A Biomechanical-Psychophysical Model of the Lifting Task

Abstract

A biomechanical-psychophysical model of the lifting task was developed. The purpose was to incorporate psychophysical attributes, such as concentration, into the lifting model. To verify the model, an experiment was performed to evaluate the biomechanical and psychophysical effects during lifting. The biomechanical model consisted of a five segment, 2-D, dynamic., model in the saggital plane. The experiment consisted of two parts; 1) subjective determination of the psychophysical maximum acceptable lifting weight and 2) gathering motion profile data as the subjects concentrated on utilizing a specified body segment while performing the lift. Computer simulated modeling of the biomechanical - psychophysical approach indicated that adding the psychophysical factor can change the resulting motion profile to lower the total body torque. The experimental data showed similar results. Total torque was reduced by concentrating on using single and multiple body segments. The significance of the results is that the lifting performance can be improved by integrating psychophysical and biomechanical properties.