

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Example
The person with body height, 1.5 M and body weight, 100 N is
working in erect posture at a thoracolumbar spine with an
angle, θ = 85o. The weight of the thorax and abdomen is 36% of
WB and acting through the centre point B of the thoracolumbar
spine. The weight of the head, neck and both arms is 18% of W B
acting through the end point D. Calculate the extensor muscle
force Fe directed at an angle, α= 13o (point C) to the axis of the
spine, and calculate the axial reaction force Ra and shear
reaction force Rs at the base of the spine (point A).

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 C
Solution
Given: H=1.5M ; W= 100 N

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 C

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Fex = Fe Cos β; Fey = Fe Sin β; β =72ο

Substituting the values,

Fe = 20.8 N
Rx = 6.43 N
Ry = 73.78 N
Ra = 74.1 N
Rs = -57.8N

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Lifting
● HFE Application:
● Manual work often requires people to lift rather
heavy loads with their arms and hand.
● The human factors engineer should understand the
forces placed upon the back muscles and the spine
itself in order to avoid manual work methods that are
excessively stressful and to design manual lifting
tasks that minimize these stressful forces.
● The design process involves both the technique and
the load itself.

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● With respect to technique or posture, industrial
hygiene signs instruct “lift with the legs, not with the
back,” that is, keep the spine as vertical as possible.
● With respect to the load design, the HFE should
consider (when practicable) dividing the load into
two equal halves and providing gripping handles on
the top and centre of each load.

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Example

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Solution
Given: H=1.5M ; W= 100 N

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 C

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Fex = F Cos β; Fey = F Sin β; β =22ο

Substituting the values,

Fe = 306 N
Rx = 284 N
Ry = 189 N
Ra = 341 N
Rs = -8N

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Carrying
● HFE Application:
● The person’s carrying posture and the spatial
distribution of the load are two important design
parameters.
● The optimal task design involves an interplay
between two variables (posture and load
distribution).

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Example

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Solution

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THANK YOU

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