• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.43-47
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• 2011

Purpose: The aim of this preliminary study was to use hand function tests to Hand dexterity levels provided by the type of compression garment and compression bandages in asymptomatic subjects and to collect baseline data for the comparison of hand functions in the patients with chronic arm lymphedema. Methods: The subjects of this study were 32 healthy volunteer female with a mean age of 45.8 years. Grip strength and hand functions were tested in three conditions-no compression, compression garment, and compression bandages-using the nine-hole peg test (NHPT), the box and block test (B&BT), Minnesota Manual Dexterity test (MMDT), and the hand-held Jamar dynamometer. Results: The grip strength was significantly low in the bandage condition (p<0.05). The performance in both compression groups (i.e., bandage and compression garment) decreased as the thickness of the compression material increased (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that grip strength and hand function scores are influenced by the characteristics of the compression applied. Future study is needed to determine the level of hand function between patients with chronic arm lymphedema and healthy individuals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.921-935
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• 2016

This research analyzed the manual performance of firefighting protective gloves on global markets in order to suggest an evaluation method for firefighting protective gloves wearing comfort. We collected 13 types of firefighting gloves from domestic and international markets (7 types from Korea, 3 types form Europe, 2 types from the U.S and 1 type from Japan). We set the Don-Doff test as a basal requirement for moving toward to further manual performance tests that consist of: ASTM dexterity test, Minnesota dexterity test, Bennett hand tool test and ASTM torque test. All gloves were evaluated in dry and wet conditions, we included eight current male firefighters ($43.4{\pm}7.0yr$ in age, $173.1{\pm}4.4cm$ in height, $79.9{\pm}9.2kg$ in body mass) for the tests. Four gloves (1 Korea, 1 U.S, 1 Germany, and 1 Japan) out of thirteen firefighting gloves passed the Don-Doff test and had great subject preferences. There was no significant difference between dry and wet conditions on the ASTM dexterity test, Minnesota dexterity test, Bennett hand tool test and ASTM torque test. However, Japanese gloves had the greatest score and showed 3-4 times faster completion time on the ASTM dexterity test (p<.05), 1.2-1.5 times faster on the Minnesota dexterity test (p<.05), as fast as the bare hand on Bennett hand tool test (p<.05), and greater performance on the ASTM torque test compared to bare hand. In conclusion, Don-Doff test in wet conditions should be the first step for a mobility evaluation of domestic firefighting protective gloves; subsequently, a comprehensive test assorting ASTM, Minnesota, and Bennett test should be developed as a second step. The current ASTM torque test can be adopted as a third step. This three-step-method for evaluating firefighting protective glove mobility can be expected to expand into surveys of other safety gloves in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.950-965
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• 2017

This present study proposed a newly developed test method to evaluate the dexterity and mobility of a firefighter's protective gloves. The first step evaluated the mobility and dexterity of the current type of fire protective gloves and three new types of protective gloves using Don-doff test, ASTM dexterity, Minnesota dexterity, Bennett hand tool test, and ASTM torque test. Three firefighters ($47.3{\pm}5.0yr$ in age, $178.6{\pm}2.9cm$ in height) participated in a series of experiments. The second step was to design and suggest an integrated test method based on the results of the first experiment. As a result of the first experiment, we concluded that 1) the mobility and dexterity tests for firefighting gloves should include both wet and dry tests, 2) The three kinds of dexterity tests could be integrated into one test, and 3) The don-doff test and the torque test should be independent from the newly developed integrated test. In summary, we suggested a simplified test method that combined ASTM dexterity, Minnesota dexterity, and Bennett hand tool test. The integrated system can reduce total time spent on dexterity tests and improve the validity of the test in terms of firefighters' manual work.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.11-21
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study examined the changes in the handgrip strength, dexterity, and hand function according to the presence or absence of gloves and types of gloves. METHODS: Seventy-six adults in their twenties (male: 24, female: 52, mean age 21.04 years) were the subjects of this study. The handgrip strength, dexterity, and hand function were evaluated with bare hands without gloves, poly gloves, and latex gloves. The handgrip strength was measured using a dynamometer, and three pinch strength tests were performed: tip pinch, lateral pinch, and three-jaw pinch. The hand dexterity was evaluated using the Minnesota manual dexterity test, and the hand function was evaluated using the Jabson-Taylor hand function test. RESULTS: There was no difference in the grip strength depending on whether the gloves were worn. The hand grip, dexterity, and hand function showed significant differences according to the type of glove. Regarding the handgrip, dexterity, and hand function, the latex glove had the best function, and the poly glove had the lowest function. CONCLUSION: There was a difference in dexterity among the hand functions but no difference in grip strength according to the type of glove. The results suggest that the use of latex gloves in daily life be recommended.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.161-169
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• 2022

Engagement is an important factor in the field of rehabilitation as it is a known factor that have a positive influence on functional gaining in people who receive rehabilitation therapy. Although a number of measurements for engagement have been recently developed, investigation of possible factors that may have influence on engagement is not well established. Currently available evidence suggests that engagement is affected by mood and it is hypothesized that a personal factor may contribute to engagement. Therefore, this study aims to test the hypothetical relationship between mood and engagement while performing a manual dexterity task through an experiment in healthy participants prior to investigation on people with medical condition who requires rehabilitation therapy. After inducing target mood (positive or negative mood) for study participants by asking them to recall autobiographical memories, change in muscle activity, which was operationalized as an indicator of engagement, was investigated. Electromyogram (EMG) was recorded from four muscle areas in non-dominant hand side to quantify muscle activity. The results show that the target moods were appropriately induced with the method. Although there were subtle differences in the level of engagement between different moods, certain variables derived from muscle activity were significantly different; mean amplitude for wrist extensor EMG showed significant difference between different moods (Z = -2.023, p < .05) indicating that muscle activities in the wrist extensor are greater for positive mood than negative mood region during manual dexterity task. Meanwhile, performance outcomes of Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test (MMDT), such as mean completion time and number of errors, between moods showed no significant difference in two different moods, resulting in MMDT administration may not be useful task in distinguishing the level of rehabilitation engagement.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.296-303
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• 2022

Objective: In general, macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma generally cause visual injury in clinical settings. This study aimed to examine the effects of low visual acuity simulations on hand manual dexterity function and brainwaves in healthy young adults. Design: Cross-sectional study design Methods: This study was an observational, cross-sectional study. Seventy healthy young adults participated in this study. To evaluate the effects of low visual acuity simulations on hand function and brain waves, this study involved four different visual conditions including (1) normal vision, (2) simulated cataracts, (3) simulated glaucoma, and (4) simulated macular degeneration. The hand function was measured to use the Minnesota manual dexterity test (MMDT), and the brainwaves was also measured to use the electroencephalography. Results: In hand function, placing and turning performance on the MMDT in the normal visual condition was significantly different than that in the cataract and macular degeneration conditions (p<0.05), and the placing performance was significantly differred in the normal condition than that in the simulated glaucoma. However, turning was not significantly different in the normal condition than that in the simulated glaucoma. The alpha, beta, and gamma waves did not significantly differ among the four visual conditions (p>0.05). Conclusions: The results suggest that limited visual information negatively affects the ability to perform tasks requiring arm-hand dexterity and eye-hand coordination. However, the effectiveness of low visual acuity on the brainwaves should be further studied for rehabilitative evidence of visual impairment.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.63-73
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• 2014

Objective : The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of crafts and handwriting on bilateral coordination during task performance. Methods : Randomly selected 30 college students without hand disability were invited for the study, and grouped 3(test group 1 for crafts, test group 2 for handwriting, and control group) with 10 students per group respectively. Then Jebsen-taylor hand function test, Purdue pegboard test, and Minnesota manual dexterity test were employed for evaluating changes before and after the intervention. Results : After training intervention of crafts and handwriting for two test groups, test groups showed better bilateral coordination significantly than the control group. Especially test group 1(crafts) showed a bigger difference at Jebsen-taylor hand function test, and likely test group 2(handwriting) did at Purdue pegboard test. Conclusion : It was found that crafts increase bilateral coordination, while handwriting increase hand dexterity during task performance. That is, crafts and handwriting affect tasks differently. Further studies applying various crafts and handwriting for many age groups will be helpful for identifying the better way of occupational intervention for individuals in lack of bilateral coordination.