Effects of different bed heights on the physical burden of physiotherapists during manual therapy: an experimental study

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  • TSUJI Shuji
    Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Social Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan
  • TSUJIMURA Hiroji
    Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Social Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan
  • SHIRAHOSHI Shin-ichi
    Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bukkyo University, Japan
  • TAODA Kazushi
    Department of Occupational Therapy, Biwako Professional University of Rehabilitation, Japan
  • KITAHARA Teruyo
    Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Social Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan

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<p> This study aimed to determine the effect of physiotherapists’ physical burden caused by different bed heights during manual therapy. Thirty-three male physiotherapists performed tasks simulating lumbar massage and passive hip abduction range-of-motion exercise (ROM) on the beds with low height (LH) and adjusted height (AH), with each task performed three times. The anterior inclination angle of the physiotherapist’s trunk was measured, the surface electromyograms of the erector spinae and trapezius muscles were recorded, and perceived stress was assessed. The indexes obtained were statistically compared for different bed heights. Additionally, the lumbar disc compression force and flexion torque were estimated. The lumbar burden caused by the excessive bending and the biomechanical burden and perceived stress were stronger at LH than AH. In ROM tasks using the right hand, the muscle activity was lower at the left lumbar region at LH than at AH. At LH, the anterior inclination angle increased and the lumbar muscle activity declined as the number of tasks increased. The burden on the shoulders was not significantly different by bed heights. Our results showed that, when physiotherapists perform manual therapy, it is necessary to adjust the bed height to reduce physical burden and ensure higher quality of service.</p>

Journal

  • Industrial Health

    Industrial Health 61 (3), 213-221, 2023

    National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

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