Effects of ProBody Massage on Body Alignment and Plantar Pressure Balance in Middle-aged Men with Musculoskeletal Diseases

Abstract

In this era, the middle-aged can be considered central to the overall advancement of society, as they provide a driving force for society as a whole (Jung, 2013). Inspection of recent demographics in South Korea revealed a gradual increase in the proportion of middle-aged men within the total population. According to data from Statistics Korea, the middle-aged population of 40to 59-year-olds in 2010 was 14.76 million, which was about 30% of the total population, and the number of middle-aged men was 7.36 million, which was approximately 15% of the total population (Statistics Korea, 2013). Recently, the incidence of factors threatening the health of middleaged men, such as overwork, stress, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption, has increased. These factors elevate the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and musculoskeletal diseases. In particular, office workers are known to develop more musculoskeletal diseases if they sit at a computer for long periods with incorrect posture (Lee, 2007; Ong, Chia, Jeysratnam, & Tan, 1995). Since musculoskeletal diseases became recognized as work-related disease in 1996, their incidence has steadily increased (Jeong, 2010), as has the proportion of total work-related diseases accounted for by musculoskeletal diseases. Consequently, systems to prevent musculoskeletal disease were introduced in 2003 for the benefit of business owners and workers alike (Seo, 2012). In 2009, musculoskeletal diseases accounted for 2,915 (33.4%) of 8,721 cases of work-related disease (Kim, Hwang, & Suk, 2013). Musculoskeletal diseases occur when the body is maintained in an unbalanced state, such as when sitting with poor posture in a chair for long periods (Hwang, 2012). Habitual poor posture causes deformity of the spine and gradual development of pain, eventually causing difficulties in activities of daily living (Im, 2003). Owing to a lack of awareness about the importance of posture, the number of people with low back pain (LBP) and other spinal diseases is increasing. In particular, LBP, as the most common spinal disease in South Korea, has grown beyond a personal health issue to become a societal issue as a whole. In 2000, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that the production loss due to LBP was 1.3072 trillion KRW (Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2000). With the spine at the center, our bodies should be balanced with left-right symmetry of the shoulders, pelvis, and lower limbs. When the proper posture is not maintained, this leads to a state of physical imbalance. Physical imbalance can generate pain and imbalance of the lower limbs, causing problems in the position of the feet or legs, or can cause KJSB Korean Journal of Sport Biomechanics 2016; 26(2): 213-220 http://dx.doi.org/10.5103/KJSB.2016.26.2.213 http://e-kjsb.org eISSN 2093-9752 ORIGINAL