Aussie Sheep Shearers Use Wearable Sensors To Prevent Injuries

Aussie sheep shearers use wearable sensors to prevent injuries

Examining cutting edge ways to prevent injuries, a new study by Australia's University of Melbourne equipped a group of sheep shearers with wearable sensory technology

SYDNEY, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Dec, 2019 ) :Examining cutting edge ways to prevent injuries, a new study by Australia's University of Melbourne equipped a group of sheep shearers with wearable sensory technology.

"Riding on the sheep's back" is an iconic Australian expression used to describe how the nation's economic prosperity relied so heavily on the highly lucrative wool sector, particularly during the turn of the 20th century.

But with those in the industry around six times more likely to be injured at work on average, it might be fair to say that Australia's prosperity was also riding on the backs of sheep shearers.

"The shearing position means you're bent over a lot for six hours a day and staying in that position leads to a lot of injuries," project researcher Mark Robinson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.

"Back injuries are a particular problem for shearers because they take such a long time to rehabilitate and it makes the cost of these injuries twice as high as a regular injury." "Back injuries can put you out of action on the couch for several months." Using motion-tracking to measure the electrical activity of muscles and joints, the shearers' movements were tracked and plotted throughout the working day.

According to Robinson, early findings revealed that muscle fatigue in a shearer builds up during the week, causing a noticeable change in shearing technique which may indicate that shorter working periods and more breaks may be the answer to preventing lower back injuries.

"We know that back injuries happen over a long period of time," he said.

"No-one will be injured shearing a single sheep, so we are looking at the impact on several muscles over a longer period of time." "Muscle fatigue builds up over the day and causes shearers to use a worse technique that can also lead to injury." Keen on finding new ways to improve working conditions, Australian Wool Innovation general manager of research Jane Littlejohn said, she's confident the research will have some tangible results that will benefit the industry.

"Let's imagine every shearer is wearing a device that tells them they've reached the muscle stress threshold, telling them they need to rest that muscle now," she said.

"It may mean the traditional smoko (rest break) needs to be changed and be customized to the rest period for every individual shearer.""There are some great researchers in Australia who are interested in looking into issues like this," Littlejohn added.