ARUP; ISBN: 978-0-9562121-5-3 - CMBBE 2012 - Cardiff University

health area. According to estimates, 70-80 % of all people have back pain at some time
in life. Back pain disorders are becoming large socioeconomic burden in Korea
especially low back pain disorders are enormous. In Korea, work-related LBP was
reported about 15% of all work-related disorders for which workers’ compensation is
claimed, since the mid-1990s [7]. According to worker’s compensation statistics in
Korea, the occurrence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) increased
from 124 cases in 1998 to 4,532 in 2003 and then gradually decreased from 4,112 cases
in 2004 to 2,901 in 2005. In 2006, the figure increased again to 6,233 cases; however,
this was largely due to the inclusion of accidental low back pain as a type of WMSDs
[8]. As per NHIC-2010 report, 1.8 million people had back pain in 2006 was increased
to 2.19 million at 2010 by 1.2 times [9]. Therefore, protecting spinal column is
absolutely important. The fact is that traction is the only known conservative method
used to restore normal curves to the spine. Traction is simply a sustained force applied
to the spine in a specific direction, for the purpose of restoring normal spinal position.
These traction forces are necessary to reduce abnormal spinal curvatures, correct
abnormal postures, and will provide increased stability to damaged spines. The proper
application of spinal traction will ensure safety and effectiveness of care [10]. The
objective of traction is to produce a separating force over the intervertebral discs to
counteract the shrinkage caused by compressive loading and restore its mechanical
functioning, thereby relieving symptoms. Many studies have been performed to analyze
the effects of such procedures, in which unloading of the intervertebral discs has been
induced by a variety of means. These include gravitational inversion, manual traction,
mechanical traction and self-traction. Some degree of success from the use of spinal
traction has been suggested, although the benefits have not been always confirmed [11-
15]. The lack of standardization in terms of load and its magnitude constitutes a
confounding factor in attempting to understand the effects of spinal unloading.
This paper explains the development of the spinal traction guideline using Korean
lumbar shape and character. The three dimensional (3D) Korean spinal shapes has been
captured using 3D scanner and analyzed for the curvature. For safer spinal traction
pathway, the spinal shape templates have been created by considering Korean lumbar
shape characteristics. The traction rule has been developed by using back strength,
electromyography and character.
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Analysis of Spinal Curvature
For the spinal curvature analysis, the three-dimensional spinal shapes have been
captured from the subjects using 3D scanner. The Whole Body Color 3D Scanner from
Cyberware technology was used. The subjects were grouped by ages: in 20’s 83
subjects, in 30’s 104 subjects, in 40’s 60 subjects, and in 50’s 96 subjects [19]. The 3D
spinal shape such as curvature was extracted from captured data. The 3Dimensional
Measurement (3DS) program was used to measure the body dimensions.
3.2 Lumbar back strength and EMG measurement
For biomechanical studies at the spine the loads are an essential factor. The spine is
stabilized by muscle forces. Thus, the muscle forces are an important factor for the