A Smart Underwear To Treat Backpain

Yes. you read it right, there's a new superhero in town, the Smart Underwear. Well that is what a team of engineering students at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee claim to have developed. They are a bio mechanical laded garment whose purpose will be to help prevent back pain by reducing stress on the back muscles. "I'm sick of Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne being the only ones with performance-boosting supersuits. We, the masses, want our own," jokes Erik Zelik, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt who led the design team. "The difference is that I'm not fighting crime. I'm fighting the odds that I'll strain my back this week trying to lift my 2-year-old."

The device will have a mechanism built on straps to help ease the person with their work. It can be used to move the furniture or help pick up your baby. Around eight people tested the garment and found tasks like lifting weights a lot more smooth and easy. The device can be controlled using an app or a Bluetooth device. When turned on the straps will tighten themselves and when switched off they will get loose.

"People are often trying to capitalize on a huge societal problem with devices that are unproven or unviable," said Dr. Aaron Yang, who specializes in nonsurgical treatment of the back and neck at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "This smart clothing concept is different. I see a lot of health care workers or other professionals with jobs that require standing or leaning for long periods. Smart clothing may help offload some of those forces and reduce muscle fatigue."

"The next idea is: Can we use sensors embedded in the clothing to monitor stress on the low back, and if it gets too high, can we automatically engage this smart clothing?" Zelik said.

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