• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2010

This study investigated the relationships between Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), contributing factors, and the occupational stress of physical therapists. Self-reported questionnaires were given to 180 physical therapists in Gangwon Province. Variables examined included the prevalence of pain sites related to WMSDs; pain intensity; pain pattern; and job stress, which is thought to involve the physical environment; job demand; insufficient job control; interpersonal conflict; job insecurity; organizational system; reward system; and occupational culture. Among physical therapists, work-related musculoskeletal pain commonly affected the low back (30.1%), shoulder (29.3%), and wrist (12.2%). The sites of work-related musculoskeletal pain treated medically were the low back (22.8%), shoulder (19.8%), neck (12.7%), and wrist (12.1%). "Repeating the same work constantly" was suggested to be the major cause of the pain. The younger therapists were significantly more likely to feel high job stress due to the physical environment (p<.05), job demand (p<.05), and organizational system (p<.01). Women were more likely to feel greater job stress related to job demand, insufficient job control, the organization system, and job rewards. Men were more likely to feel greater job stress related to job insecurity. Weak positive relationships were observed between work-related musculoskeletal pain and job stress, which is thought to involve the physical environment; job demand; insufficient job control; interpersonal conflict; job insecurity; organizational system; reward system; and occupational culture. Physical therapists appear to be at higher risk of WMSDs because 80.1% of the physical therapists studied experienced work-related musculoskeletal pain. To reduce the risk, we need intervention strategies such as preventive education, ergonomically designed medical equipment, a psychosocial approach to work conditions, improved mechanical conditions related to therapeutic patterns, and an institutional infrastructure with sufficient personnel and scheduling.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2016

Background: Chronic back pain shows a high correlation with lumbar disability, physical disability for daily activities, and psychosocial factors, such as depression. Object: The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation of the level of pain and disability with psychosocial factors, which are potential disturbance variables, in patients with chronic lumbar pain. Method: The sample included 258 patients, who had complained of chronic lumbar pain for more than three months. The Quadruple Visual Analogue Scale was used to measure the level of pain, and a Korean version of Oswestry Disability Index was used to measure the level of disability. Psychosocial factors were measured using the Tampa scale for Kinesiophobia-11, Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire, and Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using PASW 18.0, and an independent samples t-test was used to examine frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation of sociodemographic characteristics and major variables. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to investigate the correlation between the level of pain and disability and psychosocial factors. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was done to determine the level of pain and psychosocial factors of functional disorder. The significance level was set at ${\alpha}=.05$. Result: There is a strong correlation between the level of pain and functional disorder and psychosocial factors in patients with chronic lumbar pain. The study also revealed that as the levels of pain and fear avoidance increase, pain self-efficacy decreases. Conclusion: The results suggest that negative perceptions towards pain, limitations of physical movement, and severe fear avoidance directly affect the decrease in pain self-efficacy. Therefore, it is recommended to test pain self-efficacy when measuring the level of pain and disability in patients with chronic low back pain.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.60-68
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• 2009

Psychsocial factors appear to play an important role in the maintenance and development of chronic disability from low back pain. Fear of pain may be more disabling than the pain itself in patients with nonacute low back pain. The purpose of this study was to identify the contribution of gender, age, depression and pain-related fear to pain intensity and disability in nonacute low back pain patients. This was a cross-sectional survey study of eighty four patients who had low back pain for at least 4 weeks. More than moderate correlations were found between pain intensity, disability, fear-avoidance beliefs and depression. Regression analyses revealed that disability ratings and fear-avoidance beliefs for work activities significantly contributed to the prediction of pain intensity, even when controlling for age, gender and pain duration. Also, fear-avoidance beliefs for physical activity, pain intensity, age and depression, significantly contributed to the prediction of disability, even when controlling for gender and pain duration. These findings suggest that disability scores and fear-avoidance beliefs for work activities are important determinants of pain intensity. They also suggest that fear-avoidance beliefs for physical activity, pain intensity, age and depression are important determinants of disability.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.275-280
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cigarette smoking on physical fitness (dominant hand grip power, dominant isokinetic leg muscle strength, abdominal muscle endurance, flexibility, cardiopulmonary endurance) and depression in patients with chronic low back pain. Methods: This study was a cross sectional study and subjects consisted of 60 young males with chronic low back pain. The subjects were allocated to two groups following a self-report survey: cigarette smoking group (n=25) or non-smoking group (n=35). Physical fitness (dominant hand grip power, dominant isokinetic leg muscle strength, abdominal muscle endurance, flexibility, cardiopulmonary endurance) were measured using objective methods and depression in patients with chronic low back pain was measured using the Korean version of center for epidemiologic studies depression (CES-D) scale. Results: The results of this study were as follows: In physical fitness, the cigarette smoking group showed a significant decrease in abdominal muscle endurance, flexibility, and cardiopulmonary endurance compared with the non-smoking group. Depression index (CES-D scale score) was significantly higher in the cigarette smoking group than in the non-smoking group. Conclusion: These results suggest that cigarette smoking had a negative effect on abdominal muscle endurance, flexibility, and cardiopulmonary endurance in patients with chronic low back pain. In addition, depression of patients with chronic low back pain was affected by cigarette smoking. Thus, we suggested that cigarette smoking may play a significant role in the deterioration of physical fitness and depression of chronic low back pain patients.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.105-112
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• 2022

Objective: Nonspecific low back pain (NS-LBP) causes pain and disability, affecting the neuromuscular system and altering gait patterns. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of improvement of low back pain symptoms through physical therapy on foot pressure and spatiotemporal gait parameters. Design: A pilot study. Methods: Participants received manual therapy and supervised therapeutic exercise, which consisted of 12 sessions for 6 weeks. Participants were assessed for pain intensity (a numeric pain rating scale), disability index (oswestry disability index), and spatiotemporal gait parameters before and after intervention. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to analyze the before-and-after differences in a single group. Results: All seven NS-LBP patients completed the study without dropout. After six weeks of physical therapy, the numeric pain rating scale and oswestry disability index showed significant improvement (Z= -2.388, P=0.017). There was no significant improvement in both static and dynamic conditions in foot pressure (P>0.05). However, in the spatiotemporal gait parameters, there were significant differences in all variables except the right stance phase and left mid stance (P<0.05). Conclusions: In our pilot study, 12 sessions of physical therapy in NS-LBP patients improved gait quilty in spatiotemporal gait parameters. Similarly, it has resulted in clinically positive improvements in pain and disability.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.68-76
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to establish reliability and validity of the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) translated into Korean for neck pain patients. Sixty-two subjects (35 males, 27 females) with neck pain enrolled in the study. They completed a standardized self-administered questionnaire that included pain intensity, sleeping, sensory at night, duration of symptoms, carrying, reading and watching television, working, social activities, and driving. Reliability was determined by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha by internal consistency. Validity was examined by correlating the NPQ scores to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score. Test-retest reliability of the translated versions of the NPQ was good ICC(2,1)=.83 (95%CI=.85~.95). Cronbach's alpha value for NPQ was found to be .87 and this was statistically significant (p<.05). The criterion-related validity coefficients was .75 (p<.01). We concluded that the Korean version NPQ was shown to be a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of neck pain.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.363-369
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study was to prepare evidence for the prevention and management of nonspecific chronic neck pain (NSCNP) by examining the correlation between activity of daily living and physical activities of office workers with NSCNP. Design: Crossed-sectional study Methods: 89 patients with NSCNP were recruited for this study. But 2 subjects met the exclusion criteria and were dropped out, and 86 subjects finally participated. Numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and neck disability index (NDI) were used to check the pain intensity and disability of patients with neck pain, respectively. For the activity of daily living, computer use time, sleep time, and driving time were used. To find out the physical activities of the subjects, International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ-SF) was used. Correlation analysis was performed to find out the correlation of each variable. Results: A clear positive correlation was established between computer use time and pain (p<0.05), and a clear positive correlation was established between computer use time and disability index (p<0.05). The correlation between NPRS and NDI and physical activity total time, high intensity activity score, moderate intensity activity score, and walking score were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: In treating patients with NSCNP, it is necessary to reduce the computer usage time as a professional factor or to educate the proper posture. In addition, rather than emphasizing physically comprehensive physical activity, grafting therapeutic exercise directly related to neck pain could have a more positive effect on NSCNP patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.401-402
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• 2020

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.123-128
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• 2002

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate factor analysis of low back pain patients. Methods: The data were collected from hospital located in Daegu. Observation was made on 40 low back pain patients and factor analysis study was also performed in terms of their abnormal physical findings. Results: The low back pain patients occupied 20% of all clinical patients in male group and 20% in female group. The occurrence of acute low back pain in the first factor tended to be higher among in male group than among in female group. While it was significantly higher muscle weakness of the back in female group. The most prevailing abnormal finding among low back pain patients in the first factor were tender point on the back, While it was significantly lower Decreased tendon reflex in both sexes Conclusions: The factor pattern of abnormal physical findings in low back pain patients was much different between male and female patients, suggesting the different pattern of etiology. Although low back pain is one of the most common symptoms causing limitation activity, as yet there is no known specific effective treatment.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.369-375
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was the examination of the correlations between the daily physical pain intensity (DPPI) scale and the numeric rating scale (NRS), and between the DPPI scale and the quality of life (QOL) of short form health survey (SF-36) and beck depression inventory (BDI) questionnaires. The focus of the DPPI scale was the daily-living activities of the individual, and the scale contains three items regarding the pain per movement range, the pain per day, and the pain when touching the pain area. Methods: A total of 241 adults answered the DPPI, NRS, SF-36, and BDI questionnaires. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated for the various relations of the DPPI to the other scales. Results: High correlations were shown between the NRS and the DPPI (r=0.809, p<0.05). The DPPI scale (r=0.437, p<0.05) showed "moderate" significant correlations with the SF-36 and the NRS (r=0.370, p<0.05), and it showed "weak" significant correlations with the SF-36. There are no statistically significant correlations between the DPPI, the NRS score, and the BDI score (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study was the first attempt to establish the concurrent validity of a new focus on daily-living activities for the assessment of pain. This study showed promise for the development of activities of daily living focused tool for an assessment of the subjective pain in patients that was more objective.