Effects of repetitive lifting on kinematics: inadequate anticipatory control or adaptive changes?

In the present study, the effects of repetition on the kinematics in discrete lifting were studied in 10 subjects who lifted a barbell weighing 10% of body mass at a determined speed and along a determined trajectory 630 times during about 40 min. Three-dimensional (3-D) kinematics of the feet, lower and upper legs, pelvis, and trunk were recorded in the first 3 and the final 3 lifting movements of each set of 70 lifts. Over time, trunk extension velocity in the initial 250 ms of the lifting movement decreased, reaching negative (increasing flexion) values in most subjects. In contrast, hip extension velocity increased. Those changes resulted in an increased phase lag between hip and trunk extension. Also, over time, subjects started the lifting movement with their legs more extended and their trunks further flexed. Finally, the motion of the trunk around its longitudinal axis (twisting) increased. The increase in phase lag between hip and trunk extension is interpreted as a consequence of fatigue-more specifically, as the result of a decreased rate of force development of the back muscles. The change in initial posture more likely is an adaptation that functions to retard further fatigue development.

[1]  F. C. Bakker,et al.  The relevance of action in perceiving affordances: perception of catchableness of fly balls. , 1996, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[2]  Lars Arendt-Nielsen,et al.  Assessment of dynamic muscle fatigue by EMG- and kinematic profiles , 1991 .

[3]  R. Hutton,et al.  Dynamic and static stretch responses in muscle spindle receptors in fatigued muscle. , 1985, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[4]  B. Bigland-ritchie,et al.  Changes in muscle contractile properties and neural control during human muscular fatigue , 1984, Muscle & nerve.

[5]  I. Kingma,et al.  Validation of a full body 3-D dynamic linked segment model , 1996 .

[6]  O. D. Schipplein,et al.  The Effects of Quadriceps Fatigue on the Technique of Lifting , 1993, Spine.

[7]  M. Nordin,et al.  1988 Volvo Award in Biomechanics: The Triaxial Coupling of Torque Generation of Trunk Muscles during Isometric Exertions and the Effect of Fatiguing Isoinertial Movements on the Motor Output and Movement Patterns , 1988, Spine.

[8]  C. Michaels,et al.  To Cross or Not to Cross: The Effect of Locomotion on Street-Crossing Behavior , 1996 .

[9]  S L Lehman,et al.  Adaptation to fatigue of long duration in human wrist movements. , 1992, Journal of applied physiology.

[10]  R. Armstrong,et al.  Mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Muscle Fibre Injury , 1991, Sports medicine.

[11]  J. Kelsey,et al.  An epidemiologic study of lifting and twisting on the job and risk for acute prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc , 1984, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[12]  J. Scholz,et al.  Neuromuscular coordination of squat lifting, I: Effect of load magnitude. , 1995, Physical therapy.

[13]  A. Garg,et al.  Epidemiology of low-back pain in industry. , 1992, Occupational medicine.

[14]  M. Latash,et al.  What are “normal movements” in atypical populations? , 1996, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[15]  D. Burr,et al.  The effects of muscle fatigue on bone strain. , 1994, The Journal of experimental biology.

[16]  Serge H. Roy,et al.  Lumbar Muscle Fatigue and Chronic Lower Back Pain , 1989, Spine.

[17]  H M Toussaint,et al.  Please Scroll down for Article Ergonomics Load Knowledge Affects Low-back Loading and Control of Balance in Lifting Tasks Load Knowledge Affects Low-back Loading and Control of Balance in Lifting Tasks , 2022 .

[18]  D G Wilder,et al.  Risk factors in low-back pain. An epidemiological survey. , 1983, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[19]  K. Jovanovic,et al.  Changes in discharge rate of fusimotor neurones provoked by fatiguing contractions of cat triceps surae muscles. , 1992, The Journal of physiology.

[20]  John P. Scholz,et al.  The effect of load scaling on the coordination of manual squat lifting , 1993 .

[21]  Lynette A. Jones,et al.  Force sensation in isometric contractions: a relative force effect , 1982, Brain Research.

[22]  A. R. Lind,et al.  Metabolic, cardiovascular, and respiratory factors in the development of fatigue in lifting tasks. , 1978, Journal of applied physiology: respiratory, environmental and exercise physiology.

[23]  John P. Scholz,et al.  Organizational principles for the coordination of lifting , 1993 .

[24]  P J Beek,et al.  Anticipatory postural adjustments before load pickup in a bi-manual whole body lifting task. , 1997, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[25]  H M Toussaint,et al.  Repetitive lifting and spinal shrinkage, effects of age and lifting technique. , 1994, Clinical biomechanics.

[26]  M. Turvey,et al.  Visually perceiving what is reachable. , 1989 .

[27]  Elliot Saltzman,et al.  The dynamical perspectives on speech production: Data and theory , 1986 .

[28]  M. Bonnard,et al.  Different strategies to compensate for the effects of fatigue revealed by neuromuscular adaptation processes in humans , 1994, Neuroscience Letters.

[29]  K Jørgensen,et al.  The load on the back in different handling operations. , 1985, Ergonomics.

[30]  H M Toussaint,et al.  Flexion relaxation during lifting: implications for torque production by muscle activity and tissue strain at the lumbo-sacral joint. , 1995, Journal of biomechanics.

[31]  M. Healy,et al.  Missing Values in Experiments Analysed on Automatic Computers , 1956 .

[32]  R. Johansson,et al.  Contractile speed and EMG changes during fatigue of sustained maximal voluntary contractions. , 1983, Journal of neurophysiology.

[33]  L. A. Jones.  Role of central and peripheral signals in force sensation during fatigue , 1983, Experimental Neurology.

[34]  C. E. Clauser,et al.  Anthropometric Relationships of Body and Body Segment Moments of Inertia , 1980 .

[35]  K. J. Cole,et al.  Sensory-motor coordination during grasping and manipulative actions , 1992, Current Biology.

[36]  J H van Dieën,et al.  Fatigue-related changes in the coordination of lifting and their effect on low back load. , 1996, Journal of motor behavior.

[37]  M. Bergenheim,et al.  Influences on the γ-muscle-spindle system from muscle afferents stimulated by increased intramuscular concentrations of arachidonic acid , 1994, Brain Research.

[38]  Adams Ma,et al.  Prolapsed Intervertebral Disc: A Hyperflexion Injury , 1982 .

[39]  King H. Yang,et al.  Mechanism of Disc Rupture: A Preliminary Report , 1991, Spine.

[40]  P V Komi,et al.  Electromyographic and mechanical characteristics of human skeletal muscle during fatigue under voluntary and reflex conditions. , 1983, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[41]  Bruce Abernethy,et al.  Self-Selected Manual Lifting Technique: Functional Consequences of the Interjoint Coordination , 1995, Hum. Factors.

[42]  A Shirazi-Adl,et al.  Mechanical Response of a Lumbar Motion Segment in Axial Torque Alone and Combined with Compression , 1986, Spine.

[43]  H M Toussaint,et al.  Efficiency and effectiveness of stoop and squat lifting at different frequencies. , 1991, Ergonomics.

[44]  W Kroll,et al.  Effects of local muscular fatigue due to isotonic and isometric exercise upon fractionated reaction time components. , 1973, Journal of motor behavior.

[45]  B. A. Ødegaard,et al.  To Cross or Not to Cross ? , 2000 .

[46]  Fractionated reaction and reflex time before and after fatiguing isotonic exercise. , 1974, Medicine and science in sports.