2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
Figure 1: Schematic representation of the workstation
Table 1: Estimated area under the curve (AUC) of the x/y ratios between Cold and Neutral
condition – 10 subjects.
Cold Neutral
1 min 60 min 1 min 60 min
Wrist 16.7 (0.4) 16.3 (0.4) 17.1 (0.5) 16.9 (0.5)
Shoulder 1.88 (0.08) 2.17 (0.097)* 1.94 (0.09) 2.13 (0.11)*
Hip 1.76 (0.09) 1.96 (0.10) 1.94 (0.09) 1.88 (0.09)
Head 2.37 (0.13) 2.76 (0.14) * 2.31 (0.12) 2.54 (0.16)
Elbow 6.28 (0.25) 6.35(0.24)† 5.99 (0.24) 6.00 (0.24)
*Significant differences at 60 minute compared with 1 minute at the same conditions
† Significant differences at 60 minute compared with Thermoneutral conditions
DISCUSSION
The main results of our research indicate that cooling changed the elbow trajectories (high
motion amplitude) at the end of the working period. These changes probably are affecting the
motor coordination on upper arm with the intention to maintain the end point trajectory
constant. The increased fatigue observed in previous studies in cold conditions and the
changes observed in the motor coordination on upper arm could help to explain the high risk
of suffering some musculoskeletal problems.
REFERENCES
Meigal A.Y., Oksa J., Hohtola E., Lupandin Y.V. and Rintamäki H. (1998). Influence of cold
shivering on fine motor control in the upper limb. Acta Physiol Scand, 163, 41-47.
Mäkinen T., Rintamäki J., Korpelainen J.T., Kamplan V., Pääkkönen T., Oksa J., Palinkas L.,
Leppäluoto J. and Hassi J. (2005). Postural sway during single and repeated cold
exposures. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. Vol. 76, Nº 10 October.
Oksa J., Rintamäki H. and Rissanen S. (1997). Muscle performance and electromyogram
activity of the lower legs muscles with different levels of cold exposure. Eur. J. Appl
Physiol 75: 484-490.
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