Prevalence of and prevention for work-related upper limb disorders among physical therapists: a systematic review

A Simple Method to Optimally Select Upper-Limb Joint Angle Trajectories from Two Kinect Sensors during the Twisting Task for Posture Analysis

A trunk-twisting posture is strongly associated with physical discomfort. Measurement of joint kinematics to assess physical exposure to injuries is important. However, using a single Kinect sensor to track the upper-limb joint angle trajectories during twisting tasks in the workplace is challenging due to sensor view occlusions. This study provides and validates a simple method to optimally select the upper-limb joint angle data from two Kinect sensors at different viewing angles during the twisting task, so the errors of trajectory estimation can be improved. Twelve healthy participants performed a rightward twisting task. The tracking errors of the upper-limb joint angle trajectories of two Kinect sensors during the twisting task were estimated based on concurrent data collected using a conventional motion tracking system. The error values were applied to generate the error trendlines of two Kinect sensors using third-order polynomial regressions. The intersections between two error trendlines were used to define the optimal data selection points for data integration. The finding indicates that integrating the outputs from two Kinect sensor datasets using the proposed method can be more robust than using a single sensor for upper-limb joint angle trajectory estimations during the twisting task.

The Use of Instrument-Assisted Soft-Tissue Mobilization for Manual Medicine: Aiding Hand Health in Clinical Practice

Instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization (IASTM) represents a treatment strategy for soft tissue (skin) and musculoskeletal tissue (myofascia). There are different morphologies of these tools that are used by clinicians and manual therapists for the management of scars, fibrotic formations, muscle-joint pain, and movement limitations. The literature demonstrates the effectiveness of IASTMs in different clinical areas. However, the literature does not consider the use of these tools for the protection of the clinician’s hands. The main objective of this article is to draw attention to the fact that IASTM can protect clinicians from professional joint injuries of the hands and can likely become a preventive tool for the operator. Further research is needed to fully determine the positive adaptations in operators who use IASTMs compared to those who do not use them.