스마트 자동차 좌석을 이용한 엉덩이의 동적 균형조절이 코어 등근육 활성도에 미치는 효과

Abstract

Sitting in a car seat for a long time causes fatigue in muscles such as trapezius and paraspinal muscles, which increases muscle fatigue and tension and eventually causes in degenerative spinal changes and pain. Therefore, the authors attempt to investigate the effect of trapezius and lower back muscle activity changes on whether fatigue may be improved by balancing the buttock contact pressure in the sitting position. The purpose of this study was to assess the electrophysiologic effect of dynamic balance control for the trapezius and lower core back muscles through wireless surface electromyographic evaluation using the smart car seat equipped with an ICT-based air bladder. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was measured for each 32 participant’s trapezius and lumbar back muscles in three phases: 1) initial on standing, 2) seated for 25 minutes without balancing ischial pressure, 3) seated for 25 minutes with balancing ischial pressure, and then sEMG was measured for 1 minute on the standing of three individual phases. In the trapezius and low back muscles, the sEMG value of the three-phase MVIC showed a statistically significant increase in the left side compared to the right side (p0.0001). % MVIC difference increased in unbalanced seating (7.32±0.83) compared to the initial measure (7.24±1.72). However, it decreased with balancing seating(6.73±1.81, p=0.049). There was no statistically significant difference in the overall %MVIC differences between both lower back muscles among three phases (p=0.35), but the balanced seating showed a slightly increased % MVIC difference (p=0.10) in contrast to that of the trapezius. Balanced control of hip pressure using automatic logic control of ICT-based smart car seats has the effect of reducing the left-right difference in muscle activity of upper core muscles compared to that of non-balanced seating. Conclusively, it is believed that the difference in the left and right imbalances in the activity of trapezius can be alleviated through the pressure balance seating at the driver’s seat, and the effect of improving muscle fatigue can be expected. Nevertheless, driving in a sitting position, regardless of balance control, the lower core muscles continue to increase the activity of the lumbar muscles, which inevitably causes pain, discomfort, and fatigue over time. Wireless bio-sensing and balanced seat control using ICT-integrated smart car seats can be used as important application science fields that can improve muscle fatigue and degenerative spinal changes associated with professional workers.