Abstract: In order to explore features of the development of muscular fatigue in intermittent static pulling task and the difference between it and continuous static pulling task, and to reduce the accumulation of muscular fatigue and risk of getting work-related musculoskeletal disorders, a pulling task was designed and 8 male college students were recruited to participate in the experiment. Then the force (F) and RPE at different time over different ratio of work and rest were measured and analyzed by statistical method. The results show that F curves were almost the same over experiments with different ratio of work and rest during intermittent static pulling task, that values of F and RPE at the end of each trial show insignificant difference, that remarkable differences were found in some RPE over time period and body parts, that there were distinct differences between intermittent and continuous static pulling task and the accumulation of muscular fatigue in intermittent task was much slower than that of continuous task, that it was suggested that pulling task be arranged according to ratios of work and rest in this study, and that workers should adopt intermittent static force application for man-handling static work to reduce the accumulation of muscular fatigue.

Key words: intermittent static pulling task, muscular fatigue, ratings of perceived exertion(RPE), force, work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs)