Physiological and ergonomic characteristics of labor activity of workers in various types of muscular labor

Introduction. Prolonged exposure to factors related to the severity of work involving regional physical loads can lead to unfavorable states of physiological system strain and an increased risk of developing occupational diseases, which underscores the relevance of the research.The study aims to examine the physiological and ergonomic features of the impact of the severity of work involving regional muscle loads on the functional systems of workers and to characterize the structure of occupational diseases.Materials and methods. The authors conducted physiological and ergonomic studies on workers from 15 professional groups — 334 people with regional muscle loads, including machine operators at machine building plants — and on a model of athletes shooters (24 people).We measured the strength and endurance of the muscles of the upper limbs under static load and calculated the integral indicator of maximum muscle performance. Hemodynamic parameters were determined — systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean arterial pressure (mm Hg) and cardiac output (CO, ml), and the Miznikov and IFI indices were calculated. We also studied the structure of occupational diseases associated with local muscle load. The experts carried out statistical processing of the obtained data using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 program.Results. Based on physiological and ergonomic research, a quantitative method has been developed to assess the decline in work capacity associated with regional physical exertion, incorporating a personalized approach. A linear regression equation enables the calculation of the percentage decrease in work capacity based on the magnitude of regional muscle loads in individuals across different age groups. Clinical and functional studies have also been conducted to examine health impairments in workers exposed to varying levels of regional muscle exertion.Limitations. There are limitations due to the specific features of analyzing physiological data in groups of men and women without distinguishing gender differences.Conclusion. A physiological-ergonomic approach has been developed to study work characteristics and the functional state of the body–both during a work shift or sports cycle and in relation to health impairments associated with varying degrees of physical exertion (specifically localized exertion) — in order to devise preventive measures.Ethics. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Research Institute of Occupational Health" (Protocol No. 1 dated February 16, 2022).Contributions:Bukhtiyarov I.V. — research concept and design, editing;Glukhov D.V. — research concept and design, editing;Yushkova O.I. — writing text, editing;Lagutina G.N. — collecting and processing material, writing text;Kapustina A.V. — collecting and processing material, writing text.Funding. The study had no funding.Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Received: 02.07.2026 / Accepted: 19.10.2026 / Published: 03.11.2026