In this paper we relate a problem in representation theory - the study of Yetter-Drinfeld modules over certain braided Hopf algebras - to a problem in two-dimensional quantum field theory, namely, the identification of integrable perturbations of a conformal field theory. A prescription that parallels Lusztig's construction allows one to read off the quantum group governing the integrable symmetry. As an example, we illustrate how the quantum group for the loop algebra of sl(2) appears in the integrable structure of the perturbed uncompactified and compactified free boson. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.