Underwear smart to prevent back pain

Joe Howell/Vanderbilt university

Published the 02.08.2017 at 13h04

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The belts lower back are not always comfortable, nor very sexy. However, some people are critical at times – especially when it is necessary to lift heavy loads -but when they are not useful, it is best to remove them. To overcome these disadvantages, researchers from the Vanderbilt university (Usa) have invented a smart device that, according to them, could almost be forgotten, and is suitable for everyday use.

It is a set of underwear, a kind of bra with a cyclist. They are made of nylon, with pieces of lycra and polyester. The two elements are connected by rubber bands that cross the back.

45 % of effort at least

In normal times, these are simple under-clothing. But turning, that just by giving two pats on the sternum, the stripes tend. The user can thus be lowered to carry a heavy load, and be assisted in its action by the device that discharge part of the muscle tension. The combination can also be enabled via bluetooth through a smartphone app.

Tested on eight people picking up weight of 11 kg and 25 kg at different levels of tilt, all have given interesting results. Its developers claim that it reduces the muscular effort of the lower back of 15% to 45% on average, according to data retrieved on machines and by electromyography, a measure of the activity of the muscles.