Design and Evaluation of a Lightweight Lumbar Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load
Research Article
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Design and Evaluation of a Lightweight Lumbar Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load

Ryan Hsu 1*
1 Holmdel High School
*Corresponding author: ryanhsu2009@gmail.com
Published on 2 October 2025
Journal Cover
TNS Vol.139
ISSN (Print): 2753-8826
ISSN (Online): 2753-8818
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-395-6
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-396-3
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Abstract

The lumbar spine is susceptible to stress, especially when bending, which increases the risk of injury and pain. Current exoskeletons are bulky, large, expensive, and lack individual adaptability. To overcome these problems, we developed a passive lumbar exoskeleton equipped with a self-designed gas spring-link lumbar joint system. The system provides a wide range of motion, high flexibility, and adjustable torque, connects the lumbar spine and leg support structure, and transmits lumbar pressure to the legs and chest when bending to protect the spine. The goal is to provide a lightweight, efficient, and personalized lumbar assistance solution to improve operational efficiency and comfort. We established a biomechanical model to illustrate its working principle and demonstrated its potential in reducing lumbar compression..

Keywords:

Passive exoskeleton, Lightweight design, Lumbar load reduction, EMG

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Hsu,R. (2025). Design and Evaluation of a Lightweight Lumbar Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load. Theoretical and Natural Science,139,81-89.

References

[1]. Ji, Xinyu, et al. "SIAT‐WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks." Complexity 2020.1 (2020): 8849427.

[2]. Arık, Ece. Investigation of the Effect of Spine Health Training and Lumbal Region Support on Back Pain and Discomfort in City Bus Drivers. MS thesis. 2024.

[3]. Zhang, Y.; Ke, J.; Wu, X.; Luo, X. A Biomechanical Waist Comfort Model for Manual Material Lifting. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 5948. https: //doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165948

[4]. de Looze, M. P., Bosch, T., Krause, F., Stadler, K. S., & O’Sullivan, L. W. (2015). Exoskeletons for industrial application and their potential effects on physical work load. Ergonomics, 59(5), 671–681. https: //doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2015.1081988

[5]. L. Grazi, B. Chen, F. Lanotte, N. Vitiello and S. Crea, "Towards methodology and metrics for assessing lumbar exoskeletons in industrial applications, " 2019 II Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT (MetroInd4.0& IoT), Naples, Italy, 2019, pp. 400-404, doi: 10.1109/METROI4.2019.8792877. keywords: {Exoskeletons; Electromyography; Task analysis; Muscles; Kinematics; Physiology; Exoskeletons; benchmarking; industry 4.0; metrics},

[6]. TANG Xinyao, LIU Xiaoyi, WANG Xupeng, HAO Yuyang, ZHANG Xinyi. Research Status and Key Technology Analysis of Wearable Lumbar Spine Exoskeleton [J]. INFORMATION AND CONTROL, 2025, 54(2): 161-183. CSTR: 32166.14.xk.2024.2422

[7]. Qu Y, Wang X, Tang X, Liu X, Hao Y, Zhang X, Liu H, Cheng X. A Review of Wearable Back-Support Exoskeletons for Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. Biomimetics (Basel). 2025 May 20; 10(5): 337. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics10050337. PMID: 40422167; PMCID: PMC12108747.

[8]. Koopman, A.S.; Kingma, I.; Faber, G.S.; de Looze, M.P.; van Dieën, J.H. Effects of a passive exoskeleton on the mechanical loading of the low back in static holding tasks. J. Biomech. 2019, 83, 97–103.

[9]. Bosch, T.; van Eck, J.; Knitel, K.; de Looze, M. The effects of a passive exoskeleton on muscle activity, discomfort and endurance time in forward bending work. Appl. Ergon. 2016, 54, 212–217.

[10]. Antwi-Afari, M.F.; Li, H.; Anwer, S.; Li, D.; Yu, Y.; Mi, H.Y.; Wuni, I.Y. Assessment of a passive exoskeleton system on spinal biomechanics and subjective responses during manual repetitive handling tasks among construction workers. Safety Sci. 2021, 142, 105382.

[11]. Ochia, Ruth S., and Peter R. Cavanagh. "Reliability of surface EMG measurements over 12 hours." Journal of electromyography and Kinesiology 17.3 (2007): 365-371.

[12]. Cole, D. C., et al. "Multivariate, longitudinal analysis of the impact of changes in office work environments on surface electromyography measures." International archives of occupational and environmental health 85 (2012): 493-503.

[13]. Brouwer, Niels P., et al. "Can intermittent changes in trunk extensor muscle length delay muscle fatigue development?." Journal of Biomechanics 162 (2024): 111881.

[14]. NIU Miaohe, LEI Fei. Motion intention recognition algorithms for lower limb exoskeleton [J]. CAAI Transactions on Intelligent Systems, 2025, 20(2): 407-415. doi: 10.11992/tis.202403025

[15]. Lugrís, Urbano, et al. "Human motion capture, reconstruction, and musculoskeletal analysis in real time." Multibody System Dynamics 60.1 (2024): 3-25.

[16]. Taborri, Juri, et al. "Sport biomechanics applications using inertial, force, and EMG sensors: A literature overview." Applied bionics and biomechanics 2020.1 (2020): 2041549.

[17]. Shi, Yongjun, et al. "Human joint torque estimation based on mechanomyography for upper extremity exosuit." Electronics 11.9 (2022): 1335.

[18]. Zhou, Dong, et al. "A real-time posture assessment system based on motion capture data for manual maintenance and assembly processes." The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 131.3 (2024): 1397-1411.

References

[1]. Ji, Xinyu, et al. "SIAT‐WEXv2: A Wearable Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load during Lifting Tasks." Complexity 2020.1 (2020): 8849427.

[2]. Arık, Ece. Investigation of the Effect of Spine Health Training and Lumbal Region Support on Back Pain and Discomfort in City Bus Drivers. MS thesis. 2024.

[3]. Zhang, Y.; Ke, J.; Wu, X.; Luo, X. A Biomechanical Waist Comfort Model for Manual Material Lifting. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 5948. https: //doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165948

[4]. de Looze, M. P., Bosch, T., Krause, F., Stadler, K. S., & O’Sullivan, L. W. (2015). Exoskeletons for industrial application and their potential effects on physical work load. Ergonomics, 59(5), 671–681. https: //doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2015.1081988

[5]. L. Grazi, B. Chen, F. Lanotte, N. Vitiello and S. Crea, "Towards methodology and metrics for assessing lumbar exoskeletons in industrial applications, " 2019 II Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT (MetroInd4.0& IoT), Naples, Italy, 2019, pp. 400-404, doi: 10.1109/METROI4.2019.8792877. keywords: {Exoskeletons; Electromyography; Task analysis; Muscles; Kinematics; Physiology; Exoskeletons; benchmarking; industry 4.0; metrics},

[6]. TANG Xinyao, LIU Xiaoyi, WANG Xupeng, HAO Yuyang, ZHANG Xinyi. Research Status and Key Technology Analysis of Wearable Lumbar Spine Exoskeleton [J]. INFORMATION AND CONTROL, 2025, 54(2): 161-183. CSTR: 32166.14.xk.2024.2422

[7]. Qu Y, Wang X, Tang X, Liu X, Hao Y, Zhang X, Liu H, Cheng X. A Review of Wearable Back-Support Exoskeletons for Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. Biomimetics (Basel). 2025 May 20; 10(5): 337. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics10050337. PMID: 40422167; PMCID: PMC12108747.

[8]. Koopman, A.S.; Kingma, I.; Faber, G.S.; de Looze, M.P.; van Dieën, J.H. Effects of a passive exoskeleton on the mechanical loading of the low back in static holding tasks. J. Biomech. 2019, 83, 97–103.

[9]. Bosch, T.; van Eck, J.; Knitel, K.; de Looze, M. The effects of a passive exoskeleton on muscle activity, discomfort and endurance time in forward bending work. Appl. Ergon. 2016, 54, 212–217.

[10]. Antwi-Afari, M.F.; Li, H.; Anwer, S.; Li, D.; Yu, Y.; Mi, H.Y.; Wuni, I.Y. Assessment of a passive exoskeleton system on spinal biomechanics and subjective responses during manual repetitive handling tasks among construction workers. Safety Sci. 2021, 142, 105382.

[11]. Ochia, Ruth S., and Peter R. Cavanagh. "Reliability of surface EMG measurements over 12 hours." Journal of electromyography and Kinesiology 17.3 (2007): 365-371.

[12]. Cole, D. C., et al. "Multivariate, longitudinal analysis of the impact of changes in office work environments on surface electromyography measures." International archives of occupational and environmental health 85 (2012): 493-503.

[13]. Brouwer, Niels P., et al. "Can intermittent changes in trunk extensor muscle length delay muscle fatigue development?." Journal of Biomechanics 162 (2024): 111881.

[14]. NIU Miaohe, LEI Fei. Motion intention recognition algorithms for lower limb exoskeleton [J]. CAAI Transactions on Intelligent Systems, 2025, 20(2): 407-415. doi: 10.11992/tis.202403025

[15]. Lugrís, Urbano, et al. "Human motion capture, reconstruction, and musculoskeletal analysis in real time." Multibody System Dynamics 60.1 (2024): 3-25.

[16]. Taborri, Juri, et al. "Sport biomechanics applications using inertial, force, and EMG sensors: A literature overview." Applied bionics and biomechanics 2020.1 (2020): 2041549.

[17]. Shi, Yongjun, et al. "Human joint torque estimation based on mechanomyography for upper extremity exosuit." Electronics 11.9 (2022): 1335.

[18]. Zhou, Dong, et al. "A real-time posture assessment system based on motion capture data for manual maintenance and assembly processes." The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 131.3 (2024): 1397-1411.

Cite this article

Hsu,R. (2025). Design and Evaluation of a Lightweight Lumbar Exoskeleton for Reducing Lumbar Load. Theoretical and Natural Science,139,81-89.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICBioMed 2025 Symposium: AI for Healthcare: Advanced Medical Data Analytics and Smart Rehabilitation

ISBN: 978-1-80590-395-6(Print) / 978-1-80590-396-3(Online)
Editor: Alan Wang
Conference website: https://2025.icbiomed.org/auckland.html
Conference date: 17 October 2025
Series: Theoretical and Natural Science
Volume number: Vol.139
ISSN: 2753-8818(Print) / 2753-8826(Online)

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