ABSTRACT
The accommodation of a task to the unique abilities of an individual with a disability is becoming increasingly the responsibility of the employer. Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) provides the information necessary for rational design decisions when modifying work stations. The currently used FCE systems have been designed to assess an individual's performance for a range of reasons other than industrial task accommodation. The Available Motions Inventory (AMI) is a system that has been developed specifically to address the design issues raised when accommodating an industrial task to a person with a neuromuscular impairment. This system has a unique scoring system that allows intra-individual ability comparisons that support task allocation decisions. Some general principles of task design are developed for persons with cerebral palsy, but the strength of assessment lies in its application to a specific individual performing a specific task.
Subject(s)
Disabled Persons/rehabilitation , Ergonomics , Task Performance and Analysis , Work Capacity Evaluation , Adult , Biomechanical Phenomena , Disabled Persons/legislation & jurisprudence , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , MovementABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect lower body positive pressure (LBPP) has on the cardiovascular/exercise capacities of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) during both arm crank exercise (ACE) and wheelchair exercise performed on a treadmill (WCTM). Ten male adults (age = 31.1 +/- 10 yr) with SCI and five male nondisabled (ND) adults (31.2 +/- 10 yr) participated in this study. The ND subjects performed ACE only. For subjects with SCI, significantly higher (P < 0.025) peak VO2 (1042 +/- 212 vs 839 +/- 218 ml.min-1), peak VE (46 +/- 17 vs 35 +/- 9 l.min-1), and work rate (50 +/- 15 vs 40 +/- 13 W) were seen during ACE with LBPP. No significant differences for peak VO2, VE, or work rate were seen for the ND subjects with LBPP during ACE. In addition, significantly higher peak VO2 (960 +/- 322 vs 828 +/- 312 ml.min-1) was recorded with LBPP for the subjects with SCI during WCTM. Cardiac output (Q, l.min-1; CO2 rebreathing method) was measured at 50% peak VO2 for both ND subjects and subjects with SCI during ACE. Subjects with SCI demonstrated significantly higher SV (94 +/- 20 vs 84 +/- 20 ml) with LBPP. No differences were observed in SV at 50% peak VO2 during ACE for the ND subjects with LBPP. The results of this study suggest that for individuals with SCI, LBPP augments exercise capacity by preventing the redistribution of blood to the lower extremities.
Subject(s)
Exercise Tolerance/physiology , Gravity Suits , Spinal Cord Injuries/physiopathology , Adolescent , Adult , Arm/physiology , Blood Pressure/physiology , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Cardiac Output/physiology , Exercise Test , Heart Rate/physiology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Oxygen Consumption/physiology , Paraplegia/physiopathology , Pressure , Quadriplegia/physiopathology , Respiration/physiology , Stroke Volume/physiology , Tidal Volume/physiologyABSTRACT
This paper presents the results of an anthropometric survey conducted on Korean female workers in the garment industry. The data was collected as part of a project to modify work stations that utilized equipment from other countries. A set of 23 body dimensions were taken from a sample of 101 workers (aged 18-28 years). The anthropometric measurements are presented and compared with those of the Western and Japanese female. The results indicate that the body dimensions of the Korean female are different from those of both the Western and the Japanese female. The ratio of sitting height to standing height for the Korean female is closer to that of the Western female than it is the Japanese female.
