THE EFFECTS OF FATIGUE AND BACKPACK DESIGN ON POSTURE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fatigue and backpack design on head and trunk position. Twenty four young female volunteers were filmed while walking 3200m around a track with a suspension and student backpack, as well as in an unloaded control condition. Head and trunk absolute angles were recorded after 400m and again at 2800m for all three conditions. A repeated measures ANOVA indicated that significant differences did occur between the two backpacks in head flexion, maximal trunk extension, and total range of motion of the trunk. Fatigue differences were seen in head flexion and maximal trunk flexion. It was concluded that even with relatively light loads a supported backpack was superior to a student backpack.