United States Department of Transportation
i
Joint Loading and Muscle Activity in the Lower Body While Walking on Ballast [Research Results]
-
2011-03-01
[PDF-458.48 KB]
Details:
-
Corporate Creators:
-
Contributors:
-
Subject/TRT Terms:
-
Publication/ Report Number:
-
Resource Type:
-
Geographical Coverage:
-
Corporate Publisher:
-
Abstract:This study was a collaboration between university and industry researchers (2010), with data collected at the University of Mississippi. The project was a follow-up to a pilot project that found rearfoot motion (side-to-side motion of the ankle joint looked at from the rear) increased by 58 percent if subjects walked on mainline ballast (MB) instead of no ballast (NB), whereas rearfoot motion did not significantly differ between WB and NB. The pilot project supported a policy of placing walking ballast (WB) in locations where railroad employees must walk as part of their jobs. The 2010 study extended the findings beyond the ankles to the hips and knees as well. Twenty healthy adult men walked along three different pathways (NB, WB, MB) while full-body motion, ground reaction forces, and electromyographic (EMG) signals were collected from the lower extremity muscles. Three-dimensional joint moments were calculated, and moment trajectory ranges, muscle activity (measured by EMG), and temporal gait measures were investigated. The conclusion reached was that walking on ballast increases muscle activation to control the loading or stress at the joints of the lower extremities. Even with a slower, more cautious gait on MB, larger moment profiles occurred compared with WB, and greater co-contraction occurred compared with WB and NB. The current results suggest that increased efforts to place WB where walking occurs and to maintain those surfaces will increase safety and decrease demands on the musculoskeletal systems of railroad employees.
-
Format:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
