The Effects of Direction of Exertion, Path, and Load Placement in Nursing Cart Pushing and Pulling Tasks: An Electromyographical Study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of direction of exertion (DOE) (pushing, pulling), path (walking in a straight line, turning left, walking uphill), and load placement (LP) (the 18 blocks were indicated by X, Y and Z axis; there were 3 levels on the X axis, 2 levels on the Y axis, and 3 levels on the Z axis) on muscle activity and ratings of perceived exertion in nursing cart pushing and pulling tasks. Ten participants who were female students and not experienced nurses were recruited to participate in the experiment. Each participant performed 108 experimental trials in the study, consisting of 2 directions of exertion (push and pull), 3 paths, and 18 load placements (indicated by X, Y and Z axes).

Effects of load position and force direction on back muscle loading in one-wheeled wheelbarrow tasks.

Background: Various parameters related to pushing/pulling tasks have been examined yet the effects of changing the load position in one-wheeled wheelbarrow task has not been examined.

Objective: To explore the effects of load position and force direction on muscle activity during wheelbarrow tasks.

Participants: Nine participants were recruited to take part in the experiment.