Received 9 September 2002; received in revised form 30 September 2002
Abstract
Objective
The present study investigated the effect of a back belt on reach actions.
Subjects
Sixteen undergraduate college students (8 male students, 8 female students) ranging in age from 18 to 22 years. Thirteen subjects were included in the final analysis.
Setting
The Department of Psychology at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Methods
Using a well-established set of procedures developed in our laboratory for studying reaching, seated adult participants reached for and retrieved an object placed at various distances from them. Reach distances included values both closer than and farther than each subject's maximum seated reach. The reach task had 2 conditions: picking up and retrieving a small block and skewering and retrieving a small bead with a needle. For each task condition, each subject either wore the belt or did not use a belt.
Results
Results indicate that when subjects wore the belt while reaching, they tended to have initial transition points (sitting to nonsitting) closer to their bodies than while not wearing the belt. That is, for a distant object, subjects were more likely to raise their bodies out of the chair rather than perform an extreme seated reach, possibly acting to preserve a greater margin of safety.
Conclusions
The back belt consistently modified reaching postures by limiting extreme ranges of motion during a task that required enhanced stability. Furthermore, the methodology and analysis presented in this article when applied to chiropractic will allow us to begin thoughtful investigation of the effects of chiropractic adjustments on postural transitions and margin of safety.
aCenter for Ergonomic Research, Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, Private practice of chiropractic, Eaton, OH, USA
bCenter for Ergonomic Research, Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA
Dean L. Smith, DC, MSc, Essence of Wellness Chiropratic Center, 890 South Barron St. (PO Box 333) Eaton, OH 45320
☆ This study was partially funded by a grant from Back-A-Line. D. Smith has received fellowship support from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER).
ABSTRACT