Abstract
This paper aims to examine whether the effect of a lifting belt on the maximum lifting capability of one-lift (MLC-1) depends on gender at different orientations (0° and right 45°) and shifts (Floor to 75cm (F-75) and 75cm-125cm (75-125)). Ten male and ten female subjects participated in this study, and a balanced factorial design was employed. The results indicated that the influence of wearing an elastic lifting belt depended on gender; furthermore, this gender*belt interaction varied with orientation and shift. It was found that, for both genders, wearing belts can improve the MLC-1 at F-75 shift, but it is inverse at 75-125 shift. On the other hand, in symmetric lifting, the effect of belts is not significant on MLC-1 for both genders. In asymmetric lifting, it remains insignificant for females, but wearing belts can improve the male MLC-1. As expected, male MLC-1 is greater than that of female regardless of conditions. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of using belts is still controversial. Therefore, the provision of more information about the evaluation of lifting belts is still necessary in the future.