An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations

Crawling is recommended for avoiding high heat and toxic fumes and for obtaining more breathable air during evacuations. Few studies have evaluated the effects of crawling on physical joints and velocity, especially in children. Based on motion capture technology, this study proposes a novel method...

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Autores principales:	Xiaohu Jia, Bo Zhang, Xiaoyu Gao, Jiaxu Zhou
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	children risk assessment postures body joints ergonomics motion analysis Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2b9015538ca741289d8c0eb62adc2dd9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2b9015538ca741289d8c0eb62adc2dd92021-11-25T17:50:35ZAn Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations10.3390/ijerph1822120291660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/2b9015538ca741289d8c0eb62adc2dd92021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12029https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601Crawling is recommended for avoiding high heat and toxic fumes and for obtaining more breathable air during evacuations. Few studies have evaluated the effects of crawling on physical joints and velocity, especially in children. Based on motion capture technology, this study proposes a novel method of using wearable sensors to collect exposure (e.g., mean duration, frequency) on children’s joints to objectively quantify the impacts of different locomotion methods on physical characteristics. An on-site experiment was conducted in a kindergarten with 28 children (13 boys and 15 girls) of different ages (4–6 years old) who traveled up to 22 m in three different postures: upright walking (UW), stoop walking (SW), and knee and hand crawling (KHC). The results showed that: (1) The level of joint fatigue for KHC was heavier than bipedal walking (<i>p</i> < 0.05), which was evidenced by higher mean duration and frequency. There was no significant difference between UW and SW (<i>p</i> > 0.05). (2) The physical characteristics of the children in the different postures observed in this study were different (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The ankle was more fatigued than other joints during bipedal walking. Unlike infants, the wrists and hips of the children became fatigued while crawling. The key actions flexion/extension are more likely to induce joint fatigue vs. other actions. (3) Crawling velocity was significantly slower than the bipedal velocities, and UW was 10.6% faster than SW (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The bipedal walking velocity started to decrease after the children had travelled up to 13 m, while the KHC velocity started to decrease after traveling up to 11.6 m. (4) In a severe fire, the adoption of SW is suggested, as the evacuees can both evacuate quickly and avoid overworking their joints. (5) There were no significant differences in the age (<i>p</i> > 0.05) and gender (<i>p</i> > 0.05) of the children on the joints in any of the three postures. To conclude, KHC causes more damage to body joints compared to bipedal walking, as evidenced by higher exposure (mean duration, frequency), whereas UW and SW are similar in terms of the level of joint fatigue. The above findings are expected to provide a useful reference for future applications in the children’s risk assessment and in the prevention design of buildings.Xiaohu JiaBo ZhangXiaoyu GaoJiaxu ZhouMDPI AGarticlechildren risk assessmentposturesbody jointsergonomicsmotion analysisMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 12029, p 12029 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	children risk assessment postures body joints ergonomics motion analysis Medicine R
spellingShingle	children risk assessment postures body joints ergonomics motion analysis Medicine R Xiaohu Jia Bo Zhang Xiaoyu Gao Jiaxu Zhou An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations
description	Crawling is recommended for avoiding high heat and toxic fumes and for obtaining more breathable air during evacuations. Few studies have evaluated the effects of crawling on physical joints and velocity, especially in children. Based on motion capture technology, this study proposes a novel method of using wearable sensors to collect exposure (e.g., mean duration, frequency) on children’s joints to objectively quantify the impacts of different locomotion methods on physical characteristics. An on-site experiment was conducted in a kindergarten with 28 children (13 boys and 15 girls) of different ages (4–6 years old) who traveled up to 22 m in three different postures: upright walking (UW), stoop walking (SW), and knee and hand crawling (KHC). The results showed that: (1) The level of joint fatigue for KHC was heavier than bipedal walking (<i>p</i> < 0.05), which was evidenced by higher mean duration and frequency. There was no significant difference between UW and SW (<i>p</i> > 0.05). (2) The physical characteristics of the children in the different postures observed in this study were different (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The ankle was more fatigued than other joints during bipedal walking. Unlike infants, the wrists and hips of the children became fatigued while crawling. The key actions flexion/extension are more likely to induce joint fatigue vs. other actions. (3) Crawling velocity was significantly slower than the bipedal velocities, and UW was 10.6% faster than SW (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The bipedal walking velocity started to decrease after the children had travelled up to 13 m, while the KHC velocity started to decrease after traveling up to 11.6 m. (4) In a severe fire, the adoption of SW is suggested, as the evacuees can both evacuate quickly and avoid overworking their joints. (5) There were no significant differences in the age (<i>p</i> > 0.05) and gender (<i>p</i> > 0.05) of the children on the joints in any of the three postures. To conclude, KHC causes more damage to body joints compared to bipedal walking, as evidenced by higher exposure (mean duration, frequency), whereas UW and SW are similar in terms of the level of joint fatigue. The above findings are expected to provide a useful reference for future applications in the children’s risk assessment and in the prevention design of buildings.
format	article
author	Xiaohu Jia Bo Zhang Xiaoyu Gao Jiaxu Zhou
author_facet	Xiaohu Jia Bo Zhang Xiaoyu Gao Jiaxu Zhou
author_sort	Xiaohu Jia
title	An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations
title_short	An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations
title_full	An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations
title_fullStr	An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations
title_full_unstemmed	An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations
title_sort	ergonomic assessment of different postures and children risk during evacuations
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/2b9015538ca741289d8c0eb62adc2dd9
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An Ergonomic Assessment of Different Postures and Children Risk during Evacuations

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