Acta Scientific Orthopaedics (ISSN: 2581-8635) Volume 2 Issue 11 November 2019 A Whole-Body Approach to Compare Different Lifting Styles Mohammad Abdoli-Eramaki 1 *, Sanaz Agha 2 and Hamed Pardehshenas 3 1 Associate Professor, School of Occupational and Public Health, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada 2 Rehabilitation Science, Research Assistant, Rehabilitation Science Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada 3 Research Assistant, Occupational Biomechanics, Ergonomics and Injury Prevention Lab, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada *Corresponding Author: Mohammad Abdoli-Eramaki, Associate Professor, School of Occupational and Public Health, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. Research Article Received: September 11, 2019; Published: October 11, 2019 Introduction Manual material handling can set in motion a series of events leading to neuromusculoskeletal (NMSK) disorders such as low Abstract Keywords: Manual Material Handling; Lifting Style; Biomechanics; Musculoskeletal Injuries Objective: To challenge six most common lift styles to capture the concept of minimal task demand using EMG and motion capture system. It seems feasible to expect that a change in lifting style should work and result concurrently in most adaptable and safest practice of lifting tasks. Methodology: The external dynamic moments and surface muscle activities were utilized as indicators for comparison among six lifting styles: a) modified full-squat, b) BLT, c) sumo, d) semi-squat, e) straddle, and f) stoop lift. A repeated-measures design was used to test the main effect of lift style on net dynamic external moments and muscles’ activation level. Results: Lift style had a significant influence on the normalized resultant moment for the low back, hip, knee, and ankle joints; but, no effect on the shoulder. No significant difference was found in low back moment among BLT, sumo, and squat (p < 1.000). The semi- squat created the lowest knee moment (p <0.001), by at least 34% lower than BLT. Also, the semi-squat caused the highest erector spinae level of activity by at least 16% higher than BLT (p <0.007). The maximal difference was observed for the Sumo by 20% dif- ference (p <0.007). Conclusion: It seems that for a single lifting task, semi-squat is the reasonable compromise among all techniques, by keeping the resultant joint moments at the lowest range. However, for repetitive lifting tasks; where local and whole body fatigue can lead to MSK injuries, sumo appears to be the best compromise. Application: The results of this study may help better understand why workers fail to follow training instructions, which can facili- tate the development of effective training programs for the trainers and workers accordingly. The outcome of this study will apply to workplace training programs and future research investigations into the effectiveness of lift training. Specific: It seems feasible to expect that a change in training content of manual material handling (lifting technique) should work and result concurrently in most adaptable and safest practice of lifting tasks. This study is a first attempt to examine the concept of minimal energy expenditure during different lifting techniques. back pain [1-7]. Training is an essential element of any workplace injury prevention, health promotion, or return-to-work programs. Since musculoskeletal disorders are prevalent among manual DOI: 10.31080/ASOR.2019.02.0109 Citation: Mohammad Abdoli-Eramaki. “A Whole-Body Approach to Compare Different Lifting Styles". Acta Scientific Orthopaedics 2.11 (2019): 04-11.