• PNF and Movement
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.415-424
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effects of various wheelchair handling directions on the upper limb muscle activities of wheelchair attendants while climbing a ramp. Methods: For the study participants, healthy males over 20 years of age were chosen, and the order of the direction of wheelchair handle grip was determined using a randomized method. The handling directions for pushing the wheelchair up a ramp included a general grip with ulnar deviation, a medial grip with wrist pronation, and a neutral grip with a neutral wrist. The muscle activities in the participants' upper limbs were measured using surface electromyography. For statistical data processing, SPSS 18.0 was used to perform repeated measures ANOVA in order to compare the muscle activity among the intervention groups. A contrast test was also conducted among the participants. The significance level (${\alpha}$) was set to 0.05. Results: There was a significant difference between groups using a general grip and a medial grip in the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and flexor carpi radialis muscles (p<0.05). There was also a significant difference between using a general grip and a neutral grip in the biceps brachii and flexor carpi radialis muscles (p<0.05), and there was a significant difference between using a medial grip and a neutral grip in the biceps brachii and extensor carpi radialis brevis muscles (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, the wheelchair assistants' wrist muscle activity was the lowest with a neutral grip while ascending a ramp. Accordingly, this study proposes that wheelchair assistants push wheelchairs up ramps with a neutral grip.

• Journal of Sport and Applied Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of modified swing to prevent shoulder injury by analyzing differences in the muscle activation patterns of upper limb by the swing method in wheelchair badminton players. Research design, data, and methodology: 10 wheelchair badminton players participated in the experiment as subjects and performed 10 high clears and 10 smashes in both traditional and modified swing methods toward a shuttlecock hung at the height of racket impact point. For each trial, activation patterns of biceps brachii, triceps brachii, anterior deltoid, and posterior deltoid were measured from the upper limb participating in the swing from which the duration, peak, and root mean square (RMS) of electromyography (EMG) activities from swing initiation to shuttle impact were calculated. The maximum swing velocity of the smash and the distance of the high clear were also measured with both methods to compare differences in the swing velocity and shuttle hit distance. Results: Differences in the EMG peak and RMS of the anterior deltoid by swing methods were shown to differ by the skill type, being higher in the traditional swing method than the modified during only the high clear. The EMG peak and RMS, and the duration of the posterior deltoid were higher and longer with the traditional swing method than the modified during both the smash and high clear. The intensities of the biceps brachii and triceps brachii activities measured during the smash and high clear were higher in the traditional swing method than the modified, and the biceps brachii and triceps activity durations during the high clear were shorter in the modified swing method than the traditional. The maximum swing velocity of the smash was faster with the traditional swing method than the modified, while the distance of the high clear did not differ significantly. Conclusions: These results suggest that the modified swing can be an effective performance method for preventing shoulder injuries without undue loss of impact power in wheelchair badminton players by reducing excessive loads imposed on the shoulder and allowing the optimal use of the elbow extension.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2009

This study investigated the irradiation pattern of muscles on the affected side in stroke patients after application of diagonal 2 extension (D2 ex) proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation in the unaffected upper extremity. Seven stroke patients participated. Electromyographic activities were recorded in the iliopsoas, biceps brachii, and triceps brachii were recorded by surface electrodes at rest, D2 ex with knee extension, and D2 ex with knee 90 flexion, normalized by maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) values. The medial frequencies of biceps brachii in both sides were also measured to compare muscle type recruited. %MVIC of biceps brachii and triceps brachii were significantly higher in D2 ex than at rest (p<.05). There was no difference in median frequency of biceps brachii between the affected and unaffected side (p>.05). This suggests that proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation using D2 ex may improve muscle activities of the paretic side and that the irritation pattern of the affected side may respond to maintain body equilibrium according to movement of the sound side.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

This study aims to comparison of ultrasonography on both sides of the upper arm of hemiplegic patient. The biceps brachii and deltoid muscle of ten subjects(4 men, 6 women) with stroke were scanned with ultrasonography at the muscle belly at rest at elbow angles of 90 deg. The echogenicity(densit, white area index; WAI) and muscle thickness of ultrasonography was examined using real-time B-mode ultrasonography with 7.5 MHz linear-array prob. In the biceps brachii muscle, MHz there were significant differences of thickness, density, and WAI between affected side and non-affected side. In the deltoid muscle, there were significant differences of thickness, density, and WAI between affected side and non-affected side. Both of the muscles, thickness of the affected side was thin than non-affected side and echogenicity(density, WAI) of the affected side was higher than non-affected side. This study showed that change of skeletal muscle architecture properties occurred in the upper arm of the affected side muscle of hemiplegic patient.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 2020

Background: Residential and commercial cleaning is a part of our daily routine to maintain sanitation around the environment. Health care of professionals involved in such cleaning activities has become a major concern all over the world. The present study investigates the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in professional cleaners involved in floor mopping tasks. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 132 mopping professionals using a modified Nordic questionnaire. The Pearson correlation test was implemented to study the association of perceived pain with work experience. The muscle strain and postural risk were evaluated by means of three-channel electromyography and real-time motion capture respectively of 15 professionals during floor mopping. Results: Regarding musculoskeletal injuries, risk was reported majorly in the right hand, lower back, left wrist, right shoulder, left biceps, and right wrist of the workers. Work experience had a low negative association with MSDs in the left wrist, right wrist, right elbow, lower back, and right lower arm (p < 0.01). Surface EMG showed occurrence of higher muscle activity in upper trapezius and biceps brachii (BB) muscles of the dominant hand and flexor carpi radialis and BB muscles of the nondominant hand positioned at the upper and lower portion of the mop rod, respectively. Conclusion: Ergonomic mediations should be executed to lessen the observed risk of musculoskeletal injuries in this professional group of workers.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.9-15
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences in electromyographic (EMG) activities of upper limb muscles between cross- and parallel-aligned taping and to compare the effects of these 2 taping methods in healthy adults. Thirty subjects, who volunteered for this study, were tested under 3 taping conditions in random order: (1) no taping, (2) cross-aligned taping, and (3) parallel-aligned taping. EMG activities of the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, flexor carpi ulnaris, and extensor carpi radialis muscles were measured. All muscles showed significant differences in EMG activity among the 3 conditions (p<.05). In the post hoc test, biceps brachii and triceps brachii muscles showed significant differences in EMG activity between the no taping and the cross-aligned taping conditions and between the no taping and the parallel-aligned taping conditions. Additionally, the EMG activities of the flexor carpi radialis and extensor carpi radialis muscles appeared to be significantly different between the no taping and parallel-aligned taping conditions. These findings demonstrate that taping may be helpful for decreasing muscle activity, regardless of the direction of tape application. This study provides useful information to future researchers regarding the effects of taping on muscle activity.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.356-362
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• 2012

This study examined the effects of vocalization on upper extremity muscle activity during reaching task in patients with hemiplegia. Thirteen persons with right brain stroke performed reaching to a cup under four concurrent speech conditions of vocalizing the word "Ah" with hemiplegic side. These four conditions are self-vocalization, external vocalization, imaginary vocalization, and no vocalization. The muscle activity(Biceps brachii, Triceps brachii, Middle deltoid, and Upper trapezius) were measured using MP150. Muscle activity was significantly higher under self-vocalization and external vocalization conditions compared to the muscle activity under imaginary vocalization and no vocalization conditions on triceps brachii muscle.(p<0.05). Triceps brachii muscle was highly correlated with biceps brachii muscle(r=0.777, p<0.05). The results suggest that self-vocalization and external vocalization can be used in facilitating upper extremity movements in patients with stroke. When working with patients with right hemispheric stroke, therapists might explore possibilities of using patient's self-speech to enhance the quality of upper extremity movement performance.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.710-720
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• 2014

Movements of the upper and lower limb muscles during five common gardening tasks were analyzed by using electromyography (EMG). Twenty adults aged in their twenties (mean age, $24.8{\pm}2.4$ years) were recruited. On two separate occasions, subjects visited a garden plot to perform digging, raking, troweling, weeding, and hoeing; all tasks were performed three times with 20 s intervals for each trial. To measure muscle activation during the five gardening tasks, surface EMG was used. Bipolar surface EMG electrodes were attached to eight upper limb muscles (bilateral anterior deltoid, biceps brachialis, brachioradialis, and flexor carpi ulnaris) or eight lower limb muscles (bilateral vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius) on both sides of the body, for a total of 16 muscles. During the five tasks, photographs were taken of movement phases using a digital video camera. The right flexor carpi ulnaris and brachioradialis showed higher activation than the other upper and lower limb muscles measured during the tasks. All 16 upper and lower limb muscles were actively used only during digging. According to movement analysis of each activity, digging was classified into four movement phases, whereas raking, troweling, weeding, and hoeing each were divided into three movement phases. In each activity, there were high-impact phases in terms of muscle activation; the flexor carpi ulnaris and brachioradialis were identified as major muscles in each impact phase. This analysis may be used to generate biomechanical profiles of gardening tasks for practitioners when designing efficient gardening interventions for physical health or rehabilitation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.892-900
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• 1998

This study was done to analyze the surface development of upper arm for planning sleeve armhole line. The major conclusions of this study are: 1. The surface development by arm movements made the expansion and contraction of upper arm surface changes easily visible. Armhole lines of 90$^{\circ}$and 135$^{\circ}$~180$^{\circ}$movements deviated from those of standard posture. 2. According to regression analysis, armhole lines on the upper arm were adapted to sleeve patten, following the axillary circumference line changed to biceps line. Sleeve cap length ranged from armhole/4+2.5cm to armhole/4$\pm$0.5cm. 3. Compared to Rim's pattern method, ascending and descending amounts of armhole lines were represented as fixed values.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.82-85
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• 2014

Upper extremity replantation is relatively less commonly performed than finger or hand replantation. We have experienced one case of forearm replantation and one case of upper arm replantation. After the replantation, limb volume at the biceps brachii muscle level below the replantation level appeared to be appropriate, however, the motor function of the muscles and the sensitivity were disappointing. For replantation of forearm and upper arm, restoration of the motor function and sensitivity of the extremity below the amputation level as well as the morphologic reconstruction have to be considered.