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This work sought to explore, evaluate and then improve the process of development for personal Military Load Carriage Equipment (MLCE), such as rucksacks. It was suspected that current MLCE had a number of user interaction deficiencies which should have been addressed during development. Three research questions were posed to determine: the influences on MLCE development, what needed improvement in MLCE development and how MLCE development could be improved. The work was based on eight studies conducted in three phases: the first to explore MLCE development and the observed deficiencies, the second to evaluate MLCE development, and the third to improve it. The chosen research strategy was henomenological, using a grounded theory methodology within which phenomena could emerge. Grounded theory approaches were adopted for this research because they were the best way in which to access the design domain. The research was framed within cycles of reflective action research to enable the researcher to re-orientate the enquiry to make the best use of the research opportunities that arose from the organisational context in which the research was sited. An initial investigation into the development of in-service equipment was done via a comparative case study, using documentary analysis and interviews with authorities in the field. Through this investigation it became clear that MLCE development was based on heuristics and tacit knowledge of manufacturing techniques, and collaboration between professional groups, including: materials / manufacturing, human systems, project management and military personnel. Deficiencies within MLCE development, determined through the comparative study, were validated against current practice through a further case study and additional evaluations. A comparison of outputs from these studies was then reviewed in a grounded manner to gain a holistic understanding of MLCE development. The interaction and importance of the various influences on MLCE development was then better understood, in particular the inadequate understanding of MLCE user needs, and requirement specification. To refine the possible avenues and target audience for an improvement of MLCE development stakeholder interviews were undertaken to develop a better understanding of how military user needs were gathered and applied. Following the interview survey, a tool was developed to analyse video and audio data of soldiers operating with MLCE on current operations. The tool was then reviewed by a panel of MLCE developers and stakeholders. The panel thought that the tool had a number of benefits to MLCE development: improving understanding of soldier environments, improved quality and reliability of information used in development, and as a conduit for concept evaluation. The research has provided a novel perspective on MLCE development, and provided a number of avenues upon which subsequent research could focus. The research has been able to make original contributions to understanding, albeit in a manner limited by the methodologies used.

Firefighting is a strenuous occupation that requires high-intensity work, resulting in prolonged periods of stress and physical exertion. The physical demand of performing firefighting tasks is augmented by the weight of personal protective equipment (PPE) worn (i.e., load carriage: LC) and the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). These factors have been shown to increase metabolic demand at submaximal workloads and decrease maximal aerobic capacity in laboratory settings. However, there is limited research evaluating the effects of these factors on occupational performance. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to quantify the detrimental effect of LC only and LC+SCBA on firefighter occupational performance. In addition, it is important to identify fitness characteristics and physiological outcomes that are correlated to the decrement in performance produced by the PPE. This information will guide practitioners in selecting appropriate training strategies to effectively prepare firefighters to perform occupational tasks in gear. Thus, a secondary aim was to evaluate the relationships between fitness and pulmonary outcomes versus the decrement in occupational performance produced by the PPE. Twenty-one male firefighter recruits (Age: 28.6 ± 4.3 yr; Height: 178.6 ± 7.2 cm; Mass: 94.1 ± 15.4; Body Fat: 17.8 ± 8.4%) participated in this study. Occupational physical ability was assessed by time to complete a simulated fire ground test (SFGT). The SFGT was composed of the following tasks: stair climb, charged hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise, forcible entry, search, and victim rescue. The recruits participated in six testing sessions. First, two SFGT familiarization trials were performed on separate days. During the next three testing sessions, the firefighter recruits performed the following SFGT conditions in a randomized order: control condition (PT clothes), LC only condition, and PPE+SCBA (SCBA) condition. Baseline and post-SFGT pulmonary and physiological data were collected. To describe within group differences between SFGT conditions, relative difference scores were calculated as follows: % difference = (([experimental trial outcome – PT trial outcome] / PT trial outcome) x 100). Statistical differences between the SFGT conditions were assessed with repeated measures ANOVA. To evaluate the relationship between fitness outcomes versus the decrement in SFGT performance, fitness testing data were obtained from the recruit academy and included: 1.5 mile run time, maximal push-ups, maximal sit-ups, maximal pull-ups, and prone plank time. In addition, the recruits completed a battery of fitness tests in their sixth testing session. The absolute difference in time to complete the SFGT between conditions was calculated as: experimental SFGT time - PT time. Bivariate correlations were used to assess the relationship between the absolute difference in SFGT time versus fitness outcomes. The LC+SCBA trial took 44.5 ± 15.5% longer (345.9 ± 43.7 s; p < .001) and the LC only trial took 38.3 ± 12.6% longer (331.2 ± 39.3 s; p < .001) to complete the SFGT than the PT trial (241.0 ± 33.3 s). The LC+SCBA trial took longer to complete the SFGT than the LC only trial (p = .046). Post-SFGT RPE was higher in the LC+SCBA trial (6.7 ± 1.7) and LC only trial (6.3 ± 1.5) compared to the PT trial (4.6 ± 1.8; p < .001). Absolute aerobic capacity, lower body power, anaerobic power and capacity, abdominal muscular endurance, and upper body strength were significantly correlated to the decrement in SFGT performance on some tasks caused by the PPE. In summary, PPE increases the intensity of performing fire ground tasks. To enhance occupational performance, it is imperative that firefighters optimize specific physical fitness attributes to reduce the relative stress produced by the PPE.

<p>Bakgrunden till studien är att vikten på den enskilda soldaten ökar allt mer vilket reducerar rörligheten. Om soldaten bär för tungt ökar risken för att verkan inte kan avges på rätt plats i rätt tid på grund av minskad rörlighet. Terrängen som amfibiesoldaten verkar i medför att stor del av striden sker till fots vilket torde betyda att rörligheten borde vara prioriterat för soldaten. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om rörlighet har varit prioriterat, för en amfibieskyttesoldat när den bedriver strid till fots, gentemot vikten på och plutonens anpassning av verkans- och skyddsutrustning. Metoden som använts är en jämförelse mellan amfibieskyttesoldatens olika utrustningsalternativ med de vikter som fastställts i författarens analysverktyg som utgår från de amerikanska doktrinerna. Även amfibieskytteplutonens anpassning av verkans- och skyddsutrustning ingår i analysverktyget. De tekniker som använts är litteratursökning, deltagande observation från verksamhetsförlagdutbildning på AmfStriS och intervju med en grundutbildad amfibieskyttegruppchef. Slutsatsen från studien är att rörlighet inte har varit prioriterat kopplat till vikten och plutonensarbete med att anpassa verkans- och skyddsutrustning. Det är framförallt skyddsnivån och ammunitionsmängd som påverkar slutsatsen. Det skulle vara svårt för plutonchefen att förklara en soldats skada eller dödsfall med att rörlighet prioriterats framför verkan och skydd. Alltså tränar soldaten som den skall strida, med andra ord skyddsnivå HÖG och all ammunition med.</p> / <p>The background to this study is that the weight of an infantry soldier is increasing, which reduces the mobility. If the soldier is carrying too much equipment there’s a substantial risk that efficient fire can’t be delivered in the right place at the right time. The marine infantry soldier operates in an environment where most of the combat is by foot. This would mean that mobility must be in priority. The aim of this paper is to examine if the mobility has been in priority, for a marine infantry soldier, in comparison with the weight of the equipment and the marine platoons work to adapt the firepower and protection equipment. The method used is a comparison between the different options of equipment for the marine infantry soldier with the weights that the author confirm in his analysis tool which are based on FM 7-8 andFM 7-10. The marine infantry platoons adaption of equipment to improve mobility is also included in the analysis tool. The techniques to collect information are literature review, participant observation and an interview with a basic trained marine infantry squad leader. The conclusion from this study is that mobility hasn’t been in priority coupled to the weight of the equipment and the platoon’s adaptation of equipment to improve mobility. It’s the level of protection and the amount of ammunition that particular affect the answer to the conclusion. There would be difficulties for a platoon commander to explain a soldier’s injury or death with the explanation that mobility was in priority in comparison with protection and firepower. The marine infantry soldiersare training as they fight, which means that they bring all ammunition and choose a HIGH level inprotection.</p>

Bakgrunden till studien är att vikten på den enskilda soldaten ökar allt mer vilket reducerar rörligheten. Om soldaten bär för tungt ökar risken för att verkan inte kan avges på rätt plats i rätt tid på grund av minskad rörlighet. Terrängen som amfibiesoldaten verkar i medför att stor del av striden sker till fots vilket torde betyda att rörligheten borde vara prioriterat för soldaten. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om rörlighet har varit prioriterat, för en amfibieskyttesoldat när den bedriver strid till fots, gentemot vikten på och plutonens anpassning av verkans- och skyddsutrustning. Metoden som använts är en jämförelse mellan amfibieskyttesoldatens olika utrustningsalternativ med de vikter som fastställts i författarens analysverktyg som utgår från de amerikanska doktrinerna. Även amfibieskytteplutonens anpassning av verkans- och skyddsutrustning ingår i analysverktyget. De tekniker som använts är litteratursökning, deltagande observation från verksamhetsförlagdutbildning på AmfStriS och intervju med en grundutbildad amfibieskyttegruppchef. Slutsatsen från studien är att rörlighet inte har varit prioriterat kopplat till vikten och plutonensarbete med att anpassa verkans- och skyddsutrustning. Det är framförallt skyddsnivån och ammunitionsmängd som påverkar slutsatsen. Det skulle vara svårt för plutonchefen att förklara en soldats skada eller dödsfall med att rörlighet prioriterats framför verkan och skydd. Alltså tränar soldaten som den skall strida, med andra ord skyddsnivå HÖG och all ammunition med. / The background to this study is that the weight of an infantry soldier is increasing, which reduces the mobility. If the soldier is carrying too much equipment there’s a substantial risk that efficient fire can’t be delivered in the right place at the right time. The marine infantry soldier operates in an environment where most of the combat is by foot. This would mean that mobility must be in priority. The aim of this paper is to examine if the mobility has been in priority, for a marine infantry soldier, in comparison with the weight of the equipment and the marine platoons work to adapt the firepower and protection equipment. The method used is a comparison between the different options of equipment for the marine infantry soldier with the weights that the author confirm in his analysis tool which are based on FM 7-8 andFM 7-10. The marine infantry platoons adaption of equipment to improve mobility is also included in the analysis tool. The techniques to collect information are literature review, participant observation and an interview with a basic trained marine infantry squad leader. The conclusion from this study is that mobility hasn’t been in priority coupled to the weight of the equipment and the platoon’s adaptation of equipment to improve mobility. It’s the level of protection and the amount of ammunition that particular affect the answer to the conclusion. There would be difficulties for a platoon commander to explain a soldier’s injury or death with the explanation that mobility was in priority in comparison with protection and firepower. The marine infantry soldiersare training as they fight, which means that they bring all ammunition and choose a HIGH level inprotection.

Women in Benin commonly participate in physically demanding activities that involve the carriage of heavy loads on the head and back. These strenuous tasks combined with pregnancy can result in back pain that may persist after delivery in some cases. The objective of this study was to examine how the trunk postures of pregnant women in Benin were affected by their occupational activities. This study also examined trunk postures, as well as postures of the head relative to the trunk, in the specific task of carrying loads on the head. Finally, the instrument used in this study to measure trunk postures, the Virtual CorsetTM (VC) (Microstrain, Williston, VT, USA), was validated against a system of potentiometers. Questionnaires completed by 26 pregnant and 25 non-pregnant subjects revealed that 58% of pregnant women suffered from back pain since the start of pregnancy. An average of 328 instances of trunk flexion at angles larger than 60° were recorded during the workdays of 17 pregnant women, while 66 of those flexions events were held for more than four seconds. Furthermore, an average of 36% of the recorded workday was spent in trunk flexion at angles exceeding 20°. Trunk postural data, at C7 and S1, as well as sagittal positions of the head relative to the trunk were compared between pregnant and non-pregnant subjects and between unloaded and loaded walking conditions for the specific task of head load carriage. These comparisons showed that load on the head significantly increased upper trunk extension and lateral bending of the upper trunk towards the left during walking. Motion of the head relative to the trunk and motion of the upper trunk significantly decreased in the loaded condition and was compensated by increased motion at the sacrum level. In the validation study, the VC was moved at different speeds to observe the effects of accelerations on the angle measurements. Root mean square difference between the angles measured by the VC and the potentiometers were all below 5° and 6° for flexion-extension and lateral bending, respectively, with the exception of rapid movements where errors were slightly larger. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-07-07 16:23:53.56

abstract: Fall accident is a significant problem associated with our society both in terms of economic losses and human suffering [1]. In 2016, more than 800,000 people were hospitalized and over 33,000 deaths resulted from falling. Health costs associated with falling in 2016 yielded at 33% of total medical expenses in the US- mounting to approximately $31 billion per year. As such, it is imperative to find intervention strategies to mitigate deaths and injuries associated with fall accidents. In order for this goal to be realized, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms associated with fall accidents and more specifically, the movement profiles that may represent the cogent behavior of the locomotor system that may be amendable to rehabilitation and intervention strategies. In this light, this Thesis is focused on better understanding the factors influencing dynamic stability measure (as measured by Lyapunov exponents) during over-ground ambulation utilizing wireless Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). Four pilot studies were conducted: the First study was carried out to verify if IMU system was sophisticated enough to determine different load-carrying conditions. Second, to test the effects of walking inclinations, three incline levels on gait dynamic stability were examined. Third, tested whether different sections from the total gait cycle can be stitched together to assess LDS using the laboratory collected data. Finally, the fourth study examines the effect of “stitching” the data on dynamic stability measure from a longitudinally assessed (3-day continuous data collection) data to assess the effects of free-range data on assessment of dynamic stability. Results indicated that load carrying significantly influenced dynamic stability measure but not for the floor inclination levels – indicating that future use of such measure should further implicate normalization of dynamic stability measures associated with different activities and terrain conditions. Additionally, stitching method was successful in obtaining dynamic stability measure utilizing free-living IMU data. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biomedical Engineering 2017

Modern soldiers are burdened by an increase in body-borne load due to technological advancements related to their armour and equipment. Despite the potential increase in safety from carrying more protective equipment, a heavier load on the soldier might decrease field performance both cognitively and physically. Additionally, an increasing load on military personnel concurrently increases their risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Therefore, there is a necessity for research on the soldier's biomechanical outcomes under different loading conditions. When it comes to biomechanics research, marker-based technology is widely accepted as the gold standard in terms of motion capture. However, recent advancements in markerless motion capture could allow the quick collection of data in various training environments, while avoiding marker errors. In this research project, the Theia3D markerless motion capture system was compared to the marker-based gold standard for application on participants across varying body-borne load conditions. The aim was to estimate lower body joint kinematics, gastrocnemius lateralis and medialis muscle activation patterns, and lower body joint reaction forces from the two motion capture systems. Data were collected on 16 participants for three repetitions of both walking and running under four body-borne load conditions by both motion capture systems simultaneously. Electromyography (EMG) data of lower limb muscles were collected on the right leg and force plates measured ground reaction forces. A complete musculoskeletal analysis was completed in OpenSim using the Rajagopal full-body model and standard workflow: model scaling, inverse kinematics, residual reduction, static optimization, and joint reaction analysis. Estimations of joint kinematics and joint reaction forces were compared between the two systems using Pearson's correlation coefficient, root-mean-square errors, and Bland-Altman limits of agreement. Very strong correlations (r = 0.960 ± 0.038) and acceptable differences (RMSE = 7.8° ± 2.6°) were observed between the kinematics of the marker-based and markerless systems, with some angle biases due to joint centre differences between systems causing an offset. Because the marker-based motion capture system lost line of sight with markers more frequently in the heavier body-borne load conditions, differences generally increased with heavier body-borne loads. Timing of muscle activations of the gastrocnemius lateralis and medialis as estimated from both systems agreed with the ones measured by the EMG sensors. Joint reaction force results also showed a very strong correlation between the systems but the markerless model seemed to overestimate joint reaction forces when compared to results from the marker-based model. Overall, this research highlighted the potential of markerless motion capture to track participants across all body-borne load conditions. However, more work is necessary on the determination of angle bias between the two systems to improve the use of markerless data with OpenSim models.

ABSTRACT The Effects of a Novel Exercise Training Suit on Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Body Composition and Leg Strength Trevor Michael Curry The physiological responses to physical activity or exercise using external load carriage systems (LCS) in the form of weighted personal protective equipment, backpacks, or vests have biomechanical and human performance implications. It remains unclear whether a new unique LCS in the form of a weighted (5.45 kg) full-bodied exercise suit can induce greater improvements in performance and body composition. Twenty-one healthy males (20±3 years; 24.9±3.6 body mass index (BMI); 25.1±6.4% total percentage body fat ( % fat); 120.1±17.3 kg lean mass; 146.2±35.4 kg leg press 1-repetition max; 1.25±0.14 g·cm-2 bone mineral density; 49.5±8.53 mLO2·kg-1·min-1 maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max)) were matched for VO2max and physical characteristics before being randomly allocated into an aerobic exercise intervention with or without the exercise suit using a treadmill at the Cal Poly Recreation Center. Participants jogged at 60%-70% of their maximum heart rate for 30 min three times a week on nonconsecutive days for six weeks. Weight was recorded before and after each session while heart rates, blood pressures, and tympanic membrane temperatures were recorded incrementally during each session. Thereafter, VO2max and the same physical characteristics were measured and used to analyze the changes before and after the 6-week program. The results indicate that there was no difference for the change in any of the variables measured during and between the exercise intervention. Future studies examining the effect of the exercise suit on these variables should strongly consider larger sample sizes and other subpopulations to gain the statistical power to measure the effects of the exercise suit.