Research Group
Biodynamics [BioDyn]

Occupational activities can lead to musculoskeletal diseases, which represent the main cause of absenteeism in Germany. This needs science-based "biodynamically substantiated" design measures for the promotion of work efficiency and functional capabilities as well as for the prevention of complaints and impairments. Therefore, work-induced load will be determined "by measure and number" via the recording of posture and the measurement of muscular activity, via the computation of skeletal forces, in particular with respect to the spinal column, and via the recording of the subjective perception. Because of the variety of influences, the research group's work is interdisciplinarily laid out and is based on different disciplines such as biomechanics, ergonomics, kinesiology, occupational health, work psychology and work physiology.

Scientific Members

• Martin Fritz
• Klaus Hecktor
• Herbert Heuer
• Matthias Jäger (head)
• Claus Jordan
• Felix Klimmer
• Alwin Luttmann
• Jens Philipp
• Klaus-Helmut Schmidt

Current research

• Field of research "Manual materials handling and patient transfer"
  (Matthias Jäger; Claus Jordan, Andreas Theilmeier, Jürgen Voß)
  At the skeleton system and particularly at the lumbar spine and the knee joints, high mechanical loadings may occur during manual materials handling, which represent a substantial cause of diseases and absenteeism in Germany. The project field on hand is concerned with dose-response relationships, in particular, with the load's quantification and assessment for different occupational activities (e.g. at health-care workers, construction workers), with health consequences (e.g. German Spine Study), with the redesign of such activities as well as with the corresponding methodological developments.
  
• Field of research "Posture and movement"
  (Martin Fritz, Klaus Hecktor, Matthias Jäger, Karin Lukaszewski, Alwin Luttmann)
  Working with computers, fine-motor activities in medicine, or assembly work often induce muscular complaints in the neck-shoulder region and the arms. The cause of these complaints can be the long-lasting static muscle activity for posture stabilization and work-induced awkward postures as well as forced movements of the human body resulting from vibrating hand-held tools or vehicles. Actual investigations concern office work, fine-motor surgical activities, and overhead motorcar-assembly tasks as well as computations of body-internal forces by vibration.
  
• Field of research "Psychosocial factors"
  (Klaus-Helmut Schmidt, Herbert Heuer, Claus Jordan, Matthias Jäger, Felix Klimmer, Alwin Luttmann)
  The cause of musculoskeletal disorders and consequential absenteeism commonly includes physical and psychic components. Aim is to identify these factors and to determine their respective influence on disorders and potential diseases.
  
• Conversion (science-and-knowledge transfer)
  From the basic-oriented work of the research group, a strong relation to application has been developed. Therefore, the research group is intensively involved in the conversion of the results of research into legislative directives - e. g. standards, guidelines or recommendations.
   

Research facilities

• Biodynamics laboratory
  - Measurement of forces affecting a working person (e. g. with "self-developed devices" like a measuring bed, measuring chair, measuring wheelbarrow, measuring shovel, multi-component force measuring platforms)
  - Collection of posture and body movement (e. g. by infrared position sensors, stereo videodocumentation)
• Electromyography laboratory
  - Measurement of the muscle activity (e. g. by telemeteric registration of surface electromyograms)
• Endoscopic laboratory
  - Simulation of video-endoscopic operations (e. g. with training models for learning operation techniques) and collection of hand-and-arm movements via ultrasonic position sensors)

Recent grants

• 2006-2008 Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallforschung "Kraftbezogene Schwingungsbewertung"
• 2007-2009 Berufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege "Bewegen schwerer Patienten"
• 2007-2010 Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales "Kooperationsprogramm zum normativen Management von Belastungen und Risiken bei körperlicher Arbeit KoBRA"
• 2006-2010 Haefner-Verlag

Co-operations

• Institut für Arbeitsmedizin Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Bundesanstalt f. Arbeitsschutz u. Arbeitsmedizin BAuA, Berlin, Dortmund
• Technische Universität Darmstadt: Inst. f. Arbeitswissenschaft
• Klinikum Dortmund, Urologische Klinik
• Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf: Inst. f. Arbeits- u. Sozialmedizin
• Evonik, Essen
• Universität Frankfurt: Inst. f. Arbeitsmedizin
• FFAS Freiburger Forschungsstelle f. Arbeits- und Sozialmedizin
• Martin-Luther-Universität Halle/Wittenberg: Inst. f. mediz. Epidemiologie, Biometrie und Informatik
• Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft, Hamburg, Berlin, Böblingen
• Berufsgenossenschaft f. Fahrzeughaltungen, Hamburg
• Berufsgenossenschaft f. Gesundheitsdienst u. Wohlfahrtspflege, Hamburg und Mainz
• Universität Leipzig: Klinik und Poliklinik f. Urologie
• Berufsgenossenschaft Metall-Süd, Mainz
• Berufsgenossenschaft für Handel und Warendistribution, Mannheim
• Technische Universität München: Lehrstuhl f. Ergonomie
• Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster: Inst. f. Sportwissenschaft
• Fachhochschule Münster, Fachbereich Physikalische Technik
• Universität Regensburg: Orthopädische Universitätsklinik
• Opel, Rüsselsheim
• Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, Sankt Augustin, Berlin
• Institut für Arbeitsschutz der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung, Sankt Augustin
• Daimler, Stuttgart
• Hess. Sozialministerium, Wiesbaden: Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt
• Volkswagen, Wolfsburg
• Bergische Universität Wuppertal: Lehrstuhl f. Arbeitsphysiologie, Arbeitsmedizin und Infektionsschutz
• Freie Universität Amsterdam: Fak. Human Movement Sciences
• Coronel Institute f. Occup. and Environmental Health, Amsterdam
• Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Boston MD, USA
• Ohio State University: Biodynamics Laboratory, Columbus OH, USA
• University of North Texas, Fort Worth: Health Science Center
• Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Auckland University of Technology, Neuseeland

Selected publications

• Luttmann A, Jäger M, Sökeland J: Ergonomic assessment of the posture of surgeons performing endoscopic transurethral resections in urology. J Occup Med Toxicol 4: 26 (2009), DOI 10.1186/1745-6673-4-26
• Seidler A, Bergmann A, Jäger M, Ellegast R, Ditchen D, Elsner G, Grifka J, Haerting J, Hofmann F, Linhardt O, Luttmann A, Michaelis M, Petereit-Haack G, Schumann B, Bolm-Audorff U: Cumulative occupational lumbar load and lumbar disc disease - results of a German multi-center case-control study (EPILIFT). BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 10:48 (2009), DOI 10.1186/1471-2474-10-48
• Jäger M, Jordan C, Theilmeier A, Wortmann N, Kuhn S, Luttmann A, DOLLY Group: Prevention of lumbar overload for healthcare workers as a basis of patient safety. In: Hignett S, Norris B, Catchpole K, Hutchinson A, Tapley S (Eds.): Improving Patient Safety 2008. Proceedings (pp 231-235). Cambridge, UK, 2008
• Glitsch U, Ottersbach HJ, Ellegast R, Schaub K, Franz G, Jäger M: Physical workload of flight attendants when pushing and pulling trolleys aboard aircraft. Int J Industr Ergon 37: 845-854 (2007)
• Jäger M, Sawatzki K, Glitsch U, Ellegast R, Ottersbach HJ, Schaub K, Franz G, Luttmann A: Load on the lumbar spine of flight attendants during pushing and pulling trolleys aboard aircraft. Int J Industr Ergon 37: 863-876 (2007)
• Schaub K, Berg K, Winter G, Ellegast R, Glitsch U, Ottersbach HJ, Jäger M, Franz G: Muscular capabilities and workload of flight attendants for pushing and pulling trolleys aboard aircraft. Int J Industr Ergon 37: 883-892 (2007)
• Schaefer P, Boocock M, Rosenberg S, Jäger M, Schaub K: A target-based population approach for determining the risk of injury associated with manual pushing and pulling. Int J Industr Ergon 37: 893-904 (2007)
• International Organization for Standardization, ISO [coauthor: Jäger M]: Ergonomics - Manual handling, Part 2: Pushing and pulling. ISO 11228-2, 2007
• Jäger M, Jordan C, Luttmann A, Laurig W, DOLLY Group: Evaluation and assessment of lumbar load during total shifts for occupational manual materials handling jobs within the Dortmund Lumbar Load Study - DOLLY. Int J Industr Ergon 25: 553-571 (2000)

• Publications