{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,6]],"date-time":"2026-06-06T16:31:05Z","timestamp":1780763465858,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,7]],"date-time":"2023-12-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1701907200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Alberta ministry of Labour and Immigration","award":["095245031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["095245031"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Muscle fatigue has proven to be a main factor in developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Taking small breaks or performing stretching routines during a work shift might reduce workers\u2019 fatigue. Therefore, our objective was to explore how breaks and\/or a stretching routine during a work shift could impact muscle fatigue and body kinematics that might subsequently impact the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) risk during material handling jobs. We investigated muscle fatigue during a repetitive task performed without breaks, with breaks, and with a stretching routine during breaks. Muscle fatigue was detected using muscle activity (electromyography) and a validated kinematic score measured by wearable sensors. We observed a significant reduction in muscle fatigue between the different work\u2013rest schedules (p &lt; 0.01). Also, no significant difference was observed between the productivity of the three schedules. Based on these objective kinematic assessments, we concluded that taking small breaks during a work shift can significantly reduce muscle fatigue and potentially reduce its consequent risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders without negatively affecting productivity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s23249670","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,7]],"date-time":"2023-12-07T05:57:08Z","timestamp":1701928628000},"page":"9670","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Breaking the Fatigue Cycle: Investigating the Effect of Work-Rest Schedules on Muscle Fatigue in Material Handling Jobs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6554-228X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karla","family":"Beltran Martinez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2565-4644","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milad","family":"Nazarahari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4790-9313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hossein","family":"Rouhani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shair, E.F., Ahmad, S.A., Marhaban, M.H., Mohd Tamrin, S.B., and Abdullah, A.R. 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