• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.46-55
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of concurrent and reciprocal isometric contraction and angle of ankle joint on fatigue of concentrically contracting contralateral dorsiflexor and plantar flexor. Seventeen able-bodied subjects participated in the study. Concurrent and reciprocal isometric contraction were performed under three different ankle joint angles (dorsiflexion, neutral position, plantar flexion). During concurrent or reciprocal isometric contraction. fatigue of concentrically contracting contralateral tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and soleus was investigated and compared. There was no interaction between different ankle joint angles and direction of isometric contraction (p<.05). No significant differences were found among three different ankle joint angles (p<.05). Contralateral muscle fatigability was lower in reciprocal isometric contraction than that in concurrent isometric contraction (p<.05). Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that reciprocal isometric contraction is more beneficial than concurrent isometric contraction inducing less fatigability during contralateral concentric contraction.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2010

Estimation of muscle forces is important in biomechanics, therefore many researchers have tried to build a muscle model. Recently, optimization techniques for adjusting muscle parameters, i.e. EMG-driven model, have been used to estimate muscle forces and predict joint moments. In this study, an EMG-driven model based on the previous studies has been developed and isometric and isokinetic contraction movements were evaluated to validate the developed model. One healthy male participated in this study. The dynamometer tasks were performed for maximum voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) for ankle dorsi/plantarflexors, isokinetic contraction at both $30^{\circ}/s$ and $60^{\circ}/s$. EMGs were recorded from the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis and soleus muscles at the sampling rate of 1000 Hz. The MVIC trial was used to customize the EMG-driven model to the specific subject. Once the subject's own model was developed, the model was used to predict the ankle joint moment for the other two dynamic movements. When no optimization was applied to characterize the muscle parameters, weak correlations were observed between the model prediction and the measured joint moment with large RMS error over 100% (r = 0.468 (123%) and r = 0.060 (159%) in $30^{\circ}/s$ and $60^{\circ}/s$ dynamic movements, respectively). However, once optimization was applied to adjust the muscle parameters, the predicted joint moment was highly similar to the measured joint moment with relatively small RMS error below 40% (r = 0.955 (21%) and r = 0.819 (36%) and in $30^{\circ}/s$ and $60^{\circ}/s$ dynamic movements, respectively). We expect that our EMG-driven model will be employed in our future efforts to estimate muscle forces of the elderly.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.20-30
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ankle joint mobilization with movement (MWM) on the range of motion (ROM) in the ankle, on the muscle strength of lower extremities, and on spatiotemporal gait parameters in chronic hemiplegic patients. Fifteen subjects with chronic stroke were divided into two groups: an experimental group (8 subjects) and a control group (7 subjects). Both groups attended two or three sessions of physical therapy each week. The experimental group also attended additional MWM training sessions three times a week for five weeks. For both groups, the ROM of the ankle, the muscle strength of the lower extremities, and the spatiotemporal gait parameters in paretic limbs were evaluated before and after the training period. The results showed that the experimental group experienced more significant increases than did the control group in terms of passive (6.10%) and active (21.96%) ROM of the ankle, gait velocity (12.96%), and peak torque, of the knee flexor (81.39%), the knee extensor (24.88%), and the ankle plantar flexor (41.75%)(p<.05). These results suggest that MWM training in patients with chronic stroke may be beneficial in increasing ROM in the ankle, muscle strength in the lower extremities, and gait speed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined whether ankle joint stabilizing taping and muscle control taping influenced the ankle range of motion (ROM), muscle tone, and balance ability in chronic stroke patients. METHODS: Ten stroke patients were assigned randomly to experimental group 1 (joint stabilization taping n = 5) and experimental group 2 (Muscle control taping n = 5). After general physical therapy in both groups, ankle stabilization taping was applied to experimental group 1, and muscle control taping was applied to experimental group 2 three times a week for a total of six weeks (18 times). RESULTS: The muscle tone and stiffness of the gastrocnemius (GCM) showed significant differences between the experimental 1 and experimental 2 groups (p < .05). The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and ROM also showed significant differences within the experimental 1 and experimental 2 groups (p < .05). The BBS and ROM also showed no significant differences between the experimental 1 and experimental 2 groups (p > .05). CONCLUSION: This study examined the muscle tone, balance, and ROM on the paraplegic side of stroke patients using kinesio taping, and the effect of the taping application method was confirmed from the preceding study. Therefore, it can decrease the paralysis side muscle tone and improve the ROM and balance ability.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.218-224
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• 2019

Objective: This reliability study examined the effects of applying varying induced inward pressures using a transducer placed at 0° neutral ankle position (NEU) and 15° ankle dorsiflexion (DF) on tibialis anterior (TA) muscle thickness using a custom-made device with a force indicator during rehabilitative ultrasound imaging. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty-four healthy subjects were recruited in this study. Two examiners measured the muscle thickness of the TA at 0° NEU and 15° DF in 3 conditions of inward pressures (1.0 N, 2.0 N, and 4.0 N) using a custom-made holder. The muscle thickness was measured three times for each of the conditions arranged in random order. For intra- and inter-rater reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals, standard error of measurement, minimal detectable change, and coefficient of variation were analyzed. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted for investigating changes of TA muscle thickness according to the inward pressures of the transducers. Results: The intra-rater reliability of TA muscle thickness measurement was excellent (ICC_3,1: 0.92-0.96) for all conditions (at both ankle joint angles per varying inward pressure). Likewise, the inter-rater reliability of TA muscle thickness measurement was excellent (ICC_2,1: 0.89-0.97) under same conditions. The mean of TA thickness showed the trend of decreasing significantly with increased inward pressures at all ankle joint angles (p<0.05). Conclusions: Use of this custom-made device with a force indicator is useful to accomplish the high intra- and inter-rater reliability of TA muscle thickness measurement at both ankle joint angles in reducing the measurement error.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.401-412
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of hip joint exercises and orthotics on RCSP, ankle's range of motion, and core muscle strength of middle school students with pes planus. Method : Out of the original pool of 200 students, 60 students with pes planus (RCSP < -2) were selected for the study. The selected 60 students were then divided into four groups. The first group was a combined orthotics and exercise group (12 students), the second was the orthotics-only group (9 students), the third was the exercise-only group (8 students), and the last was the control group (10 students). Exercise groups worked out twice a week for 60 minutes per session over 8 weeks. The independent variables were corrective hip joint exercises and orthotics. The dependant variables consisted of kinematic and kinetic variables. The kinematic variables were RCSP, and ankle's range of motion (dorsiflexion and plantarflexion). The kinetic variables were muscles forces that consist in core muscle strength, which are hip joint adduction, abduction, and flexion muscles forces. Statistical analysis was performed via SPSS 18.0 with multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and a paired t-test was used. Results : The left foot was more responsive to the treatments, both exercise and orthotics, than the right foot. RCSP improved significantly in the left foot for the first and third groups. Only the first group significantly improved hip joint adduction, abduction, and flexion muscles' strengths. As for the ankle's range of motion of the left foot, plantarflexion showed improvement when treated with exercise, orthotics, or both. Conclusion : This study found that exercise is more effective in correcting RCSP and foot orthotics is more effective in reinforcing core muscle strength. Future studies should expand on these results to examine the relationship between the ankle, hip, and pelvis.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare lower extremity muscle activities and ankle joint angles between different foot strike patterns (forefoot strike, heelfoot strike) during stair ascent walking. Methods: The subjects of this study were 22 males who walked in each foot strike pattern on ascent stairs at a speed of 85 beats/min. During stair walking with the two types of foot strike patterns, the muscle activities of the rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, hamstring, and gluteus medius were measured. Additionally, ankle joint angles for inversion, eversion, dorsi flexion, and plantar flexion were recorded. Each participant underwent the experiment three times, with the foot strike pattern randomized. Results were averaged according to the foot strike pattern. Results: Significant differences in ankle angles were observed across all phases according to foot strike pattern. Muscle activities in the lower extremities showed significant differences in all phases except the swing 1 phase. Moreover, differences in foot movement trajectory were noted depending on the foot strike pattern. Conclusion: Walking on ascent stairs elicited differences in lower extremity muscle activities and ankle joint angles based on foot strike pattern. These findings can serve as foundational data for selecting a suitable foot strike pattern tailored to individual patient conditions when training patients in walking on ascent stairs.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.194-199
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• 2022

Background: Older adults use different ankle muscle activation patterns during difficult static balance conditions. It has been suggested that this is related to a decline in proprioception with age, resulting in reduced postural balance. However, the association between proprioception and ankle muscle activity during quiet standing has not been directly assessed. Objects: This study aimed to investigate the effects of age and sensory condition on ankle muscle activity and the association between ankle proprioception and ankle muscle activity. Methods: We recruited 10 young women and 9 older women. Ankle proprioception was evaluated using joint position sense (JPS) and force sense (FS) divided by dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. The electromyographic activity of the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GCM) muscles was collected during quiet standing. Results: Older women activated GCM muscle more than young during quiet standing and when performing difficult tasks. Older women had more errors in JPS dorsiflexion and FS plantarflexion than did young. The GCM muscle activity is related to JPS dorsiflexion and FS plantarflexion. Conclusion: Lower proprioception of the GCM with age leads to increased muscle activity, resulting in reduced postural balance. There was no difference in TA proprioception or muscle activity among older women with frequent physical activity.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1575-1579
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate how maximum-effort eccentric exercise over different contraction ranges affects the characteristics of torque-angle relationship of human ankle plantarflexor in-vivo. Subjects were randomly assigned in two groups. One group (n=6) performed 120 maximum-effort eccentric ankle dorsiflexion contractions at short muscle length (ankle range of motion from -5 to 15 deg) and the other group (n=6) at long (ankle range of motion from 10 to 30 deg) muscle length. Eccentric exercise decreased the maximum isometric ankle plantarflexion torque ${\sim}40%$. It was found that the optimum ankle joint angle changed from 7.5 deg to 11.1 deg and 10.1 deg, shifted toward the longer muscle length, regardless of the exercise range. The results of this study suggest that eccentric exercise alters the characteristics of torqueangle relationship of the muscle but there is no differential effect of the eccentric contraction range.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.63-72
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• 2022

Purpose : Several studies have investigated the effects of dynamic stretching (DS) and self-mobilization (SM), however, studies comparing the two interventions are rare. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of DS and SM on ankle strength, dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM), and balance to determine which is superior. Methods : Thirty-two healthy young adults participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups (SM and DS). DS was performed for the purpose of stretching the medial gastrocnemius muscle. For the SM group, ankle joint SM was performed in three ways. For all participants, the following measurements were performed as pre- and post-tests: isometric strength of dorsiflexor and plantar flexor, weight-bearing lunge test (WBLT) to evaluate DFROM, Tetrax system to evaluate static balance, and y balance test (YBT) to evaluate dynamic balance. Differences before and after the intervention within each group were compared using paired t-test. Also, the variable's variation was compared between groups using an independent t-test. Results : Significant differences were found in ankle dorsiflexor strength, WBLT, YBT, weight distribution index (WDI) (pillow and opened eyes; PO), and stability index (ST) (normal and closed eyes; NC) before and after intervention in the SM group (p<.05). In the DS group, significant differences were found in ankle dorsiflexor and plantar flexor strength, WBLT, YBT anterior, WDI (normal and opened eyes; NO, PO), and ST (NO, NC, PO, pillow and closed eyes) before and after the intervention (p<.05). Ankle plantar flexor strength and WDI (PO) were significantly different between groups. Conclusion : Based on the results of this study, DS or SM can be considered as a possibility for selective use according to variables for improving ankle joint function (DFROM, muscle strength, balance).