ABSTRACT
Rungthip Puntumetakul1 1Back, Neck and Other Joint Pain Research Group, Division of Physical Therapy,
Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand
wiceun@yahoo.com 2Back, Neck and Other Joint Pain Research Group, Department of Production
Technology, Faculty of Technology, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand
3Edwards P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7906, USA
The work force in Thailand currently includes a major adolescent segment. These persons seek to maintain a stylish appearance at work and tight tops and trousers are popular clothing choices. However, such clothing may lead to joint mobility restrictions and compensatory responses at the spine. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of wearing tight pants on lumbar spine movement and low-back discomfort in simulations of manual material handling (MMH) tasks. Twenty young adults participated in the study with a balance for gender. During test trials, participants performed box lifting, liquid container handling while squatting, and forward reaching while sitting on a task chair when wearing tight vs. fit pants. Each task was repeated three times and video recordings were made as a basis for measuring lumbar range of motion (ROM).
