Ladder handling by telecommunications technicians represents an indispensable part of their daily work, but may generate musculoskeletal injury risk. These workers have a high prevalence of shoulder and back injuries, motivating research to quantify postures and loading using different ladders during common handling tasks. Twenty-five participants completed carry, raise (against a wall or free standing), and simulated removal from a van roof tasks using three ladders (8.5m 2-piece wood; 8.5m 2-piece fibreglass, 9.2m 3-piece wood). Data collection included kinematics and kinetics during these ladder handling tasks, as well as perceived discomfort, perceived exertion and post-collection ladder and task preferences. Significant effects depended on task and ladder. Dominant arm (the arm completing the primary action) elevation was higher while extending the ladder (114.7 ± 3.4°) than the carry task (53.5 ± 3.5°) (p < 0.05). Joint moments in the dominant shoulder and trunk were highest for the 2-piece wood ladder (59.0 ± 2.2 Nm and 254.8 ± 8.8 Nm) averaged across all tasks. Joint forces were increased when using the 2-piece wood ladder compared to the 3-piece wood ladder (p < 0.05), while the greatest discomfort in the shoulders occurred using the 2-piece wood ladder in the carry task. Many tasks approached or exceeded strength capability of a 50th percentile male's predicted strength. While no ladder universally mitigated physical demands while lowering perceptual difficulty, construction differences yielded trends toward preferring the 2-piece fibreglass or 3-piece wood ladders over the 2-piece wood ladder. This work has direct relevance to workplaces with ladder handling and provides recommendations for ladder selection and strength requirements across tasks.

电信技术人员处理梯子是他们日常工作中不可或缺的一部分，但可能会导致肌肉骨骼受伤的风险。这些工人肩部和背部受伤的患病率很高，这促使人们进行研究以量化在常见的处理任务中使用不同梯子的姿势和负荷。25名参与者完成了携带，举升（靠墙或站立站立），并使用三个梯子（8.5m 2片式木材； 8.5m 2片式玻璃纤维件，9.2m 3片式木材）模拟了从货车车顶的拆卸任务。 。数据收集包括这些梯子处理任务期间的运动学和动力学，以及感觉到的不适，感觉到的劳累和收集后的梯子以及任务偏好。重大影响取决于任务和阶梯。伸展梯子（114.7±3.4°）时，优势臂（完成主要动作的臂）的高度比运载任务（53.5±3.5°）的高（p <0.05）。在所有任务中，两件式木梯的主要肩膀和躯干的关节力矩最高（59.0±2.2 Nm和254.8±8.8 Nm）。与2件式木梯相比，使用2件式木梯时关节力增加（p <0.05），而在搬运任务中使用2件式木梯时，肩膀出现最大不适感。许多任务达到或超过了男性50％预测强度的力量承受能力。虽然没有梯子能在减轻感官难度的同时普遍减轻身体的需求，构造上的差异导致倾向于使用2件式玻璃纤维或3件式木梯，而不是2件式木梯。这项工作与带有梯子处理的工作场所直接相关，并为跨任务的梯子选择和强度要求提供了建议。