We investigated the association between hand grip strength (HGS) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A total number of 9,211 participants from the sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2014– 2015) were included. HRQOL was measured by EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) and EQ-5D index score. Participants were classified as normal HRQOL group or impaired HRQOL group according to the EQ-5D responses and the EQ-5D index scores. HGS was measured using Takei dynamometer. Impaired HRQOL group represented lower mean HGS than that of normal HRQOL group. According to the quintile groups of HGS, group with the lowest HGS showed the lowest mean EQ-5D index score in both sexes. And the more HGS increases, the more EQ-5D index score increases also (p-value for trend <0.001). Men and women with lower grip strength were more likely to report ‘some’ or ‘extreme problem’ in EQ-5D domains (except anxiety/depression and pain/discomfort domain in men), and also more likely to belong to the lowest 20% level group in EQ-5D index score according to logistic analyses. Our findings suggest that HGS is associated HRQOL. Low HGS is associated with impaired status of HRQOL by EQ-5D and EQ-5D index score in Korean men and women. More research is needed to evaluate the specific plausibility between HGS and HRQOL.
Adult* ; Female ; Hand Strength* ; Hand* ; Humans ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Quality of Life*

Regular exercise and a certain level of physical activity reduce the mortality rate in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of physical activity on the prevention of fracture in the middle aged or older in Korea. The basic data are based on the Ansan and Ansung community cohort studies of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001, and the fracture data from the third survey in 2005 to the sixth survey in 2011. The physical activity of the aged in the 40s was mostly distributed in the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended range of 7.5 to 30.0 metabolic equivalent·hr/wk, and the activity was gradually divided into the low and high groups in the 50s and 60s. In the 60s, the risk of fracture was reduced to 0.63 times compared to that of the 50s when physical activity was the recommended level (odds ratio, 0.63; p<0.001). For Korean adults, there was no significant difference in fracture incidence according to the amount of physical activity in the middle-aged people. However, for the elderly aged 60 and over, the risk of fracture decreased when the WHO recommended level of activity was performed, and the risk increased when less or more activities were performed.
Adult* ; Aged ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Cohort Studies* ; Epidemiology ; Fractures, Bone ; Genome ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Motor Activity* ; World Health Organization

The pathophysiology of impingement syndrome and labral tear was variable and not clear. In general populations, lesions occur mainly in acute cases. But in athletes, lesions are caused by repetitive exposure to excessive force, resulting in different patterns. For diagnosis, thorough physical examinations and radiologic findings should be combined. In athletes, conservative treatment including posterior capsular stretching and periscapular muscle strengthening is recommended as the first choice of treatment considering chronic progression and adaptive change. When choosing surgical treatment because of failure of conservative treatment, careful attention should be paid to the choice of repair or debridement of the rotator cuff partial tear, and the choice of the labral repair or biceps tenodesis.
Athletes* ; Debridement ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder Impingement Syndrome ; Tears* ; Tenodesis

Overhead athletes often suffer from elbow injuries due to repetitive throwing movements. In particular, in the baseball pitching motion, a high shear torque generated in the late corking and early acceleration stage causes tensile loads on the medial elbow and shear force on the posterior of the elbow. These repetitive movements can lead to valgus extension overload syndrome. The valgus extension overload syndrome mainly occurs in overhead athletes, and is characterized by limited elbow flexion and pain at the end of extension. It is necessary to differentiate from the stress fracture or the avulsion fracture of the olecranon which complain of posterior elbow pain through computed tomography. The treatment is primarily rehabilitation that restricts the elbow motion. If refractory or mechanical symptoms persist, arthroscopic surgery may be an effective treatment modality for the removal of the osteophytes. In the surgical field, it is desirable to reconstruct the medial collateral ligament when it is confirmed that the ligament is ruptured. Patients who underwent arthroscopic removal of olecranon osteophytes had immediate active elbow exercises and for 3 months were prohibited from pitching exercises. During this period, they were rehabilitated with the focus on strengthening muscles around the scapula, rotator cuff and shoulder. After 3 months, the pitching exercise is gradually started. Six months after the operation, the elbow strength should be restored to the level at which the game starts. Patients who underwent a combined ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, half pitching are allowed at 6 months.
Acceleration ; Arthroscopy ; Athletes* ; Baseball ; Collateral Ligaments ; Elbow* ; Exercise ; Fractures, Stress ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Muscles ; Olecranon Process ; Osteophyte ; Rehabilitation ; Rotator Cuff ; Scapula ; Shoulder ; Torque

The definition of osteochondral lesion of the talus (OLT) is any defect involving both the articular surface and the subchondral bone of the talus. Many of these lesions are associated with acute ankle injury. Although many classification schemes for OLT have been proposed, Berndt and Harty's 4-staging classification is most commonly used. Stage 4 lesions and symptomatic lesions under grade 3 are usually recommended to surgical treatment. The treatment approach for athletes should be more elaborate due to the need for an early return to play. Several different types of treatment are described for OLTs in athletes, including bone marrow stimulation, osteochondral autograft transfer system, and autogenous chondrocyte implantation. Osteochondral autograft transfer system shows good clinical outcome and has the advantages that could be applied to large defect and recurred lesions, however, it has some disadvantages in terms of the complications related with the donor site and the difficult approach to the medial lesions. Although autogenous chondrocyte implantation has been extensively applied for treating OLTs with successful clinical outcomes, it has some limitations that apply to athletes in terms of the 2-stage and complicated procedure and the insurance issues. Bone marrow stimulation being a simple and cost-effective procedure associated with a low complication rate and low postoperative pain has faster return to play and is recommended the first-line treatment for the OLTs of athletes.
Ankle Injuries ; Athletes* ; Autografts ; Bone Marrow ; Chondrocytes ; Classification ; Humans ; Insurance ; Pain, Postoperative ; Return to Sport ; Talus* ; Tissue Donors

Fractures of the lateral process of the talus (LPT) are considered rare, accounting for less than 1% of all ankle injuries in the general population. These fractures are nearly 15 times more likely to occur in snowboarders. Recently, the number of population who started enjoying cable-wakeboard is increasing and this sport may cause fracture of the LPT by axial loading occur on the LPT while boarding or trick. We report on a case of involving LPT fracture during cable-wakeboard trick with successful screw osteosynthesis.
Ankle Injuries ; Skiing ; Sports ; Talus

Medial epicondylitis, also known as “golfer's elbow,” is a common overuse syndrome of the elbow and predominantly affects the origin of the common flexor tendon. We report two unique cases of medial epicondylitis complicated by chronic complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and common flexor tendon origin. Physical examination showed a focal huge swelling of medial epicondylar region of the dominant elbow and magnetic resonance imaging revealed complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and common flexor tendon and extravasation of intra-articular effusion. Satisfactory results were achieved with ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction and simultaneous repair of the common flexor tendon origin.
Collateral Ligaments* ; Cumulative Trauma Disorders ; Elbow* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Physical Examination ; Tears* ; Tendons

Isolated stress fracture of the first rib is quite rare cause of uncertain shoulder pain in athletes. These fractures are stress induced and precipitated by repeated traction of muscles acting on the first rib. A prompt diagnosis can shorten the time required for healing and decrease the risk of associated complication as nonunion or pseudoarthrosis. The diagnosis can be made by taking a thorough history and performing chest X-ray, computed tomography, or bone scan. Early recognition and proper management generally lead to successful outcomes and return to normal activities. Typically, they heal with conservative treatment with rest and mild analgesia. This report describes stress fractures of bilateral first rib in a weightlifter, one of which developed into a pseudoarthrosis as a result of persistent overhead activities due to missed diagnosis.
Analgesia ; Athletes ; Diagnosis ; Fractures, Stress* ; Humans ; Muscles ; Pseudarthrosis* ; Ribs* ; Shoulder Pain* ; Shoulder* ; Thorax ; Traction

This study aims to examine the effect of 8-week 11+ program on technical skills and balance abilities of high school soccer players. This study targeted 40 soccer players from G and K club in Gyeonggi-do and 20 players from G team and 20 players from K team were placed in the training group and the control group, respectively. For data analysis, variable values of the two groups before and after intervention were calculated as averages and standard deviations using the SPSS ver. 21.0 statistic program. For analyzing within-group differences, paired t-test was conducted and for analyzing between-group differences, independent sample t-test was conducted. The statistical significance level was set at 0.05. The major study findings are as follows. First, the 11+ program was more effective in improving Jug 200 and short pass ability than static stretching. Second, the 11+ program was more effective in the posteromedial and posterolateral areas of Y-balance test than static stretching. These results demonstrate that the 11+ program is relatively effective in improving technical skills and balance abilities of soccer players. Therefore, it is considered that it is important to introduce and distribute the 11+ program to leaders, who are responsible for enhancing skills of soccer players.
Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Muscle Stretching Exercises ; Postural Balance ; Proprioception ; Soccer* ; Statistics as Topic ; Warm-Up Exercise

Decompression sickness is a self contained underwater breath apparatus (SCUBA)-related injury with various symptoms and is considered an extreme emergency condition. This is a case of pulmonary involvement in decompression sickness in a 26-year-old SCUBA diver. Although pulmonary involvement in decompression sickness is a potentially severe condition that requires immediate treatment, this condition can be under- or misdiagnosed, and evaluation of this disease by imaging findings is not clearly understood. We experienced a case of pulmonary involvement in decompression sickness and herein present the chest computed tomography and simple radiograph findings associated with this condition.
Decompression ; Decompression Sickness ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Thorax