Isometric push and pull strengths of agricultural workers from Northeast India

BACKGROUND: In agricultural farming operations, the incompatibility between operators’ physical capability and labor demands in the operation of tools and equipment results in a decreased performance, productivity, and safety related measures. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to collect a biomechanical database of push/pull strengths for initiating the development of a human-centered design of equipment that is not available for the intended user group, i.e. Nagaland. METHODS: The sample consisted of 399 male and 271 female agricultural workers from the five districts of Nagaland, aged 18 to 65 years, classified into three age groups. In the process of push and pull force measurements, the elbow angle of the participants were set to 30–120°, 120–130°, and 130–180°. All tests were performed in triplicates with a resting period of two minutes between every consequent recording. RESULTS: The results showed that isometric push and pull strength values (Mean±SD) for males were 18.91±4.67 kg and 17.98±3.97 kg respectively and 13.07±4.06 kg and 11.98±3.33 kg for females respectively. The results of independent samples from student’s t-test demonstrate that there was a substantial variance in the isometric push and pull strength values (p < 0.05) between the genders across the various age spectrum. CONCLUSIONS: With ageing, muscular strength for push-pull strength in males and females reduce. The study reports that the recommended value of male and female isometric push-pull strength for agricultural workers of Nagaland should be 5th percentile of female data i.e. 6.40 and 1.71 kg respectively.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Sport and Circulo Massages to Improve the Work Productiveness

Society's perception of people with different physical capabilities is that people with various physical capabilities might bring about nothing but catastrophe. Therefore, inclusive education implementation has related to society's problem perception should be improved. One way to improve the implementation of inclusive education is to pursue the development of the education system, evaluation system and career system to improve the productiveness so that the life quality might be better. In relation to the statement, the present study's objective is to identify the effectiveness of the sports massage and the circulo massage toward people productiveness with different physical capability based on the educational degree. During the study's conduct, the approach that had been adopted was the quasi-experimental approach with the factorial 2 x 2 design. The data were taken from the people with different physical capability who attended the training programs in the Integrated Rehabilitation Center for the People with Different Physical Capability. The samples were selected from the population by using the Purposive Sampling Technique. Then, in order to measure the productiveness, the researcher distributed a questionnaire to each sample. After the data had been gathered, the data were analysed using multivariate analysis with a significance level of 0.05. The results of the study show that the massage method that has shown the greatest improvement for the work productiveness is the one that has the following sequence: (1) sports massage for with school education; (2) circulo massage without school education; (3) sports massage without school education; and (4) circulo massage with school education. As a result, it might be concluded that the sports massage method with the school education has been the most effective method for improving the work productiveness, which consists of motivation, knowledge, skills, attitude and independence.

Relationship between Radiological Severity, Knee Pain and Functional Limitation in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis at Dr. M. Djamil Padang General Hospital

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease frequently affecting the elderly and the middle class due to injury or overuse of the joints. An individual with pain due to OA will experience dysfunction of joints and muscles, thus causing movement limitation, decrease of muscle strength and balance. The objective of this study is to know the association of OA radiological degree with pain intensity and limitation of physical capability in patients with knee joint OA. Methods: This study is a retrospective study on patients with knee joint OA treated at RSUP Dr. M. Djamil Padang in year 2021 from January 2021 to May 2021. Data collection was conducted in the Medical Records Department of RSUP Dr. M. Djamil Padang and questionnaire which fulfills the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A total of 58 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this study. Results of the study showed the mean age of the respondents was 60 years with variance of 7 years. More than a half (77.6%) of the respondents were female and most common ethnicity was Minang (82.8%). 50% of the patients were housewives. BMI of the respondents were mostly overweight - obese (65.5%). Most commonly affected side of the knee joint OA was the right side (55.2%). Most common degree of OA was the fourth degree (39.7%). More than a half of the respondents (84.5%) had moderate intensity of pain and 34.5% respondents had mild physical limitation. Results of the study showed that there was an association between OA radiological degree and pain intensity in patients with knee joint OA (p value = 0.0001). Results of the study showed that there was an association between OA radiological degree and level of physical capability limitations in patients with knee joint OA (p value = 0.0001). Results of the study showed that there was an association between pain intensity and level of physical capability limitations in patients with knee joint OA (p value = 0.0001). Conclusion: There was an association between OA radiological degree and pain intensity, physical limitations in patients with knee joint OA, and there was an association between pain intensity and level of physical capability limitation in patients with knee joint OA.

Relationship between Radiological Severity, Knee Pain and Functional Limitation in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis at Dr. M. Djamil Padang General Hospital

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease frequently affecting the elderly and the middle class due to injury or overuse of the joints. An individual with pain due to OA will experience dysfunction of joints and muscles, thus causing movement limitation, decrease of muscle strength and balance. The objective of this study is to know the association of OA radiological degree with pain intensity and limitation of physical capability in patients with knee joint OA. Methods: This study is a retrospective study on patients with knee joint OA treated at RSUP Dr. M. Djamil Padang in year 2021 from January 2021 to May 2021. Data collection was conducted in the Medical Records Department of RSUP Dr. M. Djamil Padang and questionnaire which fulfills the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A total of 58 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this study. Results of the study showed the mean age of the respondents was 60 years with variance of 7 years. More than a half (77.6%) of the respondents were female and most common ethnicity was Minang (82.8%). 50% of the patients were housewives. BMI of the respondents were mostly overweight - obese (65.5%). Most commonly affected side of the knee joint OA was the right side (55.2%). Most common degree of OA was the fourth degree (39.7%). More than a half of the respondents (84.5%) had moderate intensity of pain and 34.5% respondents had mild physical limitation. Results of the study showed that there was an association between OA radiological degree and pain intensity in patients with knee joint OA (p value = 0.0001). Results of the study showed that there was an association between OA radiological degree and level of physical capability limitations in patients with knee joint OA (p value = 0.0001). Results of the study showed that there was an association between pain intensity and level of physical capability limitations in patients with knee joint OA (p value = 0.0001). Conclusion: There was an association between OA radiological degree and pain intensity, physical limitations in patients with knee joint OA, and there was an association between pain intensity and level of physical capability limitation in patients with knee joint OA.

Factors associated with eating performance in older adults with dementia in long-term care facilities: a cross-sectional study

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing eating performance in older adults with dementia (OAWDs) in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Methods This cross-sectional study examined risk factors for compromised eating performance by comparing both independent and dependent older adults with dementia. The study participants were 117 OAWDs in LTC facilities in South Korea. Measurements included (a) general characteristics, (b) activities of daily living (ADL) including eating performance, (c) cognitive function, (d) physical capability, (e) grip strength, (f) Behavioral Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), and (g) depression. Data were analyzed by the percentage, mean and standard deviation, Chi-square test, t-test, and logistic regression. Results The eating independent group had more comorbidities than the dependent group (t = 2.793, p < .006); had significantly higher cognition (t = 4.108, p < .001) and physical capability (t = 5.258, p < .001); and had stronger grip strength (t = 2.887, p = .005). Comorbidities and physical capability were determinants for independent eating performance (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.969, p = .014; OR = 1.324, p < .001). Conclusions It is suggested that maintaining physical capability should be encouraged to support independent eating performance by OAWDs in LTC facilities. The results of this study could serve as a basis for developing function-focused care to maintain the residual eating performance of OAWDs in Korean LTC facilities. This is a subject area that has not been fully explored.

Exploring the Perceived Barriers and Benefits of Physical Activity Among Wounded, Injured, and/or Sick Military Veterans

Wounded, injured, and/or sick (WIS) military veterans face significant physical and psychosocial challenges following discharge from service. Physical activity can have many positive effects on the holistic wellbeing of such individuals. However, little knowledge exists regarding the perceived barriers and benefits of physical activity within this population, creating challenges surrounding physical activity promotion. Therefore, this study was designed to identify key barriers and benefits among this population, so that informed approaches to encourage participation in physical activity can be developed. A questionnaire related to the perceived barriers and benefits of physical activity was completed by 105 WIS British military veterans. Participants were predominantly male, physically active, served in the British Army, and described their injury as frequently impacting their daily living. Factor analysis revealed that poor mental health, negative beliefs about physical activity, and low beliefs about physical capability were prominent barriers represented in the data. However, only veterans’ beliefs about their physical capability were related to physical activity levels and differed between active and insufficiently active participants. Beliefs identified as benefits of physical activity that correlated with physical activity levels were improved mental and physical health, a sense of purpose, and increased physical fitness. Subsequently, barriers and benefits were categorized using the Behaviour Change Wheel, a behavior change framework, that indicated intervention functions of education, incentivization, and persuasion might be effective methods of increasing physical activity behavior among WIS veterans. Ultimately, this will lead to greater engagement with physical activity and improved health and wellbeing within this population.

Egyptian students’ disinterest in overseas academic mobility: A behavioural approach based on the capability-opportunity-motivation model

This study uses the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour framework as a theoretical basis and PLS-SEM as an empirical research method to identify factors that influence the interest in studying abroad. We rely on primary micro-data collected through a self-administered questionnaire among Egyptian students and apply a structural equation model to estimate the different relationships. Our analysis yields interesting results: (i) 58% of our respondents are somehow interested in studying abroad; (ii) physical capability, physical opportunity and automatic motivation are the main predictors of interest in overseas academic mobility; (iii) a three-pillar policy programme based on guidelines, communication and marketing and regulation could be implemented to promote the interest of young Egyptians in studying abroad.