Lumbar Spinal Loading during Stoop, Squat, and Kneeling Lifting: A Musculoskeletal Modeling Analysis

Pain at the lower back is a common health problem affecting working-age population around the world. The risk of low back pain has been assessed through spinal loads that change across different postures. Lifting is the most frequent posture that has been studied in previous literature. However, it is unclear which lifting posture should be performed in order to decrease the incidence of low back pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate spinal loads for three different lifting techniques; stoop, squat, and kneeling, at several levels of the lumbar spine. The present study was conducted via musculoskeletal modeling using commercial software (AnyBody Technology). The results indicate that there was no significant difference in compressive and resultant force among the three liftings. However, the difference in shear force between stoop and kneeling lifting was found to be significant. Increasing level of the lumbar spine significantly led to the decrease of shear force. The findings should benefit various research studies dealing with LBP.