Enhancing Musculoskeletal Health with Pneumatics

Poor posture is a common issue causing musculoskeletal problems. Back braces are designed to improve spine alignment but can weaken back muscles and foster dependence on external support. This paper introduces an innovative approach, the Pneumatic Back Brace (PBB), which rectifies spine alignment for angles ≥ 60 degrees. The key component is the Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM), a soft robotics element that expands and contracts via air inflation. PAM realigns the back and releases air to maintain proper posture. PBB activates muscles to counteract weakness and prevent poor posture habits from passive activities. This is a simulation study with a MATLAB model of the PBB which will help with the design in future work.