Characteristics of muscle activity during each step in snow removal using a snow pusher

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of muscle activity in the work process of snow removal using a snow pusher, which is burdensome. Snow pushing involves five steps: shoving, pushing down, pulling out, transporting, and lifting. Despite being a common task, there is little research on the ergonomics of snow removal using a pusher. This study evaluated muscle activity and joint angle changes in the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, rectus abdominis, and erector spinae muscles involved in each step of snow removal using a pusher in healthy adult men. Throughout the process, the electromyographic activity of each muscle fluctuated around 30%, which is within the desirable load for improving muscle endurance. Further evaluation using Welch's analysis of variance showed that shoving, pushing down, pulling out, and lifting involved significantly higher muscle activity than the other work processes. Because snow removal using a pusher requires different movement patterns and muscle activity for each step, necessary measures must be introduced to reduce the physical burden involved in each task.