Sector: mining

Type of hazard: handling of loads, qualification/basic and further training

Catchwords: measuring methods, ergonomics, risk assessment

Status: completed 08/1997

Financed by: Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft

Research institution(s): Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie, Dortmund

Description, key words:

Rescue services, personnel, weight training, spine, danger

Aims:

Regular mine rescue training includes 3x60 blows with the hammer device ("paving breaker"), i.e. pulling a load downwards from above head height and pressing this to the floor. A large number of mine rescue personnel expressed discomfort in the area of the lumbar vertebral column after carrying out these exercises. Goal: biomechanical assessment of the strain on the lumbar vertebral column as a result of performing exercises with the hammer device.

Activities/methods:

Evaluation of video recordings of two experimentees together with simultaneously measured and recorded dynamic forces; determining spinal strain with the "Dortmunder System" taking into account the weight of the breathing apparatus carried on the back during the exercises.

Results:

The exercise with the hammer device is regarded as a limit exercise and under no circumstances as harmless, i.e. as possibly injury-inducing. This applies in particular for older people. Recommendation that the exercise with the hammer device be abandoned.

last update: 15.08.2000