• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2013

Crane operators usually work with their necks bent forward in a seating position for a long period. They have complained of their musculoskeletal stress at their necks. The objective of this study was to find the level of stress at the neck when crane operators bend their neck forward during their work. Experiments were conducted in the laboratory where subjects bent their necks forward for 1 minute and took a rest for 0.5 minute and repeated this performance for 60 minutes. Subjective evaluation using Borg's CR-10 scale and electromyography (EMG) were used to check the level of the stress at the neck. Subjects reported that the level of pain at the end of 60 min. experiment was close to the extreme pain(level 8.95). The EMG level(amplitude) increased 80% on the average and the center frequency of EMG shifted to the lower frequency level which indicated fatigue of neck muscles. Thus, it was found that there is quite much neck stress for crane operators when they maintain their neck posture of bending forward for a long time during their work. This information will be a basis in searching for an intervention measure for the crane operators' neck stress.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.103-120
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the manual workload in repetitive wrist and finger motion. To evaluate manual workload, angular displacement of the joint, EMG of the muscle and subjective rating were studied. Both wrist motion and finger motion were studied. A screw-driving task was used for the wrist motion experiment. A keyboard typing task was used for the finger motion experiment. All finger joint angles and wrist angles were measured by an angle-measuring glove($CyberGlove^{TM}$, Virtual Technologies, Inc.). Surface EMG was recorded from FCU muscle and FDS muscle simultaneously with the angle measurement. Subjective ratings of exertion were also recorded using the modified Borg's CR-10 scale. Repetition rates of 0.5, 1, 2 motions per second were used with each task. As a result, manual workload increased with increasing repetitiveness. Peak spectral magnitude and frequency components corresponded closely with joint angular displacement amplitudes and repetition rates. Results of the correlation analysis showed that there were significant correlation among EMG, frequency-weighted motion and subjective measurement. Both EMG and frequency-weighted filtering showed consistent workload estimation with increasing task frequency. Subjective ratings showed slight over-estimation of the workload as the task frequency is increased.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.504-514
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• 2017

Discomfort as well as muscular pain and musculoskeletal diseases occur in cases of stressed posture due to prolonged pressure. Therefore, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) recommend that bags that weigh no more than 15 - 20% of the wearer's weight. However, despite the prolonged pressure from using baby carriers, there are no recommendations and limited studies on how to protect wearers. Therefore, this study investigates subjective fatigue according to the usage of waist support and hip seat. Based on this, muscle fatigue and secondary subjective fatigue according to three types of currently commercial baby carriers (X-type, H-type, and H-hip type) were measured. Subjective comfortability was evaluated on a 5 point Likert-scale and subjective fatigue was evaluated on Borg's CR-10 scale. Objective muscle fatigue was also compared by measuring and analyzing electromyogram (EMG). The results of primary subjective fatigue showed statistically significant changes in the shoulders, waist, calves, and soles of the feet according to the usage of hip seats and waist support. Electromyogram measurements also showed less muscle fatigue at the upper trapezius muscle and thoracic erector spine muscle for the H-hip seat baby carrier, which has both waist support and hip seat, compared to an X-type baby carrier, which has neither. However, results of subjective fatigue showed opposite results at the waist despite having same results at the shoulders and beneath the shoulders. This show discrepancies between objective muscle fatigue and subjective fatigue; therefore, that both aspects must be taken into consideration when developing ergonomic baby carriers.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.35-49
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• 2009

This study investigated perceived discomforts and those reasons of the young and middle-aged, the aged, the disabled and the pregnant in various daily activities, and elicited universal design factors based on human capacities (physical, sensory, cognitive and affective). A total of eighty people (twenty subjects for each user group) participated in one-to-one interviews about thirty six items of daily activities. A degree of discomfort of the daily activities was measured using Borg's CR10 scale. As a result, the disabled and the pregnant complained about almost all of the daily activities, and their degrees of discomforts were significantly higher than those of the youth and middle-aged and the aged. However, the youth and middle-aged and the aged only complained about some specific items. The major reasons of discomforts were related to physical and affective capabilities in general, where the detailed reasons of each user group were comparatively different. Finally, the universal design factors were elicited for each daily activity item based on the results of each user group. This study can be used to understand the discomforts and characteristics of the aged, the disabled and the pregnant in the various daily activities. The universal design factors elicited can also be applied to design related products and facilities universally.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.379-389
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the effects of wheelchair handle directions on the trunk muscle activity of adult males when climbing ramps. It also evaluated the wheelchair attendant's physical discomfort during tasks. Methods: Healthy males aged over 20 years were chosen and the direction of wheelchair handle grip was randomly selected. The grips included a general grip with ulnar deviation, a medial grip with wrist pronation, and a neutral grip with a neutral wrist. The trunk muscle activity was measured using surface electromyography. Furthermore, the physical discomfort of wheelchair attendants was subjectively evaluated using the Borg CR-10 Scale, which rates the perceived exertion. In addition, the SPSS 18.0 program was used perform repeated measure ANOVA to compare muscle activity and subjective discomfort during the interventions. The contrast test was also conducted with a significance level (α) of 0.05. Results: There was significant difference between the general grip and the medial grip in the rhomboid major muscle and the lumbar erector spinae muscle (p<0.05). In addition, there was significant difference between the general grip and the neutral grip in the rhomboid major muscle and the lumbar erector spinae muscle (p<0.05). Further, there was significant difference between the general grip and the neutral grip in subjective discomfort (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, adult male trunk muscle activity and subjective discomfort were lowest when using the neutral grip while climbing ramps. Accordingly, we suggest that neutral grips will help improve the function of the musculoskeletal system and reduce the subjective discomfort by putting less strain on the trunk muscles and maximizing efficiency with less force.