Effects of Non-neutral Posture and Anthropometry on Heart Rate in Hand Tools Tasks

The use of hand tools in industry is one of the many risky issues for musculoskeletal disorders. Working postures during handling tools assumed may be reiterated several times a day, every day for several years and can be predicted to affect the musculature of the workers. Using physiological demands to assess coordinated posture and anthropometry in manual handling tools has not received much attention in literature. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the effects of combined postures of trunk and shoulder besides the individual’s anthropometry on heart rate in vertical drilling task. Ten male students participated in this experiment and ANOVA (Analysis of variance) was used to analyse the data. The results showed that shoulder flexion and trunk inclining forward have a significant effect on heart rate (P < 0.01). Also, the anthropometric in terms of individual’s weight and max grip strength has a negative correlation with heart rate (R2 = 0.46 and 0.13 respectively).