Despite that landmark study, which focused on retail workers who lift or move merchandise, some observers argue that back supports can protect assemblers against ergonomic risks.
"My personal belief as to why there is controversy about the usefulness of lifting belts has more to do with how people are actually using them," says Tray Working, president of CMO Inc. (Barberton, OH), a leading manufacturer of back supports. "The quality of the different belts available in the marketplace is also quite different. Some belts out there are only good enough to hold up your pants. There has been this mistaken viewpoint in the marketplace that if it is black and goes around the waist, that makes it a lifting belt."