• PNF and Movement
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.203-213
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• 2015

Purpose: Deficits in lower-extremity function and trunk control ability have a negative impact on individuals with hemiplegia. This case report aimed to describe the effect of trunk stability exercises using proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on trunk control ability, balance, and gait in a patient with hemiplegia. Methods: A 77-year-old man with hemiplegia and trunk and lower extremity impairment participated in this four-week training intervention. Results: The patient demonstrated improvements in trunk control ability, balance, and gait performance. Outcome measures (Fugl-Meyer Assessment Lower Extremity (FMA-LE), Trunk Control Test, Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go test, 10 Meter Walk test) were measured before and after the training program. Conclusion: The results of this case suggest that a trunk stability exercise using a PNF program may improve trunk control ability, balance, and gait in a patient with hemiplegia.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.106-112
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• 2016

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of resistant exercise on the gait performance of a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient. Design: A case study. Methods: A 30-year-old male adult who had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythmatosus (SLE) in April 2013, right middle cerebral artery infarction, and with left hemiplegia agreed to participate in this case study. Patient was unable to walk due to being affected with adynamia. Due to developing necrotizing vasculitis on the left lower extremity, patient underwent a myotomy on the left thigh. The patient was trained with a progressive resistant exercise program for 8 weeks. An intensity of 15 RM was used for the resistant exercises and the resistance level was increased progressively in order to improve the muscle power of the patient. Methods used to increase resistance included changing positions, providing mechanical resistance instead of manual resistance, transitioning from open kinetic chain to closed kinetic chain exercises, and changing the colors of the theraband to those with increase level of resistance. Outcome measures included the 5-repetition sit-to- stand test (5RSST), Timed Up & Go (TUG), and 10-meter walk test (10MWT). In addition, the GAITRite was used to assess the spatio-temporal gait variables, including gait speed, cadence, stride length of the left side, and double limb support pre and post-intervention. Results: The patient was able to perform sit-to- stand after two weeks of performing the resistant exercises. The patient was able to walk after 4 weeks, and the patient's overall gait performance had improved after 8 weeks. All of the variables had improved after each week. Conclusions: The results of this case study may be used to enhance future efforts to objectively evaluate resistant exercises during gait performance in persons affected by SLE.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.185-194
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to prove the effects of the PNF patterns combined with whole-body vibration (PWBV) training on muscle strength, balance, walking speed, and endurance in stroke patients. Methods: Sixteen subjects were randomly assigned to the PWBV group (n=8) and the whole-body vibration (WBV) group (n=8). The PWBV group performed PNF pattern exercises using sprinter combined with WBV, while the WBV group performed using squatting for 30 minutes. Both groups performed therapeutic interventions five days per week over a period of four weeks. The manual muscle test, timed up and go test (TUG), 10-meter walk test (10MWT), and six-minute walk test (6MWT) were used to assess the muscle strength, balance, and gait of the participants. The SPSS Ver. 19.0 statistical program was used for data processing. Statistical analysis included a pared t-test to compare the pre- and post-intervention, and an independent t-test was used to compare groups. The significance level was set as 0.05. Results: The PWBV group and WBV group showed significant improvements in the TUG, 10MWT, and 6MWT (P<0.05). Significant differences between the PWBV and WBV groups were found (P<0.05). Conclusion: The PWBV improved muscle strength, balance, gait speed, and endurance in stroke patients. Thus, PWBV may be suggested as a therapeutic intervention in patients with stroke hemiplegia.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.25-35
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• 2020

Background: There are many situations where walking in an actual community needs to change direction along with walking on a straight path, and this situation needs to be reflected in assessing walking ability of the community. Therefore, in this study, we tried to determine whether the assessments can distinguish the level of walking in the community. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Fifty-two survivors with chronic stroke have participated in the study. According to the evaluation result of 10mWT, the subjects of 0.8m/s and above were classified as the group who could walk in the community (n=22), and the subjects of 0.4m/s~0.8m/s were classified into the group who could not walk in the community (n=30). Modified Rivermead Mobility Index, Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke, Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Berg Balance Scale, 10-meter Walk Test (10mWT) were used to evaluate the motor skills. Furthermore, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale was used to evaluate psychological factors, and Timed Up & Go Test (TUG), Figure-of-Eight Walk Test (F8WT), Four Square Step Test (FSST), Step Test (ST) were applied to evaluate dynamic balance and mobility. Results: As a result for distinguishing walking levels in the community, TUG was 14.25 seconds, F8WT was 13.34 seconds, FST was 19.43 seconds, and ST of affected side and non-affected side were 6.5 points and 7.5 points, respectively. TUG (AUC=0.923), F8WT (AUC=0.905), and FST (AUC=0.941) were highly accurate, but the ST of affected side and non-affected side (AUC=0.806, 0.705) showed the accuracy of the median degree, respectively. Conclusion: To distinguish walking levels in the community of survivors with chronic stroke, TUG and FSST have been found to be the best assessment tool, and in particular, FSST could be very valuable in clinical use as the most important assessment tool to distinguish walking levels in the community.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.13-21
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of action observational training with acoustic stimulation (AOTA) on the balance and gait ability in stroke patients. METHODS: Forty-five chronic stroke patients were divided into three groups. The AOTA group (n = 15) received training via a video that showed a normal gait with the sound of footsteps. The action observation training (AOT) group (n = 15) received AOT without acoustic stimulation. The control group (n = 15) received physical training. Each intervention was applied once per day, three times per week for six weeks. The participants in the AOTA and AOT groups had five minutes of AOT. The participants in the all group had 20 minutes of physical training. All participants were measured using the Berg Balance Scale, the Timed Up and Go Test, the Functional Reaching Test, 10 Meter Walk Test, six Minute Walk Test, and Dynamic Gait Index. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 for Windows. The between- and within-group comparisons were analyzed using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and a paired t-test, respectively. For all statistical analyses, the significance level was set to .05. RESULTS: The one-way ANOVA test identified significant differences among the measurement results of the three groups (p < .05). Post hoc analyses indicated the AOTA group to undergo more significant balance and gait changes than the control group (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The gait and balance abilities could be improved effectively for patients with stroke when action observation training and acoustic stimulation were applied simultaneously.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.109-113
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fall experience and task complexity on gait performance in community-dwelling persons with chronic hemiparetic stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Thirty-three persons who had a history of stroke participated in this study. The participants included 18 persons (aged mean 54.0, mean score of 24.6 points on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA) with fall experience (faller group) and 15 persons (aged mean 53.7, mean score of 24.7 points on the MoCA) without fall experience (non-faller group) in the previous six months. This study measured balance and gait performance at two different conditions (with/without 70% of water filled in a 200 cc cup). The participants were clinically assessed using the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), Berg Balance scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), and Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test. Results: After analyzation, persons in the faller group performed significantly better on the 10MWT, 6MWT, BBS, DGI, and the TUG test in the no-cup-carrying condition than those in the cup-carrying condition (p<0.05). The persons in the non-faller group also performed significantly better in all outcome measures with the no-cup-carrying condition than those in the cup-carrying condition (p<0.05). However, there was no interaction between fall experience and task complexity in the two groups. Conclusions: Our results showed that balance and gait performance depended on fall experience and task complexity but fall experience did not interact with task complexity. Clinicians should consider fall prevention and task complexity during therapeutic approaches in persons with hemiparetic stroke.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.546-552
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare walking speed and balance abilities according to various taping methodsin patients with stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study Methods: Twenty patients with stroke who were hospitalized at a rehabilitation hospital were allotted to the either the talus stabilization, Kinesio or sham taping, or barefoot conditions by drawing lots. Assessment tools used were the Functional Reach Test(FRT), Timed Up and Go test(TUG), One-Legged Stance Test (OLST), and the 10-Meter Walk Test(10MWT).After each test was measured three times, the mean values of each test was used for analysis. Results: Significant results were observed with thetalus stabilization and Kinesio taping groupcompared to the barefoot and sham taping method for theFRT,TUG, the OLST, and the 10MWT(p<0.05). Also, significant differences in the resultswere seen in the OLST, TUG, and the 10MWTwith the talus taping compared to the Kinesio taping method(p<0.05). Conclusions: The use oftalus stabilization taping applied to the ankle of patients with stroke was more effective for balance and walking ability improvement than Kinesio taping through the correction of an abnormal position of the talus.It is considered that these methods of taping can be applied effectively in the clinic.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2012

Purpose : We investigated the effects of the combined use of FES and over ground walking with partial body-weight support (PBWS) on walking function and balance control in people with chronic strokes. Methods : Twenty-seven people who were ambulatory after chronic strokes were evaluated. The exercise's intervention consisted of the combined use of FES and over ground walking with PBWS and general exercise groups. The FES + PBWS group and general exercise group consisted on a-20-minute session per day, 3 times a week during a 4 week period. The evaluation was carried out before, after, and two weeks after the exercise intervention. Outcome measures were a 6 Minute Walk Test, 6-Meter walk Test, Timed Up and Go Test, and a Balance Test, measured before and after the exercise interventions at a-2 week follow up. Results : The endurance was significantly increased in both the FES+PBWS group and general exercise group (p<0.05). Significant increase on the gait velocity was observed in both the FES+PBWS group and general exercise group (p<0.05). The TUG was significantly different in both the FES + PBWS group and general exercise group (p<0.05). However there were no differences in both the between-group & interaction. The stability index was significantly different in both the FES + PBWS group and general exercise group (p<0.05). Conclusion : In conclusion, the combined use of FES and over ground walking with PBWS led to an improvement in walking function and balance control. Thus, it is possible to combine the use of FES and over ground walking with PBWS for physical therapy intervention to improve walking function and balance control. It is suggested to apply this intervention in the clinical field.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.356-366
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to compare gait ability through gait evaluations in indoor and outdoor environments according to the general characteristics and walking ability of stroke patients. Design: Crossed-sectional study. Methods: The subjects of this study were 57 hospitalized stroke patients.The study subjects were asked to select an indoor environment and an outdoor environment in random order, and the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), Figure-Eight Walk Test (F8WT) and the Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) were used to assess each environment. Results: The TUG, 10MWT, F8WT time and number of steps, and FGA showed a significant decrease in gait ability in the outdoor environment compared to the indoor environment (p<0.05). Although the TUG, 10MWT, and the time required for the F8WT were statistically higher in the outdoor compared to the indoor environment at points 2, 3, and 4, but not 5 of the functional ambulatory category (FAC), significant increases in the number of steps of the F8WT were found in the outdoor compared to the indoor environment for only points 2 and 3 of the FAC (p<0.05). In the FAC 3 and 4, there was a statistically significant decrease in the outdoor compared to the indoor environment only in the FGA (p<0.05). Conclusions: Therefore, it has been shown that the gait ability of stroke patients is reduced in the outdoor environment compared to the gait ability in the indoor environment.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.339-351
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• 2019

Purpose: This study identified the effects of dual-task gait training on balance, gait function, and activity of daily living in patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods: This study used a single-subject design. Two patients with Parkinson's disease participated in this study. Dual-task gait training was performed 1 hour per day 8 times during intervention phase. The subjects were measured 8 times in the baseline phase, 8 times in the intervention phase, and 8 times in the follow-up phase. The outcome measurements included a timed up and go test (TUG), a Berg balance scale (BBS), a 10 meter walk test (10MWT), a 6 minute walk test (6MWT), a dynamic gait index (DGI) and a Korean modified Barthel index (K-MBI). Results: When compared to the average of the baseline process, the data collected during the intervention period showed that the TUG and 10MWT results improved and the tendency line was above the baseline. In addition, BBS, 6MWT, DGI, and K-MBI values for both patients increased remarkably after the training. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that dual-task gait training may be helpful to improve balance, walking function, and activity of daily living for patients with Parkinson's disease. Further studies need to confirm our findings.