Backpack Load Carriage Affects Motor and Sensory Responses of the Median Nerve

The results of this study reveal that walking for 20 minutes while carrying a 30% bodyweight backpack resulted in an increase in upper limb motor nerve latency and decrease in sensory and motor nerve action potential amplitude. The NCS findings indicate that SMM may have a protective effect and was therefore beneficial to maintaining upper limb nerve conduction after backpack carriage while lower BMI was a risk factor for reduced sensory nerve conduction. The demonstrated deficits in nerve conduction after backpack carriage could have implications for use of hands, especially the thumb, index, and middle finger, as they are innervated by the median nerve.