ERGONOMICS for REHABILITATION PROFESSIONALS

ERGONOMICS for REHABILITATION PROFESSIONALS

Ergonomics

Rehabilitation ergonomics is a young discipline. First proposed in 1979 informally
in the literature, rehabilitation ergonomics needs to grow signifi cantly. While the
principles of rehabilitation ergonomics may remain stable, undergoing little change,
its practice may vary signifi cantly over time. The factor that will be largely responsible for this variation is technology and its evolution. Rehabilitation will continue
to concern itself with the restoration of form and function of the human as close to
normal as possible. This will be partly achieved by treatment and partly by assistance to the patient. Though the delivery of the treatment may also be modifi able for
optimization through ergonomic intervention, it is the external assistance to patients
to regain their function that will have the maximal potential of being benefi ted by
incorporation of ergonomics. We have reached a state of development in the fi elds of
rehabilitation and technology that the latter can have a profound effect on the former.
However, marriage between these two concepts is not very old. This chapter deals
entirely with the theoretical and conceptual aspects of rehabilitation ergonomics,
which have been proposed in several publications by Kumar (1989, 1992, 1995) and
Davies and Kumar (1996).

Edited by SHRAWAN KUMAR

www.taylorandfrancis.com
www.crcpress.com

CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

2009

Peter Anderberg
Certec, Department of Design
Sciences
Lund University
Lund, Sweden
Donald S. Bloswick
Department of Mechanical
Engineering
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
and
Department of Family and
Preventive Medicine
Rocky Mountain Center for
Occupational and
Environmental Health
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Megan Davidson
School of Physiotherapy
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sonja de Groot
Rehabilitation Centre
Duyvensz-Nagel Research
Laboratory
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
and
Center for Human Movement
Sciences
University Medical Center
Groningen
University of Groningen
Groningen, the Netherlands
Desleigh de Jonge
School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences
The University of Queensland
St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
Anne Fenety
School of Physiotherapy
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Andris Freivalds
The Harold and Inge Marcus
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
Libby Gibson
School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences
The University of Queensland
St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
R. G. Haennel
Department of Physical Therapy
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Katherine Harman
School of Physiotherapy
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Bryan Howard
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Peter Anderberg
Certec, Department of Design
Sciences
Lund University
Lund, Sweden
Donald S. Bloswick
Department of Mechanical
Engineering
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
and
Department of Family and
Preventive Medicine
Rocky Mountain Center for
Occupational and
Environmental Health
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Megan Davidson
School of Physiotherapy
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sonja de Groot
Rehabilitation Centre
Duyvensz-Nagel Research
Laboratory
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
and
Center for Human Movement
Sciences
University Medical Center
Groningen
University of Groningen
Groningen, the Netherlands
Desleigh de Jonge
School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences
The University of Queensland
St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
Anne Fenety
School of Physiotherapy
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Andris Freivalds
The Harold and Inge Marcus
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
Libby Gibson
School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences
The University of Queensland
St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
R. G. Haennel
Department of Physical Therapy
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Katherine Harman
School of Physiotherapy
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Bryan Howard
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Siobhan Strike
Centre for Scientifi c and Cultural
Research in Sport
School of Human and
Life Sciences
Roehampton University
London, United Kingdom
C. R. Tomczak
Department of Physical Therapy
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Allard J. van der Beek
Department of Public and
Occupational Health
VU University Medical Centre
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
and
Body@Work, Research Centre
Physical Activity, Work and Health
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Lucas H. V. van der Woude
Center for Human Movement
Sciences
University Medical Center
Groningen
University of Groningen
Groningen, the Netherlands
Jaap H. van Dieën
Research Institute MOVE
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
and
Body@Work, Research Centre
Physical Activity, Work and Health
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Stefan van Drongelen
Swiss Paraplegic Research
Nottwil, Switzerland
Dirkjan H. E. J. Veeger
Institute for Fundamental & Clinical
Human Movement Sciences
Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
and
Man Machine Systems
Technical University Delft
Delft, the Netherlands
Steven F. Wiker
Ergonomics Laboratory
Industrial and Management
Systems Engineering
Department
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia

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