• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2011

This research was conducted to biomechanically analyze Tippelt motion in parallel bars, and establish technical understanding. To achieve that goal, the performances of the Tippelt acts carried out by five world top-class national gymnasts in the parallel bars 3-dimensional cinematographic analysis and EMG analysis were conducted and following conclusion were obtained. The Tippelt motions of excellent national gymnasts perform tap motion through the down swing of a large circular movements, and perform kick-out motion rapidly extending shoulder joint angle and hip joint angle with the trunk in a position close to perpendicular position at the vertical downwardness of the grasping the bars. At this time, if handstand starting the movement is too delayed or rapidly down swung, it was shown that from the initial falling, unnecessary muscular power was wasted in trapezius, anterior deltoid, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, upper rectus abdominis, lower rectus abdominis. The muscular parts in tap motion generating muscle action potential were pectoralis major, rectus femoris, upper rectus abdominis, lower rectus abdominis, and those in kick-out motion were upper rectus abdominis, lower rectus abdominis, trapezius and anterior deltoid.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2001

Twisting posture in lifting tasks has been identified as a risk factor of low back pain. However, it has been usually estimated in terms of compressive stress or muscular activity. Thus, this study was conducted to predict the influence on muscular fatigue during lifting simulation. Fifteen young and healthy subjects were recruited and performed isometric trunk exertions during upright standing, two-level flexions and five-level asymmetric twisting conditions. EMG signals from five primary trunk muscles in right part of body were collected during 20sec for 45 different lifting conditions. RMS(root mean square) and MPF(mean power frequency) parameters were used to analyze the EMG signals. Twisting postures were significant in right erector spinae(ERSR), right latissimus dorsi(LATR), right internal oblique(INOR) for muscular activities. Especially, when trunk was $30^{\circ}$ CCW twisting posture. ERSR and INOR activities increased respectively by 11% and 3%. Regarding the trunk muscle fatigue, we found that MPF shifts in twisting posture increased 2.3 and 2.6 times for ERSR and INOR muscles respectively. Therefore, It is probable for workers to suffer from low back disorders when they were exposed to a extreme twisting posture during prolonged lifting. This study suggests NIOSH(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) lifting equation needs the time-duration multiplier in addition to asymmetric multiplier.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.537-545
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate how effects creatine dosage has on the improvement of rowing athletes' performance ability. Rowing athletes were administered with creatine, through which to examine the change of athletic performance ability, blood fatigue substances, and muscular activity. The subjects (participants) of this Study consisted of 12 male rowing athletes at P University, with at least 5 years of rowing experiences, which divided into two groups - creatine dosing group of 6 persons and control group of 6 persons - for random sampling measurement. Enzymatic-colorimetric method using lacrate oxidase and 4-aminoantipyrine was performed for blood lactate level analysis, and wireless EMG system (QEMG-4: Lxtha Korea) for muscular activity analysis, with 4 channels set for data analysis. As body parts to be measured, two muscular parts - latissimus dorsi and lumbar spinel - were chosen. Then, on the 5th day from the date of administering them with creatine (that is, 4 days after dosing them with creatine), rowing movement with the highest level of activity was calculated as peak value, which was measured twice. The test data used for this Study were SPSS/PC 18.0, pre-movement and post-movement two-way ANOVA for repeated measurement for comparative analysis of each muscle, with significant level at .05. As a result, the change of blood lactate level was significantly higher in creatine dosing group than in non-dosing group (p<.05). As for the change of muscular activity, both latissimus dorsi and lumbar spinel showed a significantly higher change of muscle in creatine dosing group than in non-dosing group (p<.05 and p<.05, respectively).

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.255-265
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• 2014

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate comfort levels of functional and non-functional chairs using subjective comfort rating, interface pressure measurement, muscle activity measurement, and skin temperature measurement. Background: Chairs are used for a prolonged period of time for sitting in many places such as the office, at university, at school, in industry, and so on. Almost all people use chairs in their everyday life. The functional properties of the chair are associated with comfort. Method: The subjective evaluation contains questions regarding chair comfort which can be rated with five point scale. The body-seat interface pressure was measured using a pressure mat system. The symmetry of sitting was measured using electromyography. The change in body part (thigh and buttock) temperature before and after sitting on a chair was measured with an infrared camera. Results: Participants rated significantly (p < 0.05) higher comfort scores for the functional chair in relation to the buttock and thigh region. Also, the participants felt a better cushion effect in the functional chair. When using the functional chair, lower interface pressure, better thermal comfort, and better symmetry of erector spinae muscle activity were observed. Conclusion: Overall, interface pressure measurement, muscle activity measurement, thermal imaging and subjective comfort score results showed that the functional chair was more comfortable than the non-functional chair. Application: The adopted methodologies could be used to measure the seating comfort of train seats.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the muscular activity and muscle strength for swing track of upper limbs during rowing exercise. Subject was all twenty healthy adults and they were divided into linear exercise group and elliptical exercise group in random. Subjects performed rowing exercise 3-times for a week and performed all 8-weeks. We measured realtime-surface EMG. Also we measured joint torque of elbow, ankle and lumbar in subjects using BIODEX. The result showed that when rowing exercise, elliptical track exercise had higher muscular activity in trapezius, deltoid, erector spinae, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, gastronemius than linear track exercise on more many muscle of upper and lower limbs. Also elbow joint torque and lumbar joint torque was more higher too. but linear exercise also had higher muscular activity in multifidus, tibilalis anterior than elliptical track exercise. According to this experiment, we found out that elliptical track was more efficient than linear track.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the activation of trunk and gluteal muscles during bridge exercises with a sling (BS), single-legged bridge exercise with a sling (SBS), single-legged bridge exercise (SB), and general bridge exercise (GB). Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty-five healthy participants (19 males and 6 females, aged 27.8 [4.78]) voluntarily participated in this study. In the bridging exercise, each subject lifted their pelvis with their legs and feet in contact with the sling or normal surface. The electrical activities of the erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (GM), external oblique (EO), and internal oblique (IO) muscles during the bridging exercises on the 2 surfaces were measured using surface electromyography. Subjects practiced each of the four bridge condition three times in random order and average values were obtained. Results: On the ipsilateral side, activities of the IO, EO, and ES during SBS was significantly higher than those during BS, SB, and GB (p<0.05). Activities of the IO and EO during SB was significantly higher than those during BS and GB (p<0.05). On the contralateral side, activities of the GM and EO during SB and SBS was significantly higher than that during BS and GB (p<0.05). These results verify the theory that the use of sling and single leg lift increases the activation trunk and gluteal muscles during bridging exercises. Conclusions: The single-legged bridge exercise with a sling can be recommended as an effective method to facilitate trunk and gluteal muscle activities.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.194-201
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• 2012

This study was designed to investigate the effect of a combined stimulus which was composed of chiropractic massage and thermotherapy on the relief of mental and physical stress. Fifteen healthy male subjects were treated with three type of stimuli; control (without any stimulus), a single stimulus (only chiropractic) and a combined stimulus. To evaluate the effects of stimuli, visual analogue scale (VAS), trunk extension, electromyogram (EMG) on erector spinae muscle and electrocardiogram (ECG) were measured and analyzed before and after stimuli. In the control group, there were no significant changes in EMG root mean square (RMS) value and low Frequency/high Frequency (LF/HF) ratio (p > 0.05, p > 0.05). However, both stimulus groups showed significant increases in trunk extension and EMG RMS values (p < 0.05, p < 0.05), but significant decreases in LF/HF ratios (p < 0.05). Particularly the decrement rate in LF/HF ratio was significantly higher in the combined stimulus group than that in the single stimulus group (p < 0.05). Also, a significantly lower VAS was recorded after combined stimulus. Our findings indicate that the combined stimulus might not only improve flexibility and strength of muscle, but also active parasympathetic nerve activity. The combined stimulus may thus contribute to relieve the stress and to enhance the muscle function.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2018

Background: The continuous co-contraction of the trunk muscles through trunk stabilization exercises is important to patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). However, intentional abdominal muscle contraction (IAMC) for trunk stabilization has been used only for specific training in the treatment room. Objects: The purpose of this study was to provide feedback to adults with LSS to enable IAMC during activities of daily living (ADLs). Methods: The participants with spinal stenosis were divided into an experimental group of 15 adults and a control group of 16 adults. Electromyographic signals were measured while the subjects kept their both hands held up at $90^{\circ}$. The measured muscles were the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), and erector spinae (ES). Pelvic tilt was measured using a digital pelvic inclinometer. The degree of pain was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and functional capacity was measured using the Korean version of the Oswestry disability index (KODI). Results: While the experimental group showed statistically significantly higher activities in the RA, EO, and IO after the intervention compared with the control group. Pelvic tilt was significantly decreased only in the experimental group. Both the experimental and control groups exhibited statistically significant declines in the VAS and KODI (p<.01). In terms of the levels of changes, the experimental group exhibited a statistically significant larger decline only in the VAS and the pelvic tilt when compared with the control group (p<.05). Conclusions: The subjects could stabilize their trunks, and relieve their pain and dysfunctions and reduce pelvic tilt by learning abdominal muscle contraction during ADLs. The combination of therapeutic exercises and IAMC may have greater effects on patients with LSS.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.250-256
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• 2020

Background: Unstable surface-based core training can significantly enhance core strength, but no studies have compared the effects of balance pad- and sling-assisted exercises. Objects: To study the effects of unstable surface-based balance pad- and sling-assisted core strength exercises on muscle activity. Methods: Twenty male students aged 20-25 years participated in this study. The effects of three types of core strength exercises, performed with a sling or balance pad, on the activities of three muscles, i.e., the right musculus obliquus externus abdominis (EO), right erector spinae (ES), and right gluteus maximus (GM), were examined. Results: 1) In the glute bridge exercise, the percentage of maximum voluntary contraction of the EO, ES, and GM were significantly different between the balance pad- and sling-assisted exercises. The relative contribution of the ES and GM activities to all muscle activity were not significantly different between the two training types, whereas that for EO showed a significant difference. 2) There was no significant difference in the percentage value of maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC) among the EO, ES, and GM during the "leg-lifting with flat support" exercise, and there were no significant difference in the relative contributions between the two training types. 3) In the "side bridge leg separation exercise", the %MVC of the ES, EO, and GM were significantly different between the two training types. Conclusion: Sling training for core muscles was generally better than balance pad assist training. The majority of physiotherapy patients require core training. Our results could guide physiotherapists in the choice of targeted exercises for these patients.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.331-338
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• 2013

This study conducted the following experiment to examine change of physicopsychological function on Dynamic Trunk Control Exercise(3D-DTCE) and Static Trunk Control Exercise (STCE) to chronic low back pain patients subject for lumbago therapy and management. Physical function was measured by equlibrium and lumbar muscle activities and psychological function was measured by self-efficacy on comparative analysis of pre, post exercise and each groups in 30 lumbago patient subject. Equlibrium was measured by total, front back and left right sway index, lumbar muscle activities were measured by abdominal rectus and oblique abdominalis, erector spinae and self efficacy with lumbago patients was measured index of self efficacy. These result lead us to the conclusion that each group were statistically improved at all physicopsychological test. but equlibrium and lumbar muscle activities were more statistically improved at DTCE group and self efficacy with lumbago patients were not differanced on each group. Consequently, DTCE would be lead to positive increment of physical function more than STCE.