scholarly journals A study on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among ageing workforce of Indian construction industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arundhati Guha Thakurta ◽  
Rauf Iqbal

Ageing work force is one of the leading causes behind the reduction in the rate of growth of the labour force in construction industries. Construction industry is a major source of employment worldwide after agriculture, and generally the primary one in urban areas. Manual material handling in construction industries causes musculoskeletal disorders affecting both upper and lower extremities of the body. Studies on lower limb problems due to dynamic work like handling of heavy loads in construction industries are scanty.  To analyze the level of exertion, ergonomics risk factors and the prevalence of work-related lower limb disorders among the young and elderly construction workforce. 20 male construction workers in the age group of i) 20 to 30 years (golden age group); ii) 50 years and above were selected from a local construction site in Mumbai. Demographic data like age, height, weight, BMI, body fat, waist hip ratio and risk assessment by questionnaires study comprising QEC, NMQ, VAS, and LEFS were collected. Compared to the golden age group, the elderly subjects were found to feel uncomfortable to their lower back, knee and calf due to the immoderate forces and motions applied to their lower limbs during their daily work. Muscle pliability and proper coordination diminishes with age and it is appearing to be the most probable reason behind the pain experienced in their lower limbs might be due to improper techniques and postures. For elderly workers, age related limitations become an additional factor to maintain their normal work life.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Sun ◽  
Liuna Yang ◽  
Xinzhu Hu ◽  
Yalan Zhu ◽  
Boxi Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Injury is one of the major public health problems, which causes more than 5 million deaths in the world every year. Cases of specific types of injury put a tremendous threat to human health and also add a heavy medical burden on individuals and societies. This study was to calculate and analyze the current curative expenditure (CCE) of injury in Dalian and consequently to provide control strategies for decision-makers. Main text: A total of 565 medical institutions were selected with multistage stratified cluster random sampling, containing 4,375,351 valid samples. Subsequently, the distribution of injury CCE in different dimensions (including age and site of injury) was analyzed under the framework of System of Health Accounts 2011(SHA 2011) using the established database. There were increases from 32.36/100,000 in 2006 to 37.34/100,000 in 2017 and from 46.12/100,000 in 2006 to 54.48/100,000 in 2017 in urban and rural residents respectively. The study found that the CCE of injury in Dalian had reached 1572.73 million RMB, accounting for 7.45% of the total curative care expenditure. In the 15–25 age group, the cost of injury accounts for a larger proportion of CCE than other age groups. Among the injuries in different regions of the body, injuries to the spine, lower limb, head and foreign body entering cost the most. Conclusions Dalian has a relatively serious burden of injury costs. The essential and primary goal is to reduce the cost and increase the benefit of attending to patients with injuries. Specific control strategies should be tilted toward the age group 15–25. Injuries to the spine, lower limb, head and foreign body entering also should be priorities of interventions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 1739-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Aprigliano ◽  
Dario Martelli ◽  
Peppino Tropea ◽  
Guido Pasquini ◽  
Silvestro Micera ◽  
...  

This study was aimed at verifying whether aging modifies intralimb coordination strategy during corrective responses elicited by unexpected slip-like perturbations delivered during steady walking on a treadmill. To this end, 10 young and 10 elderly subjects were asked to manage unexpected slippages of different intensities. We analyzed the planar covariation law of the lower limb segments, using the principal component analysis, to verify whether elevation angles of older subjects covaried along a plan before and after the perturbation. Results showed that segments related to the perturbed limbs of both younger and older people do not covary after all perturbations. Conversely, the planar covariation law of the unperturbed limb was systematically held for younger and older subjects. These results occurred despite differences in spatio-temporal and kinematic parameters being observed among groups and perturbation intensities. Overall, our analysis revealed that aging does not affect intralimb coordination during corrective responses induced by slip-like perturbation, suggesting that both younger and older subjects adopt this control strategy while managing sudden and unexpected postural transitions of increasing intensities. Accordingly, results corroborate the hypothesis that balance control emerges from a governing set of biomechanical invariants, that is, suitable control schemes (e.g., planar covariation law) shared across voluntary and corrective motor behaviors, and across different sensory contexts due to different perturbation intensities, in both younger and older subjects. In this respect, our findings provide further support to investigate the effects of specific task training programs to counteract the risk of fall. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study was aimed at investigating how aging affects the intralimb coordination of lower limb segments, described by the planar covariation law, during unexpected slip-like perturbations of increasing intensity. Results revealed that neither the aging nor the perturbation intensity affects this coordination strategy. Accordingly, we proposed that the balance control emerges from an invariant set of control schemes shared across different sensory motor contexts and despite age-related neuromuscular adaptations.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meizhen Huang ◽  
Kit-lun Yick ◽  
Sun-pui Ng ◽  
Joanne Yip ◽  
Roy Cheung

Abstract Background: Diminished somatosensory function and lower plantar cutaneous sensitivity have been identified as a critical age-related change, which is related to postural instability in the older population. Footwear is suggested that can modulate the postural stability by altering the interface between the foot sole and the ground. However, it is unclear whether this footwear effect could also influence lower limb muscle activation for the elderly. This study aimed to investigate the footwear insole texture and supporting surface condition on static postural stability and lower limb muscle activation for healthy older people. Methods: This is a single-session study with repeated measurements. Twenty-three healthy older female stood on the firm (i.e., concrete floor) and foam surfaces with their eyes open in the three footwear conditions, namely barefoot, plain shoes and nodulous insole shoes, for 30 seconds. Static postural sway and muscle activation of biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL), tibialis anterior (TA), and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) of the dominant leg were measured during each testing condition. Results: compared to firm surface, standing on the foam could significantly increase the body sway and lower limb muscle activation (p<0.05); compared to barefoot, when standing on the foam, wearing footwear significantly decreased the VL and TA muscle activation and minimize the postural sway in ML and AP direction, while the influence is larger for the nodulous shoes compared to the plain shoes. A positive correlation was observed between the lower limb muscle activation and AP (r=0.327-0.389, p<0.001) and total sway path length (r=0.317-0.427, p<0.001). Conclusions: footwear could improve the postural stability and decease the fall risk comparing to barefoot when the somatosensory input is in disturbance, while the improvement is larger when wearing nodulous insole footwear for the elderly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Pedro Lukas do Rêgo Aquino ◽  
Erlan Pércio Lopes Rufino ◽  
Assíria Maria Santana Santos ◽  
Luana Cristina Rodrigues de Oliveira Costa ◽  
Camila Flach Weinmann ◽  
...  

Cervical glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is rare, and its early diagnosis and management is crucial to patient survival. In the young population, it’s even more difficult to diagnose. The main challenges in GBM therapy are associated with the location of the disease and its complex and heterogeneous biology. Here, we present a case of a 35-year-old female patient admitted due to complain of pain in her right lower limb. She reported the evolution of the condition for dysesthesia in upper limbs and lower limbs 4 weeks ago. MRI showed an intramedullary lesion extending from C2 to C5. The patient was managed surgically. The purpose of this report is to document this rare condition, especially in the young age group, and reveal the current knowledge regarding intramedullary GBM.


Machines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Xusheng Wang ◽  
Yongfei Feng ◽  
Jiazhong Zhang ◽  
Yungui Li ◽  
Jianye Niu ◽  
...  

Carrying out the immediate rehabilitation interventional therapy will better improve the curative effect of rehabilitation therapy, after the condition of bedridden stroke patients becomes stable. A new lower limb rehabilitation training module, as a component of a synchronous rehabilitation robot for bedridden stroke patients’ upper and lower limbs, is proposed. It can electrically adjust the body shape of patients with a different weight and height. Firstly, the innovative mechanism design of the lower limb rehabilitation training module is studied. Then, the mechanism of the lower limb rehabilitation module is simplified and the geometric relationship of the human–machine linkage mechanism is deduced. Next, the trajectory planning and dynamic modeling of the human–machine linkage mechanism are carried out. Based on the analysis of the static moment safety protection of the human–machine linkage model, the motor driving force required in the rehabilitation process is calculated to achieve the purpose of rationalizing the rehabilitation movement of the patient’s lower limb. To reconstruct the patient’s motor functions, an active training control strategy based on the sandy soil model is proposed. Finally, the experimental platform of the proposed robot is constructed, and the preliminary physical experiment proves the feasibility of the lower limb rehabilitation component.


1988 ◽  
Vol 153 (S3) ◽  
pp. 105-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Feighner ◽  
William F. Boyer ◽  
Charles H. Meredith ◽  
Gordon Hendrickson

During the past 75 years, the proportion of elderly individuals in the USA has grown twice as fast as the general population. Depression in this age-group occurs four times more frequently than in the general population (Butler, 1975), and the suicide rate for people over 65 years of age is 15 times greater than that of the general population (Lehman, 1980).The elderly may be more susceptible to depression due to biological and/or psychosocial variables. Elderly people experience significant losses associated with increasing age, including death of spouse and friends, loss of work, social status, and physical and mental abilities (Lehman, 1980). The biogenic amine hypothesis suggests that the aging brain may experience a decrease in the functional availability of neurotransmitters (Lehman, 1980); this decrease may also play a role in the aetiology of depression.Due to age-related changes in the body, the elderly can be more sensitive to drug therapy. Older patients may require careful dosage adjustments and may also be more prone to experiencing drug-related adverse events. The elderly often receive medication for various indications, and drug interactions are a concern (Thompson et al, 1983). Therefore, efficacy and safety studies of new antidepressants in elderly patients are particularly important. We pooled data from both double-blind and open-label studies to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fluoxetine in geriatric outpatients with DSM-III major depression. Positive results of fluoxetine in the treatment of geriatric depression were reported in one of these studies (Feighner & Cohn, 1985). The favourable safety and side-effect profile of fluoxetine in the general population has been discussed elsewhere (Wernicke, 1985). Plasma concentrations of fluoxetine in elderly subjects are similar to those in younger individuals (I.emberger et al, 1985). These findings, combined with a lack of cardiovascular effects (Fisch, 1985), and low lethality with overdose, indicated promise for fluoxetine as a geriatric antidepressant.


1997 ◽  
Vol 85 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1263-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiaki Yanagida ◽  
Takaaki Asami

We investigated age-related changes in the distribution of body weight on soles of feet in 878 healthy subjects ranging from 5 to 80 years of age. By modifying Morton's Staticometer, we constructed an instrument for measuring body-weight distribution over three areas of soles of the feet, the big toe (inner forefoot), the other four toes combined (outer forefoot) and the heels for both feet, thus a total of six areas. The weights in the six areas were recorded at the completion of nine selected actions and postures. We observed that for inhaling and exhaling standing postures, generally younger subjects had a ratio close to 1:2:3 for weights recorded for the inner toe:outer toes:heels as observed by Morton, but elderly subjects had a smaller value than 3 for the heel. The body-weight distribution tended to shift from heels to outer toes across age groups, which was more distinctly observed in women than in men.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Neeraj Varyani ◽  
Sunny Garg ◽  
Garima Gupta ◽  
Shivendra Singh ◽  
Kamlakar Tripathi

A 24-year-old pregnant female patient presented with complains of bilateral lower limb swelling and fever for 1 month. On examination, blood pressure was 144/94 mmHg along with pitting pedal edema. She had bizarre skin lesions, aligned longitudinally and distributed over the approachable site of the body with tapering ends and in various stages of healing. Lower limbs examination also revealed similar lesions with signs of cellulitis. Her scalp had short and distorted hair suggesting pulling and plucking. These skin lesions and the denial of self-infliction by the patient made us reach the diagnosis of dermatitis artefacta with trichotillomania. Psychotherapy was advocated along with conservative management of skin lesions. The patient improved and is under our follow up.


Author(s):  
Astrini Sie ◽  
Jonathan Realmuto ◽  
Eric Rombokas

Though there are a variety of prosthetic limbs that address the motor deficits associated with amputation, there has been relatively little progress in restoring sensation. Prosthetic limbs provide little direct sensory feedback of the forces they encounter in the environment, but “closing the loop” between sensation and action can make a great difference in performance [1]. For users of lower limb prostheses, stair descent is a difficult and dangerous task. The difficulty in stair descent can be attributed to three different factors: 1) Absence of tactile and haptic sensations at the bottom of the foot. Although force on the prosthetic socket provides some haptic feedback of the terrain being stepped on, this feedback does not provide information on the location of the staircase edge. 2) Insufficient ankle flexion of lower limb prostheses. Dorsiflexion of the physiological ankle during stair descent is about 27°. Even prostheses that provide active dorsiflexion provide less than this number, and regular prostheses provide almost no ankle dorsiflexion. The first two factors are analogous to the sensation of stair descent for someone without amputation wearing ski boots. 3) Prosthetic feet are optimized for flat-ground walking, offering undesirable energy storage at ankle flexion and energy return at toe-off. This can result in unwanted extra energy at the end of stance phase, propelling the user forward down the stairs. Most lower limb prosthesis designs focus on flat ground walking, but there has been less progress in addressing the challenges of stair descent. One technique that users of prosthetic lower limbs can use for addressing these challenges is to employ an “overhanging toe” foot placement strategy. Under this strategy, the edge of the staircase is used as a pivot point for the foot to roll over the stair. This reduces the need for ankle flexion by allowing the knee and hip to compensate, and avoids storing energy in the prosthetic spring. This strategy is dynamic, and requires the user to know the amount of toe overhang to adjust the movement of the rest of the body. Most haptic devices built to assist individuals wearing prostheses focus on upper extremity tasks [2–4] or standing and walking [5,6]. Whereas previous lower limb sensory replacement systems have targeted standing measures, here we focus on stair descent. The system provides cues of the stair edge location via vibrotactile stimulations on the thigh.


Author(s):  
Bhatt, Y. ◽  
Kulshrestha, K.

Globally, the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rising. To assess the trends in the age of occurrence of non-communicable, age-related diseases this study was performed in the three districts of Uttarakhand, in both rural and the urban settings. The study comprised of both male and female subjects between the age group of 15 years to 55 onwards. The respondents were categorized into three age groups range as- 15-35 years, 36-55 years, and above 56 years. Starting from the age of 5 years, each age group is also categorized decade-wise e.g. age group of 56 years and above was divided into six decades starting from the age of five years.  The present study showed that the occurrence of age-related diseases, among the age group 56 years and above, was seen during their 40s while in the other two age groups, occurrence was recorded in the 30s itself. Comparing the third decade, i.e., the 30s of all the three age groups, none of the subjects was suffering from age-related disease among 56 years and above while among 36-55 years of age, 0.57 percent and among 15-35 years of age, 1.35 percent of subjects suffered from hypertension. The occurrence of these diseases was more in the urban areas as compared to rural areas. These results throw an insight onto the necessity for government bodies to focus on key factors leading to this trend, improving health care quality, and emphasis on a healthy lifestyle.


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