EMG-BASED DETECTION OF PERFORMANCE FATIGUE IN MULTI-ACTIVITY MANUAL HANDLING TASKS
Authors
Armin Bonakdara, Sara Houshmanda,b, Karla Beltrán Martíneza, Ali Golabchic, Mahdi Tavakolid, Hossein Rouhania,b
aDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
bGlenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Alberta Health Services, Canada
cDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
dDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
Abstract
This study investigates how perceived fatigue affects joint kinematics during repetitive manual handling tasks. Participants performed a sequence of lifting, carrying, and lowering actions while reporting their fatigue levels. Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) were used to estimate joint angles and track changes in movement patterns as fatigue increased.
Analysis showed that mean and peak joint angles tended to increase with fatigue across most joints, while knee angles decreased with greater perceived exertion. These changes suggest that fatigue alters movement strategies during prolonged physical work, potentially increasing biomechanical risk.
The findings support the use of IMU-based kinematic monitoring as an objective tool to assess fatigue progression in real-world manual handling, providing insights for ergonomic risk assessment and the design of interventions to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders.