• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.91-96
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• 2010

Purpose: Among computer users, the awkward posture and workstation setups of workers contribute to work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a traditional physical therapy and ergonomic intervention by physical therapists in 4 computer users. Methods: After checking Visual Analogue Scores (VAS), four subjects who were treated by physical therapy for neck and shoulder problems related to VDT syndrome were enrolled in the study. All subjects spent at least 40 hours per week at a computer workstation. All subjects had pain and ergonomic states evaluated using methods such as VAS, Neck Disability Index (NDI), Workstyle short form, Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and OSHA VDT checklist (Occupational Safety and Health Administration video display terminal) before a physical therapy + ergonomic intervention. Participants were re-evaluated 1 month later. Results: Participants showed more improvement of their neck pain after being treated with a physical therapy plus ergonomic intervention than when treatment consisted only of physical therapy. Improvements in RULA, Workstyle short form, and OSHA VDT checklist also were achieved. Conclusion: This case study suggests the importance of examining the work habits and work-related postures of subjects who complain of neck and shoulder pain that is exacerbated by computer use. Personalized ergonomic interventions and physical therapy can lead to improvement of patients with VDT syndrome.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.9-19
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• 2008

Work-related musculoskeletal hazards in a paper-making industry were examined to explore ergonomic interventions in a participatory approach for mitigating the hazards. Manual tasks occurred in this paper-making industry were quite different with ordinary assembly industry where individual workers perform certain specified tasks repetitively. Workers used to perform varieties of team-based irregular manual tasks to interact with the facilities. Among 96 manual jobs investigated, 44 potential hazardous jobs were screened during basic investigation phase and finally 16 hazardous jobs were identified by the detailed analysis phase. The major hazardous factors were awkward postures and excessive weights. Possible ways of intervention were developed, reviewed and proposed by an ergonomics team comprised of staffs and engineers from various departments and ergonomics specialist from outside the company. The proposed intervention ideas were evaluated and modified by the workers and union representatives in terms of usability and comfort. Implemented interventions including mechanization, automation, and improvement of tools and equipments provided fairly promising results.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.153-157
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• 2006

The objective of this study was to establish a systematic ergonomic program for the prevention and control of work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs) in a machinery manufacturing company. The steps such as looking for the signs of WMSDs problems, setting the stage for action, training-building in-house expertise, gathering and examining the evidence of WMSDS, developing controls of health care management, and proactive ergonomic interventions were applied. The primary success factors were management commitment and encouragement, and harmonious union-management relations.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.342-353
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically review literature and conduct a meta-analysis to comprehensively identify and evaluate the effects of workplace risk assessment-based ergonomic intervention on work-related muscular-skeletal disorders in workers. Methods: We searched the Ovid-Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane library and up to 2018 using search terms such as muscular-skeletal, disorder, impairment, work-related muscular-skeletal disorders, ergonomic, intervention, management with no language limitations; screened reference lists; and contacted experts in the field. Results: We identified 545 references and included 13 randomized controlled tests (3,368 workers). We judged nine studies to have a low risk of bias, while the other four studies have a high risk of bias. Conclusion: Ergonomic intervention based on risk assessment in the workplace did not significantly differ in terms of the intensity of pain or duration of workers in the workplace, but low-quality evidence decreased the frequency of musculoskeletal disorder pain in three to six months moderate-quality evidence and in six to nine months low-quality evidence. Besides, low-quality evidence to reduce discomfort and moderate-quality evidence to improve worker posture. Therefore, ergonomic intervention based on the assessment of risk factors in the workplace should be applied to reduce pain frequency and discomfort and improve workers posture among musculoskeletal disorders.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.75-78
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• 2018

Background: To identify work sectors with high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Korean men and women. Methods: We analyzed nationwide data to identify ergonomic risk factors in Korean employees. In particular, we analyzed data on exposure to five ergonomic risk factors (painful/tiring postures, lifting/moving heavy materials, standing/walking, repetitive hand/arm movements, and hand/arm vibration) according to employment sector, sex, and age, using the 2014 Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We also used workers' compensation data on work-related MSDs in 2010, which is available by sex. Results: The different work sectors had different gender distributions. "Manufacturing" (27.7%) and "construction" (11.3%) were dominated by males, whereas "human health and social work activities" (12.4%), "hotel and restaurants" (11.7%), and "education" (10.4%) were dominated by females. However, "wholesale and retail trade" and "public administration and defense" employed large numbers of males and females. Furthermore, the work sectors with a greater proportion of work-related MSDs and with multiple ergonomic risk factors were different for men and women. For men, "construction" and "manufacturing" had the highest risk for work-related MSDs; for women, "hotel and restaurants" had the highest risk for work-related MSDs. Conclusion: Ergonomic interventions for workers should consider gender and should focus on work sectors with high risk for MSDs, with multiple ergonomic risk factors, and with the largest number of workers.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.57-63
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• 2005

Ergonomic intervention techniques were adopted to assess and control potential risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs) in the automated light assembly manufacturing system. Ten different kinds of assembly workstations implemented with a conveyor system and twelve female workers were observed and evaluated with careful video film analysis. Several close examinations using sets of checklists established by qualified safety and health organizations, such as NIOSH, OSHA, and ANSI, were conducted and every workers and staffs in the site participated in the self-report questionnaires and off-line interviews. Typical risk factors and symptoms of the upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders were found and categorized into specific parts of body. To reduce risk factors of WMSDs and improve system productivity new revised workstation standards, physical dimensions, were suggested accordant with anthropometric characteristics of workers and a heuristic decision strategy of rotating shift work schedules according to work contents has proposed to mitigate cumulative physical stress. Finally, ergonomic programs of entire company to prevent WMSDs were structured.

• 국제학술발표논문집
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• The 9th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.465-472
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• 2022

Manual material handling is the one of the leading causes for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and lower back discomfort. According to a study, construction formworkers suffer greater rates of muscular injuries and related illness due to manual activities. However, there is still a paucity of information on MSD, preventive posture issues, and corresponding solutions for construction aluminum formworkers. As a result, MSD and disregard of worker health and safety continue to exist at construction sites. Although preventive measures and strategies have been studied in previous research, we believe it is imperative to shed light on this problem through this study. This study aims to 1) implement a simple and cost-effective elevated bench to reduce MSDs, and 2) determine the rapid upper limbs assessment (RULA) and Ovako working posture analyzing system (OWAS) action catagory of workers in different postures to assess their MSD conditions and obtain an optimal position and posture using the Jack human modeling software and simulation tool. The study findings reveal a considerable reduction in MSD discomfort and which posture is acceptable in post-intervention instances.Thus results provide inexpensive and simple ergonomic interventions with favorable RULA and OWAS ratings that can be applied at construction sites. This study demonstrates workstation ergonomic intervention cases that can aid in understanding the urgency of applying existing research strategies into practice.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.10-15
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• 2021

Objective: Limited ankle dorsiflexion is related to ankle injuries. There are various exercises to increase the flexibility of the gastrocnemius for improving the passive range of motion in ankle dorsiflexion. However, to performances in daily activities and athletic sports and higher efficiency of walking and running, both ankle dorsiflexion passive and active range of motion are needed. To investigate the effects of combined gastrocnemius stretching and tibialis anterior resistance exercise on ankle kinematics (passive and active range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion) and tibialis anterior muscle activity in subjects with limited ankle dorsiflexion. Design: Cross-sectional single-group repeated measures design. Methods: Fourteen subjects with limited ankle dorsiflexion were recruited (in the right ankle in 7 and the left ankle in 7). All subjects performed gastrocnemius stretching alone and tibialis anterior resistance exercise after gastrocnemius stretching. The passive and active range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion were measured after interventions immediately. The tibialis anterior activity was measured during active range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion measurement. Results: There was no significant difference of ankle dorsiflexion passive range of motion between gastrocnemius stretching alone and the tibialis anterior resistance exercise after gastrocnemius stretching. The tibialis anterior resistance exercise after gastrocnemius stretching significantly increased active range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion compared to gastrocnemius stretching alone (p<0.05). The tibialis anterior resistance exercise after gastrocnemius stretching significantly increased tibialis anterior activity better than did gastrocnemius stretching alone. Conclusions: Thus, subjects with limited ankle dorsiflexion should be encouraged to perform tibialis anterior resistance exercises.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.57-76
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• 2005

A standardized ergonomics kit is suggested to evaluate and reduce musculoskeletal hazards that yield large socioeconomic burdens in the work system. This kit comprises basic and detailed analysis tools with proper tool selection rules. The basic tool includes a checklist for various risk factors to screen potentially hazardous jobs among manual works. Selective detailed analysis tools can then be applied to the screened job lists for more quantitative and precise evaluation. The tool selection rules are devised for using the basic and detailed analysis tools in a mutually supplemental way. To validate the standardized ergonomics kit, it was applied to evaluate jobs related to the musculoskeletal hazards in a paper-making industry. Among 101 manual jobs investigated, 44 potential hazardous jobs were screened during basic investigation phase and finally 16 hazardous jobs were identified by the detailed analysis phase. The result provided fairly promising ideas of ergonomic interventions for the hazardous jobs.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.165-172
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• 2020

Background: To gain a better understanding of nonfatal injuries in Alaska, underutilized data sources such as workers' compensation claims must be analyzed. The purpose of the current study was to utilize workers' compensation claims data to estimate the risk of nonfatal, work-related injuries among occupations in Alaska, characterize injury patterns, and prioritize future research. Methods: A dataset with information on all submitted claims during 2014-2015 was provided for analysis. Claims were manually reviewed and coded. For inclusion in this study, claims had to represent incidents that resulted in a nonfatal acute traumatic injury, occurred in Alaska during 2014-2015, and were approved for compensation. Results: Construction workers had the highest number of injuries (2,220), but a rate lower than the overall rate (34 per 1,000 construction workers, compared to 40 per 1,000 workers overall). Fire fighters had the highest rate of injuries on the job, with 162 injuries per 1,000 workers, followed by law enforcement officers with 121 injuries per 1,000 workers. The most common types of injuries across all occupations were sprains/strains/tears, contusions, and lacerations. Conclusion: The successful use of Alaska workers' compensation data demonstrates that the information provided in the claims dataset is meaningful for epidemiologic research. The predominance of sprains, strains, and tears among all occupations in Alaska indicates that ergonomic interventions to prevent overexertion are needed. These findings will be used to promote and guide future injury prevention research and interventions.