• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.1-7
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• 2018

Background: This study was carried out to investigate the effect of mulligan taping group and repeated measurement group on muscle activity and grip strength of adult with forward head posture. Methods: Thirty adults with forward head posture were randomly assigned to each of 15 mulligan taping and repeat measurement groups. The mulligan taping group measured the pre-test and post-test muscle activity and the grip strength three times and compared the mean values. The repeat group was repeatedly measured and measured before and after the experiment, The collected data were analyzed using SPSS statistical program. Results: There was no significant difference between mulligan taping group and repeated measurement group in changes of muscle activity. There was a significant difference between mulligan taping group and repeated measurement group in changes of grip strength. Conclusions: Mulligan taping was applied to an adult with forward head posture, there was no significant change in muscle activity of flexor carpi radialis and palmaris longus, but it seems to improve hand function by re-aligned of nearby muscles by maintaining scapular stability.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.21 no.B
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• pp.265-272
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• 2001

The human arm is modeled by three rigid bodies(the upper arm, the forearm and the hand)with seven degree of freedom(three in the shoulder, two in the elbow and two in the wrist). The objective of this work is to present a method to determine the three-dimensional kinematics of the human elbow joint using a magnetic tracking device. Euler angle were used to determine the elbow flexion-extension, and the pronation-supination. The elbow motion for the various driving conditions is measured through the driving test using a simulator. Discomfort levels of elbow joint motions were obtained as discomfort functions, which were based on subjects' perceived discomfort level estimated by magnitude estimation. The results showed that the discomfort posture of elbow joint motions occurred in the driving motion.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.265-271
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• 2018

The recent prosthetic technologies pursue to control multi-DOFs (degrees-of-freedom) hand and wrist. However, challenges such as high cost, wear-ability, and motion intent recognition for feedback control still remain for the use in daily living activities. The paper proposes a multi-channel knit band sensor to worn easily for surface EMG-based prosthetic control. The knitted electrodes were fabricated with conductive yarn, and the band except the electrodes are knitted using non-conductive yarn which has moisture wicking property. Two types of the knit bands are fabricated such as sixteen-electrodes for eight-channels and thirty-two electrodes for sixteen-channels. In order to substantiate the performance of the biopotential signal acquisition, several experiments are conducted. Signal to noise ratio (SNR) value of the knit band sensor was 18.48 dB. According to various forearm motions including hand and wrist, sixteen-channels EMG signals could be clearly distinguishable. In addition, the pattern recognition performance to control myoelectric prosthesis was verified in that overall classification accuracy of the RMS (root mean squares) filtered EMG signals (97.84%) was higher than that of the raw EMG signals (87.06%).

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.469-474
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• 2012

The aim of this study is to develop an ergonomic design of magic saw handle considering user experiences. Background: Frequent use of hand tool can cause musculoskeletal disorders by inadequate wrist posture, excessive strength, repetitiveness, friction and pressure, vibration, etc. A hand tool that is inappropriately designed has higher risk causing musculoskeletal disorders. Complaints for the design of magic saw handle has been raised by many users according to the increasing use of magic saw. Method: Hand tool has to be designed considering worker's characteristics and task condition to prevent worker's musculoskeletal disorders. For this, user experiences for magic saw handle were measured through questionnaire survey and observation. Results: An ergonomic design of magic saw handle considering user experiences was proposed and then its design suitability was evaluated in comparison with the existing handle design using EMG and subjective evaluation. Conclusion: The proposed handle design showed higher satisfaction and lower muscular fatigue. Application: The results of this study can be effectively used to develop a new magic saw.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.171-181
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• 2009

This study was carried out to evaluate a musculoskeletal symptom and the work posture of the nurses in an operating room who have worked in the present department for more than one year. The job analysis of operating room nurses for ergonomic work posture analysis is divided into 14 tasks. On the basis of that, a survey research and ergonomic work posture analysis are also carried out. Among 41 operating room nurses of a cancer center in Kyonggi province who responded to the self-administered questionnaire, 20 nurses were observed and videorecorded to apply Rapid Entire Body Assessment(REBA) to ergonomic work posture analysis from April 16, 2007 to May 18, 2007. The results of analysis are as follows. The prevalence rate of musculoskeletal symptoms was 75.6% and its prevalence rates by part of the body are these followings; lower back and leg/foot 43.9%, shoulder 36.6%, neck 34.1%, hand/wrist/ finger 22.0%, arm/elbow 14.6%. In accordance with the results of ergonomic work posture analysis, 4 tasks that have a REBA score of 8 have high-risk levels and require an immediate management. It shows there is a significant correlation with overall musculoskeletal symptoms and objective workloads that are estimated by REBA. In conclusion, the work conditions of operating room nurses should be improved. It is also necessary that inappropriate work postures and ergonomic work conditions are improved to prevent musculoskeletal disorders of operating room nurses.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.749-755
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• 2011

Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the reducing effect of workload on developed electro-motion scissors. Methods: To achieve this, we measured the pressure distribution, Joint angle of fingers and JSI(Job Strain Index) for electro-motion scissors and hand-operated scissor in objective assessment and surveyed the uncomfortable degree in subjective assessment. Results: As a result, The peak of pressure in the electro-motion scissors was generally lower than the hand-operated scissors. JSI and overall joint angle of fingers for the electro-motion scissors were remarkably lower than the hand-operated scissors. Also, the subjective uncomfortable degree showed that the uncomfortable point of electro-motion scissors were generally lower than the hand operated scissors. Conclusion: The impact of reducing the work load as well as distributing the pressure around the hand by using electro-motion scissors during grapes pinching was confirmed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.20 no.4 s.72
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• pp.148-153
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• 2005

Computer dominated jobs and industrial automation have rapidly created work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs) and WMSDS are expanding to employee of other general industry. Specific risk factors associated with WMSDs include repetitive motion, heavy lifting, forceful exertion, contact stress, vibration awkward posture and rapid hand and wrist movement. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the neck muscle workload according to posture(joint angle) and load weight. Seven male students participated in this study. To analyze neck muscle workload was studied on electromyographic(EMG) activity for sternocleidomastoid and trapezius, was subjectively rated using a Borg's CR-10 scale. ANOVA showed that the CR-10 ratings and most EMG root-mean-square (RMS) value were statistically significant improvement according to posture(joint angle) and load weight. The results of this study indicate the joint angle and weight of neck muscle workload to provide safe working conditions. To reduce the large number and severity of WMSDs employees have been experiencing, we need to redesign the job in workplace to identify and control hazards that are reasonably likely to be causing or contributing to the WMSDs.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.45-51
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• 2008

Purpose: We evaluated the physical stress and pain to the musculoskeletal system of a dental practitioner when engaging in a dental scaling training exercise to prevent the development of musculoskeletal injuries. Methods: The 18 female (average age: 21$\pm$1 years) subjects were voluntarily picked from a group of juniors who have completed a one-and-a-half year training course that includes training exercises on the dentiform and on live subjects (other trainees). The test is done by measuring pain, activity, grip strength, and finger dexterity for each subject's hand and wrist. Before the test all subjects were confirmed to be right-handed and were informed of the study and its objective. Measuring was done before and after each subject performed dental scaling for one hour using the scaler and the curet. Results: Pain levels increased for both hand and shoulders, but hand pain was often greater than shoulder pain. Grip strength significantly declined in the right hand but not the left. For joint mobility, the flexion and the extension for the shoulder joint did not change; but the range of motion for both wrist joints significantly increased. For the dexterity test, both hands showed increased dexterity after the exercise. Conclusion: Dental scaling can affect the shoulders and wrists/hands. Therefore, a musculoskeletal injury prevention program for dental practitioners, which may include encouraging them to assume correct body posture when at work, must be sought. This study evaluated only the shoulders, wrists, and hands; but future studies should include areas such as the cervical area, the back, and the lower limbs.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.140-150
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• 2004

Repetitive stress injury at the wrist has been reported as a common injury among visual display terminal (VDT) users (i.e., computer users). Adjusting a VDT workstation (computer table and chair) to maintain a correct seated posture while operating a keyboard is perhaps the most frequently recommended preventive solution. This paper proposes an analytical design methodology based on ergonomic design principles for recommending appropriate VDT workstation settings and layout of individual computer accessories on the computer table. The proposed design methodology consists of two interrelated phases: (1) determination of VDT workstation settings, and (2) design of computer accessories layout. Based on the information about the VDT user, dominant task to be performed, typing skill, and degrees of physical and visual interactions between the user and computer accessories, adjustment and layout solutions are recommended to allow having a correct seated posture while minimizing both physical and visual movements. The results from an experiment show that when adjusting the workstation and locating the computer accessories according to the recommendations given by the proposed design methodology, the user's hand movements can be significantly reduced.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.4 s.76
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• pp.108-113
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• 2006

The Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders(WMSDs) have been an rising issue since the 1970s. So many manufacturing companies have been tried to improve the work environments for the control and the prevention of the WMSDs. Specific risk factors associated with WMSDs include repetitive motion, heavy lifting, forceful exertion, contact stress, vibration, awkward posture and rapid hand and wrist movement. But recently it has reported that besides working conditions, job stress is the important hazard causes which lead to WMSDs. This study investigates the relation between WMSDs and Job stress from 1426 workers in Heavy Industry. Job stress was evaluated by Karasek's model. Job stress was associated with job satisfaction. Job demand was associated with the WMSDs, but job control was not associated with the WMSDs. The results can be used to design the management program for the WMSDs and the job stress.