Physiological effects of back belt wearing during asymmetric lifting

This study investigated the effect of wearing a back belt on subjects' hear t rate, oxygen consumption, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and resp iratory frequency during asymmetric repetitive lifting. Thirty subjects wit h materials-hand ling experience utilized three different belts (ten subjec ts per belt). Subjects completed six 30-min lifting sessions-three while we aring a belt and three without. Data analyses were conducted on the second, third, and fourth lifting periods. A 9.4 kg box, without handles, was lift ed 3 times/min, starting at 10 cm above the floor, ending at 79 cm, with a 60 degrees twist to the right. Data analysis indicates that belt-wearing di d not have a significant effect on the overall mean values for heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and respiratory frequency. Belt-wear ing had a significant effect on the overall mean oxygen consumption of the subjects. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.