Ergonomic Methods Adaptation for Risk Evaluation Associated to Musculoskeletal Disorders in Elderly Indigenous Women of the Ecuadorian Highlands

In Ecuador, agriculture is an activity of social and economic relevance perform mainly by indigenous women. In previous studies ergonomic evaluations done to daily activities of these women yielded in all cases high physical workload. Elderly women of these communities show severe spinal deformations which are believed to be related to workload. Ergonomic methods are aimed for industrial and administrative environments, with limited application for unstructured labors. The evaluated activities are performed in poor environmental and safety conditions. The aim is to adapt an ergonomics method to enable the asassertively determination of risk level of the evaluated activities. The proposed method is based on REBA and assess forced postures and loads handling and transportation, calculating a unique ergonomic risk value and showing similar results when load is carried symmetrically and within the permissible weight limits; however, when these factors are not met the modified method allows to increase the risk factor.