• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.551-557
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• 2001

Occlusion of the dural-sac in the lumbar spine was quantitatively analysed using a one motion segment finite element mode developed in this study. Occlusion was quantified by calculating the cross sectional area chance of the dural-sac. In static analysis. less than 2 kN of compressive load could Produced no dural-sac occlusion. whereas 6kN load reduced cross sectional area by 4%, and produced 7.4%, 10.5% occlusion for additional 8 Nm. 10 Nm extension moments. respectively. In creep analysis, 10 Nm extension reduced cross sectional area and volume of the dural-sac by 6.9% and 2.4%, respectively. However. flexion moment could not produce any occlusion. The results suggested that occlusions may result mainly from slackening of ligamentum flavum and disc budging.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.131-140
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• 2022

Purpose : Although many studies have explored the effect of seating side angles on the spinal curve and surrounding muscles during seating, only a few studies have investigated the effect of different seating face angles on different lower limb and deep trunk muscles. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of seating surface angles (0 degrees, 10 degree anterior, and 10 degree rear) on lower extremity and deep trunk muscles in healthy adults. Methods : Thirty people were asked to sit once on each seating surface three times during the day, and their muscle thicknesses were measured by ultrasound while sitting. The method of sitting was the same when sitting on the three seating surfaces. Results : From the comparison results of the muscle thicknesses according to the seating surface angles, a significant difference existed in the muscle thicknesses of the vastus medialis, vastus medialis oblique, vastus intermedius, soleus and gastrocnemius (p<.05). However, no significant difference was found in the transversus abdominis, internal obliques, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis (p>.05). Conclusion : Our findings revealed that the lower back load decreases, the leg load increases, and the legs specific muscles are affected as the body tilts forward when sitting on the seating surface inclined forward. Therefore, it is possible to suggest a forwardly inclined seating surface that reduces lower back loads and utilizes the posture-maintaining muscles of the legs when sitting in a person with a poor sitting posture or lower back pain at ordinary times.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.447-451
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• 2003

A new method for analyzing the bone-remodeling process using quasi-molecular dynamics was proposed in this study. The effect of pressure due to bone marrow, which could not be considered in previous methods, was also considered in this method. Bone-remodeling response of the 2D vertebral body of lumbar spine to a uniaxial compressive displacement of 1.8564mm. corresponding to approximately 2kN of compressive load, was studied. Converged shape change of the cortical shell and rearrangement of cancellous bone structure matched well with a normal shape of the vertebral body. The calculated responses in the spinal elements also shows closed results compared with experimental results.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.65-72
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the responses of the trunk muscle during expected and unexpected sudden loadings of the hands on the sagittal plane. Twenty, young healthy adults(male 10, female 10) were participated to two different loading conditions : expected and unexpected sudden loadings. Different weights were dropped in hand : 5lb, 6lb, 7lb for male, and 3lb, 4lb, 5lb for female. EMG activity of rectus abdominalis and erector spine muscle were collected. Rectus abdominalis and lumbar erector spine muscle activity significantly increased in unexpected sudden loadings than expected sudden loadings(p<.05). This results indicate that co-contraction of abdominal and back muscle contribute for dynamic spinal stability during expected or unexpected activities of daily living. Preparatory adjustments can be made which reduce the postural perturbation to sudden load and prevent low back injuries.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.253-257
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• 2007

Among the arthritis symptoms, chronic pain is the most serious, and it can profoundly affect the quality of human life. Unfortunately, the mechanism of development in arthritis and arthritic pain has not yet been precisely elucidated. Accumulating evidence indicates that nitric oxide (NO) plays a pivotal role in nociceptive processing in the spinal cord. However, the modulation mechanism of NO in the peripheral site of arthritis and arthritic pain has not been clarified. Therefore, I determined in the present study which nitric oxide synthase (NOS) was involved in the induction of arthritis and arthritic pain. Monoarthritis was induced by intra-articular injection of carrageenan (2%, $50{\mu}l$) into rats, and resulted in the reduction of weight load on the injected leg, increase of knee joint diameter and inflammatory response. Pre-treatment of rats with L-N6-(1-iminoethyl)-lysine (L-NIL, $500{\mu}g$, in $50{\mu}l$), an inhibitor of inducible NOS (iNOS), partially prevented the induction of pain-related behavior and partially reduced inflammatory response in the synovial membrane in the knee joint. These results suggest that iNOS in the knee joint may play an important role in the induction of pain-related behavior and inflammation, and that NO produced by iNOS may be associated with nociceptive signaling in the peripheral site.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.9 no.12
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• pp.391-399
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• 2009

The purposes of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of loaded and unloaded swimming stimulation after central nerve system injury in the rats. SCI model rats were damaged in L1-L2 injected with 6-OHDA. The twenty one Sprague-Dawley adult male rats weights($200\pm10g$) were randomly divided into control group and 2 swimming groups and then swimming groups divided into 15 minute unloaded swimming group and 15 minute loaded swimming group by swimming intensity. Behavioral Change was evaluated by the BBB(Basso, Brestti, Brenahan) scales test and the maximal angles of the inclined board on which the rat could maintain its intial position for the progressive locomotor recovery. Using enzyme-linked immunosolbent assays(ELISA), we measured concentrations of brain-delived growth factor(BDNF) in serum after swimming. There was significant change of BBB scores in control group as compared to unloaded swimming group and loaded swimming group(p<.05), and unloaded swimming group were significantly higher than loaded swimming group(p<.05). The maximal angles of the inclined plane test were higher in the unloaded swimming group and loaded swimming group than the control group(p<.05), and loaded swimming group were significantly lower than unloaded swimming group(p<.05). There were singnificant difference of concentration of BDNF in serum change in each group(p<.05). The results suggest that swimming applied from the early phase after spinal cord injury may be beneficial in the early recovery of motor function.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.239-247
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• 2008

Low back disorders (LBDs) have been the most common musculoskeletal problem in Korean workplaces. It affects many workers, and is associated with high costs to many companies as well as the individual, which can negatively influence even the quality of life of workers. The _evaluation of low back disorder risk associated with manual materials handling tasks can be performed using variety of ergonomic assessment tools such as National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Revised Lifting Equation (NLE), the Washington Administrative Code 296-62-0517 (WAC), the Snook Tables etc. But most of these tools provide limited information for choosing the most appropriate assessment method for a particular job and in finding out advantage and disadvantage of the methods, and few have been assessed for their predictive ability. The focus of this study was to _evaluate spinal loads in real time with lifting and pulling heavy cow leathers in variety of postures. Data for estimating mean trunk motions were collected as employees did their work at the job site, using the Lumbar Motion Monitor. Eight employees (2 males, 6 females) were selected in this study, in which the load weight and the vertical start and destination heights of the activity remained constant throughout the task. Variance components (three dimensional spaces) of mean trunk kinematic measures were estimated in a hierarchical design. They were used to compute velocity and acceleration of multiple employees performing the same task and to repetitive movements within a task. Therefore, a results of this study could be used as a quantitative, objective measure to design the workplace so that the risk of occupationally related low back disorder should be minimized.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.15-20
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure changes in the H-reflex and V wave under loading conditions (e.g. prone and standing position) and to investigate whether postural change would affect the H-reflex and V wave in post stroke hemiplegic patients. Methods: Thirty persons with hemiplegia resulting from stroke (20 males, 10 females) participated in this study. Electromyography (EMG) was used to electrically stimulate and record the soleus H-reflexes and V waves under various loading conditions. The normality of the distribution of each variable (H latency, $H_{max}/M_{max}$ ratio, $V_{max}/M_{max}$ ratio) was tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The means of normally distributed continuous data were assessed by independent t-test (${\alpha}$=0.05). Results: There were statistically significant differences in $H_{max}/M_{max}$ ratio (p<0.01), $V_{max}/M_{max}$ ratio (p<0.01), H latency (p<0.01) among the prone and standing position. Conclusion: We found that the H-reflex and V wave in standing position was more active to weight bearing load than prone position.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.425-429
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• 2016

Objective : Rod-screw fixation systems are widely used for spinal instrumentation. Although many biomechanical studies on rod-screw systems have been carried out, but the effects of rod contouring on the construct strength is still not very well defined in the literature. This work examines the mechanical impact of straight, $20^{\circ}$ kyphotic, and $20^{\circ}$ lordotic rod contouring on rod-screw fixation systems, by forming a corpectomy model. Methods : The corpectomy groups were prepared using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene samples. Non-destructive loads were applied during flexion/extension and torsion testing. Spine-loading conditions were simulated by load subjections of 100 N with a velocity of $5mm\;min^{-1}$, to ensure 8.4-Nm moment. For torsional loading, the corpectomy models were subjected to rotational displacement of $0.5^{\circ}\;s^{-1}$ to an end point of $5.0^{\circ}$, in a torsion testing machine. Results : Under both flexion and extension loading conditions the stiffness values for the lordotic rod-screw system were the highest. Under torsional loading conditions, the lordotic rod-screw system exhibited the highest torsional rigidity. Conclusion : We concluded that the lordotic rod-screw system was the most rigid among the systems tested and the risk of rod and screw failure is much higher in the kyphotic rod-screw systems. Further biomechanical studies should be attempted to compare between different rod kyphotic angles to minimize the kyphotic rod failure rate and to offer a more stable and rigid rod-screw construct models for surgical application in the kyphotic vertebrae.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.241-250
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• 2022

It is known that chronic pain and injury of upper limb joint tissue in manual wheelchair users is usually caused by muscle imbalance, and the propulsion speed is reported to increase this muscle imbalance. In this study, kinematic variables, electromyography, and ultrasonographic images of the upper limb were measured and analyzed at two different propulsion speeds to provide a quantitative basis for the risk of upper extremity joint injury. Eleven patients with spinal cord injury for the experimental group (G_E) and 27 healthy adults for the control group (G_C) participated in this study. Joint angles and electromyography were measured while subjects performed self-selected comfortable and fast-speed wheelchair propulsion. Ultrasound images were recorded before and after each propulsion task to measure the acromiohumeral distance (AHD). The range of motion of the shoulder (14.35 deg in G_E; 20.24 deg in G_C) and elbow (5.25 deg in G_E; 2.57 deg in G_C) joints were significantly decreased (p<0.001). Muscle activation levels of the anterior deltoid, posterior deltoid, biceps brachii, and triceps brachii increased at fast propulsion. Specifically, triceps brachii showed a significant increase in muscle activation at fast propulsion. AHD decreased at fast propulsion. Moreover, the AHD of G_E was already narrowed by about 60% compared to the G_C from the pre-tests. Increased load on wheelchair propulsion, such as fast propulsion, is considered to cause upper limb joint impingement and soft tissue injury due to overuse of the extensor muscles in a narrow joint space. It is expected that the results of this study can be a quantitative and objective basis for training and rehabilitation for manual wheelchair users to prevent joint pain and damage.