A biomechanical evaluation of lifting speed using work- and moment-relatedmeasures

A biomechanical evaluation of lifting speed was conducted in the laboratory . The study investigated the effects of lifting speed on several predetermi ned biomechanical cost functions. The lifting tasks consisted of five lifti ng speeds labelled as the slowest, slow, normal, fast and fastest, and thre e weights, 50, 65 and 80% of their maximum acceptable weight of lift. The s peed at each level was determined individually by each subject according to their capability. The study found that work-related measures, including th e total net muscle work, total absolute net muscle work and work done to th e load, decreased significantly as the lifting speed increased (p<0.05, <0. 001 and <0.001, respectively). The time integral of sum of squared ratio of joint moment and strength also decreased significantly (p < 0.001). This i ndicates that lifting at a faster speed tends to reduce the work the body h as to do. The peak speed of load occurred at 70% of total lifting time for the slowest lifts, but at 30% of total lifting time for other lifting speed s. Performing lifts at the minimum speeds changed the usual speed coordinat ion technique the subjects used.