Distribution Centers Using Exoskeletons Cut Total Strain and Sprain Injury Rate by 62%, New Long-Term Data Shows

New industry-first study found total strain and sprain injuries were reduced when warehouse workers across five sites wore back exosuits.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#exosuit—HeroWear, an occupational exoskeleton provider, has announced breakthrough longitudinal safety data from five distribution centers over 8 to 23 months and a combined 311,000 work hours, signifying a 62% reduction in total strain and sprain injuries among workers who wore the Apex 2 exosuit.

HeroWear’s flexible, back-assist exosuit functions like an extra set of back muscles to limit strain, fatigue, and discomfort. At each distribution center, the lightweight exosuit helped workers lift and carry thousands of pounds of goods during case-picking shifts.

Fears about potential unintended consequences—like shifting injury risk from the back to other joints or muscle groups—have long been a barrier to exoskeleton adoption. While previous longitudinal data on occupational exoskeletons heavily focused on back strains, for the first time, multi-site industry data suggest that worker injury risk was not transferred to other body parts with this elastic back exosuit. Data from five companies with long-term, sustained exosuit use instead showed meaningful reductions in back injuries, with no corresponding rise in injuries elsewhere when comparing rates before and after deployment.

“Emerging technologies demand continuous learning, and the only way we advance is through converging, real-world evidence,” said Dr. Karl Zelik, co-founder and chief scientific officer of HeroWear. “I’m deeply grateful to the companies willing to share this longitudinal data. They’re accelerating progress for all of us and helping make every workplace safer.”

Injury outcomes were tracked among logistics workers in food and beverage, retail, manufacturing, and general warehousing sectors who wore exosuits for 8 and 23 months, encompassing over 311,000 hours of work — the equivalent of 155 full-time workers working over one year. Workers in these industries experience high rates of serious injury from overexertion, costing U.S. transportation and warehousing businesses $1.45 billion in losses in 2025.

The long-term, aggregated data from the five companies revealed:

• There was a 62% reduction in the total strain and sprain injury rate, from 10.2% historically to 3.8% (per 100 workers per year) after exosuits were deployed.
• Injuries decreased from previously having one every 20,000 work hours to fewer than one every 50,000 work hours — none of which were back injuries.
• Worker back injuries decreased without a corresponding increase in work-related musculoskeletal disorders to other parts of the body.

Plymouth Inc., a leading West Coast protein distributor, was one of the companies that shared injury data from before and after the exosuit deployment. “A night shift employee will pick up an average of 60,000 pounds a night,” said Travis Erickson, Plymouth’s director of operations. “Our main goal at Plymouth is to make sure we are supporting every worker to have a happy, healthy life outside of work. Some of our workers who have had back issues started wearing the Apex 2 exosuit and don’t have back issues any longer.”

Alongside benefits to individual workers, improvements in worker well-being and reductions in injuries have significant operational and financial impacts. This data builds upon over a dozen existing longitudinal case studies on occupational exoskeletons and a large body of biomechanics and ergonomics research, furthering what is known about the impact of exosuits on worker health and safety, specifically in logistics and supply chain roles.

Read the full case study results, data collection methods, and additional insights by visiting herowearexo.com/sprains-strains.

About HeroWear

HeroWear is a wearable technology company that provides exosuit solutions to reduce injury risk, improve quality of life, and boost productivity for workers in physically demanding jobs across the globe. Born in Vanderbilt University labs, HeroWear’s customizable exosuits help thousands of workers in industries including logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, food & beverage, retail, and more. To learn more about the technology, uses cases, return on investment, and science behind the suit, visit HeroWearExo.com.

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Jamison Crenshaw

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