Analysis of infrared imaging during vertical handling tasks in workers with different levels of obesity

Abstract

Obesity is an emerging health problem and its incidence has been increasing throughout the workforce. In occupational contexts, the vertical handling tasks, including lifting and lowering loads, are common and can produce significant musculoskeletal overloads for the involved workers. In this field, the Infrared Thermography (IRT) has emerged as a potential technique to analyze risk factors for Work related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD). Thus, this study aims at comparing the surface temperature changes over 16 Regions of Interest (ROI) across a sample of individuals with different levels of obesity, when performing a vertical handling task. The results pointed out that, for all considered ROI, the skin temperature decreases after the task and obese subjects seems to present a higher decrease, comparing with the non-obese. Negative temperature variations may present a higher risk of WMSD due to blood flow restriction. This study provides evidences that obesity is a WMSD risk factor during handling tasks.