Total Evaluating System for Leg Load Caused by Standing and Sitting Work.

Research Project

Project/Area Number	08670394
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Hygiene
Research Institution	Fukui Medical University (1997) Hiroshima University (1996)
Principal Investigator	SEO Akihiko Fukui Medical University, School of Medicine. Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (80206606)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	KAKEHASHI Masayuki Hiroshima University, School of Medicine. Professor, 医学部, 教授 (80177344) 水流聡子広島大学, 医学部, 助教授 (80177328)
Project Period (FY)	1996 – 1997
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1997)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000) Fiscal Year 1997: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000) Fiscal Year 1996: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
Keywords	Leg swelling / bio-electrical impedance / Effect of resting / Standing work / Sitting work / Work load evaluation / 下腿膨張 / 下肢運動 / 自覚症状 / 作業負担
Research Abstract	To assess the conformable working conditions in standing and sitting postures, a total system for evaluating leg load was developed. The results obtained by this project are as follows : 1) The effect of resting postures on the lower leg swelling during standing work was studied. Ten male subjects kept standing for two hours, took rest for 15 minutes, and then kept standing for one more hour. Each subject took three kinds of resting postures, i.e., sitting on a normal chair, sitting on a floor, and lying on a floor. The swelling of the lower leg when resting with sitting on a floor and lying on a floor after 3-hour standing was lower than that when resting with sitting on a normal chair. 2) To adjust the values measured at different postures, the effect of postures on impedance was studied. The lower leg impedance at sitting posture was always lower than that at standing. According to a model analysis, the difference is caused by the changes in shape of lower leg by the muscle contraction. The ratio of the mean values at one posture to that of the other could be used for adjusting measured values when measured data at different postures were sampled at random. 3) The leg swelling, body movement, and subjective complaint of two subject who work at a cake maker were measured at their company. A dependency of the leg swelling on body movement was observed. It was clear that the detailed questionnaire was not useful for grasping the subjective complaint of the leg discomforts because clear response to the questionnaire was not obtained. 4) A portable monitor for recording lower leg swelling and leg movement was newly developed. The leg movement was measured by the impedance method and the leg movement was by angular velocity sensors.