Manohar Arumugam

The Bahasa Melayu version of Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ): Reliability and validity study in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was developed to assess the level of musculoskeletal discomfort among office workers related to their ergonomic situation. OBJECTIVE The primary objective of this initial study is to analyze the validity and dependability of the Malay translation of the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire. METHODS The questionnaire was self-administered two times, with an interval of two weeks in order to evaluate the accuracy of the original findings with a retest. The study involved 115 participants. RESULTS The range of Cronbach Alpha coefficient showed a considerable consistency of the items for each sub-scale (Cronbachs a > 0.95). The range of Kappa coefficients was between (ICC = 0.690-0.949, p < 0.001), (ICC = 0.801-0.979, p < 0.001) and (ICC = 0.778-0.944, p < 0.001) for frequency, severity and interference scales. CONCLUSIONS This research, introduced the Malay-language version of the CMDQ (CMDQ-M) as the first formal validation of the CMDQ, and confirmed a high reliability and validity for the evaluation of musculoskeletal discomfort among the study population.

Use of simulation to solve outpatient clinic problems: A review of the literature

The increasing demand for outpatient services has led to overcrowded clinics, long waiting times for patients, and extended staff working hours in outpatient clinics. Simulation tools have been used to ameliorate deficiencies in the appointment system, resource allocation, and patient flow management that are the root causes of these problems. Integrated studies that considered these three factors together produced better results than attempts to resolve individual causes. While simulation has proved to be an effective problem-solving tool for outpatient clinic management, there is still room for improvement. This paper reviews studies over the past 50 years that have applied management simulation to resolve outpatient clinic problems.

Prevalence Rate of Musculoskeletal Discomforts Based on Severity Level Among Office Workers

Summary There are a variety of body aches that fall under the umbrella term of Musculoskeletal Discomforts (MSDs). These can be distinguished based on the level of pain suffered by the patient, ranging from mild and sporadic to serious, constant and fatal. It has been suggested that a link exists between MSDs and risk factors involving one’s occupational conditions and physicality. Examining the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal discomforts based on the severity among office workers was the main objective of this study. In order to achieve this objective, we had, in February 2015, selected from a population of 20 000 Malaysian office workers, 753 subjects within the age range of 20-50 years who have had a minimum of a year’s working experience. For this study, a form of structured questionnaire, known as the Cornell questionnaire, has been evaluated and put to use. Under the watch of the researchers, the subjects were instructed to complete the questionnaire in the morning before they begin their respective jobs. Based on their responses, the Cornell questionnaire has revealed that at least one case of severe pain in the neck, shoulder or lower back, respectively, is suffered by 69.7% of the subjects. In the case of neck-related aches, 15% low pain, whereas 51% involved mild pain and 33.9% were cases of severe pain. That being said, 19.3% low pain in the lower back, while 50.7% suffered from mild pain and 30% had severe pain in the same region. Percentages of 34.9% for high severity, 45.4% for mild severity and 19.7% for low severity were simultaneously reported in the shoulder section. In a nutshell, the study has revealed that, in comparison with body aches in the arms, knees, upper back, forearms, wrists, hands, hips and thighs, the subjects are more vulnerable to body aches in the neck, shoulders and lower back.

Using Design of Experiments Methods for Assessing Peak Contact Pressure to Material Properties of Soft Tissue in Human Knee

Contact pressure in the knee joint is a key element in the mechanisms of knee pain and osteoarthritis. Assessing the contact pressure in tibiofemoral joint is a challenging mechanical problem due to uncertainty in material properties. In this study, a sensitivity analysis of tibiofemoral peak contact pressure to the material properties of the soft tissue was carried out through fractional factorial and Box-Behnken designs. The cartilage was modeled as linear elastic material, and in addition to its elastic modulus, interaction effects of soft tissue material properties were added compared to previous research. The results indicated that elastic modulus of the cartilage is the most effective factor. Interaction effects of axial/radial modulus with elastic modulus of cartilage, circumferential and axial/radial moduli of meniscus were other influential factors. Furthermore this study showed how design of experiment methods can help designers to reduce the number of finite element analyses and to better interpret the results.

Office Exercise Training to Reduce and Prevent the Occurrence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Office Workers: A Hypothesis

Pain in specific areas of the body (including the lower back, neck, and shoulders) due to extended periods of sitting and inactivity is the most widespread musculoskeletal disorder worldwide and has consequences that are both socio-economic and personal. This condition is particularly prevalent in industrialised countries, affecting roughly 70% to 80% of adults at some point in their lives; approximately 1% of the U.S. population is chronically disabled by this type of pain disorder. A practical way to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among office workers would have a significant positive impact. More work is required to develop a package of exercises designed to prevent and treat musculoskeletal pain in office workers. Such a package would be preferable to pharmacological treatments, which can have undesirable side effects. The main objective of this package would be to increase the flexibility and strength of trunk muscles in order to decrease the soreness, pain, and degree of discomfort. In this article, we introduce our proposed package of exercises, which are based on guidelines issued bythe American College of Sports Medicine.