ABSTRACT
The use of abdominal belts in industrial settings continues to be the topic of lively debate. The
premier question still remains “Should abdominal belts be prescribed to workers in industry to
perform manual materials handling tasks?” In the first edition of this handbook published a few
years ago (McGill, 1999), I reviewed the available scientific literature pertaining to the use of back
belts in industry with the objective of formulating a policy for belt prescription. The intent was
not to take a position, either unconditionally for or against belt usage, but rather to interpret
the scientific evidence and weigh the potential assets and liabilities for the development of belt
prescription guidelines. The purpose of this chapter is to briefly review the literature previously
reported, together with the most recent scientific data to see if our position on belt prescription
has changed.
