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A male incumbent worker industrial database. Part I: Lumbar spinal physical capacity
T Mayer1, R J Gatchel, J Keeley
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
Study Design:
A group of 160 incumbent male railroad workers volunteered for a study of lumbar spine physical capacity.
Methods:
They were initially subjected to inclinometric measurements of sagittal and coronal regional mobility (T12-S1). They also were tested on isokinetic trunk strength measurement devices for sagittal (bending) and axial (twisting) trunk strength at multiple speeds.
Results:
Results showed that they demonstrated mild deficits of lumbar sagittal extension mobility, trunk extensor strength, and sagittal/axial high speed (150-180 degrees/sec) trunk strength when compared with population averages from a previously derived normative database of a nonhomogeneous male population (matched for age and body weight).
Conclusions:
It was hypothesized that instructions about "correct lifting techniques," uniformly provided to these workers, may have resulted in an unintended decrement in trunk mobility and strength.