Citation

Kesler RM, Bradley FF, Deetjen GS, Angelini MJ, Petrucci MN, Rosengren KS, Horn GP, Hsiao-Wecksler ET. Ergonomics 2018; 61(9): 1208-1215.

Affiliation

d Neuroscience Program , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2018.1450999

PMID

29569521

Abstract

Risk of slips, trips, and falls in firefighters may be influenced by the firefighter's equipment and duration of firefighting. This study examined the impact of a four self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) -three SCBA of increasing size and a prototype design- and three work cycles -one bout (1B), two bouts with a five-minute break (2B), and two bouts back-to-back (BB)- on gait in 30 firefighters. Five gait parameters (double support time, single support time, stride length, step width, and stride velocity) were examined pre- and post-firefighting activity. The two largest SCBA resulted in longer double support times relative to the smallest SCBA. Multiple bouts of firefighting activity resulted in increased single and double support time and decreased stride length, step width, and stride velocity. These results suggest that with larger SCBA or longer durations of activity, firefighters may adopt more conservative gait patterns to minimize fall risk. Practitioner Summary The effects of four self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and three work cycles on five gait parameters were examined pre- and post-firefighting activity. Both SCBA size and work cycle affected gait. The two largest SCBA resulted in longer double support times. Multiple bouts of activity resulted in more conservative gait patterns.

Language: en

Keywords

Firefighting; Gait; Self-contained Breathing Apparatus; Work Cycle