Biomedical subjects

G Molteni

Publications and source records attributed to G Molteni.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Criteria for the ergonomic evaluation of work chairs.

UNLABELLED: On the basis of a critical overview of specialised ergonomics literature and of national and international standards on the subjects, this paper outlines the main ergonomic requirements and characteristics for work chairs. The main ergonomic requirements for work chairs are the following: SAFETY: the chair should not be the source or cause of accidents. Adaptability: the chair's dimensions and control features should be such that they meet the anthropometric characteristics of at least 90% of the potential users. Comfort: the chair should be physiologically comfortable for the user. To this end, the following are all important features: seat-plane and backrest contours, backrest height and inclination adjustability, padding and covering materials that allow the body to breath. Practicality: the chair, and in particular the control features, should be practical and easy to control use. Durability: the chair should offer good wear and durability of its components and controls. Suitability for the job: the chair should be appropriately designed for the intended type of job and working environment. For each of these requirements single parameters are considered and for each parameter specific qualitative and/or quantitative data are given in order to class each single item as: "not acceptable", "acceptable" or "good", as regards standards and regulations, anthropometric parameters and intended uses. Criteria are given for a concise assessment of each of the six main requirements and for a comprehensive assessment of the "ergonomic quality" of the work chair.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiology of musculoskeletal disorders caused by biomechanical overload (WMSDs)].

The link between occupation and musculo-skeletal disorders has been focused on in numerous research projects, ranging from those simply observing the different pathological findings reported among workers performing particular tasks, down to the latest studies actually quantifying the "exposure" of workers to physical and psycho-social stimuli, Recently, Hagberg et al (11) carried out a critical review of the literature concerning the upper limbs. For some disorders and certain tissues, the authors reported that specific types of work-related exposure are associated with the development of musculo-skeletal pathologies, and that the relative risks for certain types of occupational exposure can be extremely high. This has been proven in relation to tendinitis of the shoulder and hand-wrist, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tense neck syndrome, as well as several localised aspecific musculo-skeletal symptoms, such as pain. For other pathologies, the study reported contradictory results. This is the case for lateral epicondylitis, narrow chest syndrome and cervical radiculopathy. Associations have moreover been observed between several groups of disorders and certain psycho-social factors (e.g. workload, degree of discretionality).

Brachial Plexus Neuritis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Public transportation driving and disorders of the vertebral spine: subjective evaluation of the risks].

Drivers of heavy vehicles can be exposed to risk of spinal disorders due to prolonged fixed postures and vibrations. Thus, ergonomic features which improve the components of the cabin (seat, steering wheel, dashboard) along with correct visibility from the driving position are of primary importance. Also, there are increasingly frequent reports in the literature of the influence of psychosocial factors and stress in back pain. A study was made of 339 volunteers working as public transport drivers; the subjects were administered two questionnaires to collect demographic information, data on past and current spinal disorders, subjective assessment of work organization, ergonomic features of the driving position, and stress. To quantify the prevalence of spinal disorders and their significance compared to a control group consisting of 1200 subjects not exposed to postural risk, account was taken of the threshold criteria recommended by A. Nachemson and the raw prevalence ratios were estimated at specific ages. Comparison of the data revealed no significant prevalence of disorders of the 3 sections of the spine among the exposed in the various age groups. This result, which is apparently in contrast with the data in the literature, is believed to be due to overall improvements in the preventive measures undertaken by the employers. The symptoms reported by some subjects were, however, correlated with incorrect postures due to some not wholly satisfactory ergonomic features and adverse psychosocial factors, with consequent stress.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The contributions of occupational medicine to ergonomics].

Major contributions to the development of ergonomics, originating from observations, studies, research and applications in numerous working situations in the occupational health area, are presented and discussed in an analytical and concise manner. Ergonomics can provide an extremely useful conceptual and methodological approach provided it complies with the trends developed by the European Coal and Steel Commission in the past ten years for the coal and steel industry and now adopted by the International Ergonomics Association. Otherwise prevention of occupational hazards would be reduced to early diagnosis only, relinquishing all prospects of primary prevention which, if correctly applied, can only be achieved via an anthropocentric design concept. Therefore new epistemological choices, new theories, methods and design procedures need to be widely implemented so that they can be correctly synthetized, in accordance with the centrality, the values and the aspirations of the human operator in complex systems.

Ergonomics↗