• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.59-62
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• 2018

Background: Several grip strength tests are commonly used for detecting sincerity of effort. However, there is still no widely accepted standardized sincerity of effort test. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether grip strength test in three wrist positions could distinguish between maximal and submaximal efforts. Methods: Twenty healthy individuals (10 men and 10 women) with a mean age of $26.7{\pm}3.92years$ participated in this study. All participants completed two test conditions (maximal and submaximal efforts) in three wrist positions (neutral, flexion, and extension) using both hands. Each participant exerted 100% effort in the maximal effort condition and 50% effort in the submaximal effort condition. The participants performed three repetitions of the grip strength test for each session. Results: The results showed that there is a significant main effect of the type of effort (p < 0.001), wrist position (p < 0.001), and hand (p = 0.028). There were also significant types of effort and wrist position interactions (p < 0.001) and effort and hand interactions (p < 0.028). The results also showed that grip strength was highest at the wrist in neutral position in both the maximal and the submaximal effort condition. Grip strength values of the three wrist positions in the maximal effort condition were noticeably greater than those in the submaximal effort condition. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that grip strength test in three wrist positions can differentiate a maximal effort from a submaximal effort. Thus, this test could potentially be used to detect sincerity of effort in clinical setting.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 1997

Skeletal muscle fatigue is often associated with diminished athletic performance and inability to maintain an expected force output as a function of time. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of duration of exercise on skeletal muscle fatigue between Weight Lifters(WL) and Non-Weight Lifters(NWL). There were twelve normal healthy adult volunteers, ranging in age from 18 to 35 years. The group consisted of six NWL and six WL. Randomized cross-over design was set up and work-rest cycle was 8 minutes work and 1 minute rest based on 15% MVC. Muscle fatigue was measured by the amount of force produced by the wrist flexor muscle and EMG amplitude over time. Repeated measures ANOVAs($2{\times}4$) were used to determine two types of subjects(WL, NWL) during four different duration of exercises(16, 32, 48, 64 minutes). The force decreased over time in NWL and WL, but there was no significant difference(F=2.83, p>0.05). However, the EMG amplitude increased in WL(0.8200) and NWL(0.6348). The WL exhibited an increase in EMG at the end of the period, especially at 48 minutes of exercises than did the NWL(F=9.58, p<.05). This suggests the WL were able to adjust to prolonged effort with adaptations in neural effect over time, resulting in higher EMG amplitude. That is, WL may be able to learn to recruit more motor units with training. It is important to the degree of neuromuscular fatigue and the time needed for recovery may differ considerably between WL and NWL, there is a need to plan proper strength training or rehabilitation protocols to match with the requirements in different characteristics of groups.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2617-2624
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• 2012

Interferential currents (IFC) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) are used for pain management. This study compared the analgesic effects of IFC and TENS on experimentally induced ischemic pain in otherwise pain-free subjects using a modified version of the submaximal-effort tourniquet technique. The subjects were 14 volunteers (7 male, 7 female) without known pathology that could cause pain. Their mean age was $26.7{\pm}2.0$ years. A single-blind, sham controlled, parallel-group method was used. The primary outcome measure was the change in the self-report of pain intensity during 1 of 3 possible interventions: (1) IFC, (2) TENS, or (3) sham electrotherapy. The IFC and TENS were administered on the forearm, and the sham electrotherapy group received no current output via a dummy stimulator. The results show that a 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that there was no change in pain intensity during treatment when all 3 groups were considered together. The mean to pain intensity with the IFC intervention was no different than with TENS. Thus, Statistical analysis showed that both interventions decreased the pain intensity ratings significantly and the difference between interventions was not simply insignificant. IFC has been shown to be more comfortable than TENS in present studies and is likely to be better accepted and tolerated by patients, clinical investigation is warranted.