Background

Human babies are carried by their caregivers during infancy, and the use of ergonomic aids to wear the baby on the body has recently grown in popularity. However, the effects of wearing or holding a baby in-arms on an individual’s mechanics during gait and a common object retrieval task are not fully understood.

Research question

What are the differences in: 1) spatiotemporal, lower extremity kinematics, and ground reaction force variables during gait, and 2) technique, center of mass motion, and kinematics during an object retrieval task between holding and wearing an infant mannequin?

Methods

In this prospective biomechanics study, 10 healthy females performed over-ground walking and an object retrieval task in three conditions, holding: (1) nothing (unloaded), (2) an infant mannequin in-arms, and (3) an infant mannequin in a baby carrier. Mechanics were compared using repeated measures ANOVA.

Results

During gait, greater vertical ground reaction force and impulse and braking force was found during the in-arms and carrier conditions compared to unloaded. Significant but small (<5°) differences were found between conditions in lower extremity kinematics. Increased back extension was found during carrier and in-arms compared to unloaded. Step length was the only spatiotemporal parameter that differed between conditions. During object retrieval, most participants used a squatting technique to retrieve the object from the floor. They maintained a more upright posture, with less trunk flexion and anteroposterior movement of their center of mass, and also did not try to fold forward over their hips during the two loaded conditions. Lower extremity kinematics did not differ between unloaded and carrier, suggesting that babywearing may promote more similar lower extremity mechanics to not carrying anything.

Significance

Holding or wearing an infant provides a mechanical constraint that impacts the forces and kinematics, which has implications for caregivers’ pain and dysfunction.

中文翻译：

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婴儿携带方法会影响护理人员在步态和物品检索过程中的姿势和负荷。

背景

人类婴儿在婴儿期由他们的照顾者抱起，使用符合人体工程学的辅助装置将婴儿戴在身上最近越来越流行。然而，在步态和常见的物体检索任务期间，佩戴或抱着婴儿对个人力学的影响尚不完全清楚。

研究问题

在以下方面有什么区别：1) 步态期间的时空、下肢运动学和地面反作用力变量，以及 2) 握住和佩戴婴儿人体模型进行物体检索任务期间的技术、质心运动和运动学？

方法

在这项前瞻性生物力学研究中，10 名健康女性在三种情况下进行了地面行走和物体检索任务，分别持有：（1）空载（空载），（2）婴儿人体模型，和（3）婴儿人体模型在婴儿背袋里。使用重复测量方差分析比较力学。

结果

在步态过程中，与空载相比，在臂内和载体条件下发现更大的垂直地面反作用力和冲力和制动力。在下肢运动学条件之间发现了显着但很小 (<5°) 的差异。与空载相比，在携带和手臂期间发现背部伸展增加. 步长是不同条件下唯一不同的时空参数。在物体检索过程中，大多数参与者使用蹲下技术从地板上检索物体。他们保持更直立的姿势，躯干屈曲和重心前后移动较少，并且在两种负载条件下也没有尝试向前折叠臀部。下肢运动学在空载和携带者之间没有差异，这表明婴儿穿着可能会促进更相似的下肢力学，而不是不携带任何东西。

意义

抱着或佩戴婴儿提供了一种影响力和运动学的机械约束，这对照顾者的疼痛和功能障碍有影响。