Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine the within-day reliability of the Spineangel (R) postural monitoring device and to measure cumulative lumbo-pelvic posture exposure of health care workers. Twenty-one workers from an aged-care residential home wore the Spineangel, attached to the belt or waistband of their normal work apparel, during a period of the work shift. To assess the within-day reliability of measurements, 11 workers performed two sets of three lumbo-pelvic forward flexion, sustaining them for five 5 s each, at the beginning and at the end of the work shift. Different thresholds for cumulative postural exposure were measured. The reliability was found to be excellent (ICC = 0.81). On average, a threshold of 30 degrees of lumbo-pelvic forward flexion was exceeded 1069 times/h (SD 2157.1); at 45 degrees, 121 times/h (SD 223.8); and at 60 degrees, 8 times/h (SD 21.8). The use of Spineangel is thus likely to be a useful device for monitoring work posture.