Background: Lumbar Joint Mobilization (LJM) applies rhythmic forces to lumbar joints to improve mechanics and pain. Recent evidence suggests potential benefits for somatosensory input and postural control, though direction-specific effects remain unclear. Objectives: To investigate short-term effects of LJM on standing stability and trunk control through pre-post intervention comparison. Design: Quasi-experimental study. Methods: Twenty-five participants were randomized to experimental (n=13) or control (n=12) groups. Single-leg balance was assessed using force platform measurement with eyes open/closed conditions. The experimental group received Maitland-technique LJM including spinal compression, lateral compression, transverse process mobilization, rotational oscillation, and traction. Balance parameters included medio-lateral standard deviation (ML-SD), anteroposterior standard deviation (AP-SD), sway area, and path length. Results: The experimental group demonstrated significant medio-lateral stability enhancement (64% ML-SD reduction, P =0.003) with significant group×time interaction (F=4.20, P=0.043, η²p=0.044). Sway area decreased by 67% and path length showed large effect size (d=1.19, P<0.001). Improvements occurred in both visual conditions without increased visual dependence (stable Romberg Quotient), indicating somatosensory-driven enhancement. Machine learning classification achieved near-perfect accuracy (AUC=1.000). Conclusion: LJM produces immediate, direction-specific improvements in lateral trunk control through enhanced somatosensory feedback. Larger trials with long-term follow-up are needed to confirm sustained benefits.

Background: Emotional labor, the management of feelings to create organizationally desired emotional displays, has been consistently associated with adverse health outcomes in Western populations. However, cultural context may fundamentally alter these relationships in Asian service economies. Objectives: To examine temporal trends in emotional labor prevalence and investigate associations between emotional labor and health outcomes among Korean service workers over a 17-year period. Design: Repeated cross-sectional study. Methods: We analyzed data from seven waves of the Korean Working Conditions Survey (2006-2023), comprising 271,039 observations. Emotional labor was assessed using validated items measuring frequency of hiding feelings and managing customer emotions. Health outcomes included psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, fatigue) and physical symptoms (musculoskeletal disorders, headaches, gastrointestinal problems). We employed multivariable logistic regression, fixed-effects models, and mediation analyses, adjusting for sociodemographic and occupational factors. Results: Emotional labor exposure remained stable at approximately 3.0 (5- point scale) from 2014-2023. Health problem prevalence was consistently around 60% across all survey years. Contrary to hypotheses, emotional labor showed no significant association with health problems (OR=0.999, 95% CI: 0.993-1.005, P=0.735). These null findings persisted in fixed-effects analyses (β=-0.0003, P=0.736), gender-stratified models, and interaction tests. The Cochran-Armitage trend test revealed no temporal trends (P=0.865). Mediation analysis found no indirect effects through psychological hazards. Notably, this finding represents a paradoxical discovery that challenges Western-centric assumptions about the universality of emotional labor's health effects. Conclusion: Despite high statistical power and comprehensive methodology, we found no evidence linking emotional labor to health problems in Korean workers. These unexpected findings challenge the assumed universality of emotional labor's health effects and suggest cultural factors may fundamentally modify occupational stress pathways. Western-derived theoretical models may require substantial adaptation for Asian contexts where emotional regulation represents normative social behavior rather than occupational burden.

Background: A recent study found that pain neuroscience education (PNE) alters pain intensity, knowledge of pain, disability, psychological function, and pain behavior in patients with musculoskeletal pain. However, they noted that PNE alone was not sufficient to affect chronic low back pain (CLBP) reduction. Objectives: To investigated the effect of CLBP on the PNE combined with lumbar mobilization. Design: Quasi-experiment study. Methods: A total of 33 patients aged 25 to less than 65, recruited from L-hospital for low back pain in Chungcheongnam-do. Out of 33 subjects, 17 were pain neuroscience education combined with lumbar mobilization group (PLMG) and 16 were lumbar mobilization group (LMG). The outcome was visual analogue scale (VAS), oswestry disability index (ODI) and the fear avoidance beliefs questionnaire (FABQ). The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS ver. 21.0 program by paired t-test and independent t-test. Results: PLMG was indicated statistically significant decrease in VAS, ODI and FABQ before and after intervention. However, there were statistically significant changes in VAS and ODI before and after intervention in LMG. PLMG and LMG before and after intervention indicated statistically significant differences in VAS, ODI and FABQ. Conclusion: The inclusion of PNE combined with lumbar mobilization in patients with CLBP is a promising and feasible approach to the management of CLBP.