Abstract
Compared to work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity and lower back area, much less investigative focus has been found on the prevention of lower limb musculoskeletal disorders and injury (LLD) in the workplace. A higher incidence of musculoskeletal injuries in lower extremities when carrying a heavy load during daily activities was found among Indian construction workers. The objective of this study was to examine the changes in temporal and distal gait parameters of healthy Indian men and women construction workers with different modes of load carriage. Five healthy male and five female construction workers were selected to walk at self-selected speed along a 7 m walkway, crossing two Kistler force platforms with unloaded and different loaded (15 kg) conditions. Indian males and females displayed significantly different gait patterns under all load conditions while the changes were relatively small in males. The results also indicated that the walking patterns of both the male and female subjects among the Indian construction labours were affected while carrying loads in different modes. It was found that due to differences in the ability to carry heavy loads in different modes, females are more prone to injuries compared to males and so considering the biological differences load carriage task should be assigned carefully to the female labours.
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Guha Thakurta, A., Iqbal, R., Bhasin, H.V., De, A., Khanzode, V., Maulik, S. (2018). Characteristics of Gait Variability Among Healthy Indian Construction Workers During Different Load Carrying Modes. In: Ray, G., Iqbal, R., Ganguli, A., Khanzode, V. (eds) Ergonomics in Caring for People. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4980-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4980-4_2
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