• PNF and Movement
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.201-208
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of visual biofeedback training on the recovery of balance function in stroke patients. Methods: A total of 30 patients with stroke were chosen as the subjects of this study. The subjects were randomly divided into either the visual biofeedback balance training group (experimental group; n=15) or the general balance training group (control group; n=15). The visual biofeedback balance training and general balance training were implemented for 30 minutes a day, three times a week, for a total of four weeks. The subjects' balance ability was measured before and after the interventions. Results: The shift length and surface area of the center of the body decreased in both the experimental group and the control group, with the difference being statistically significant. The shift length and surface area of the center of the body both decreased more in the experimental group than in the control group, and there was a statistically significant between-group difference. Conclusion: The experimental group showed a greater improvement in terms of the balance ability of patients with stroke than the control group. Therefore, we believe that visual biofeedback balance training can be effectively applied for the improvement of balance ability in patients with stroke.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.241-246
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• 2012

Purpose: We investigated the effect of postural stability and balance with foot orthotics in hemiplegic patients. Methods: The subjects enrolled in this study were 16 hemiplegic patients who were examined for balance ability, weight distribution, and limits of stability with or without foot orthotics insole. Balance was measured according to a stance position by BIORESCUE: static balance open eyes (SEO), static balance close eyes (SEC), dynamic balance open eyes (DEO), dynamic balance close eyes (DEC), right and left weight distribution (RLWD), anterior and posterior weight distribution (APWD) and limit of stability (LOS). The data were analyzed with SPSS window version 18.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Results: The results were of significant changes to the SEO (p<0.05), RLWD (p<0.05), APWD (p<0.05), and LOS (p<0.05). The SEC, DEO and DEC were not found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: It was found that foot orthotics affected the balance for hemiplegic patients. Therefore, it is thought to help fall prevention to measure the balance ability.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.93-99
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• 2011

Purpose : In order to investigate the effects of balance training on patients with degenerative arthritis. Methods : 30 participants aged 60 or older participated in balance training for an 8-week period. The effects of the balance training were measured by the visual analog scale(VAS) and static and dynamic balancing. The following are the results of the study. Results : There were no statistically significant differences in measurements of pain when control group participants were at rest and while walking as measured by VAS, but there were statistically significant reductions for the experiment group. Within the control group, there were no statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest results for opened and closed-eye static balance index and visual dynamic balance index. However, within the experiment group, there were statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest results for opened and closed-eye static and dynamic balance indices. Conclusion : The results above provide evidence that balance training effects pain and balance of patients with osteoarthritis and aids in functional movement.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.328-332
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the static balance ability of patients with back pain. Methods: The subjects comprised of 30 males and females in their 20s, who were divided into two groups with and without tDCS. The balance posture ratio score was calculated to determine the changes in balance ability before and after the application of tDCS using balance equipment. A paired t-test was conducted to determine the changes over time, and an independent t-test was performed to determine the changes between the groups. The significance level was set to ${\alpha}=0.05$. Results: A significant difference in the changes in the static balance ability of CTDCSG between before and after applying tDCS was observed while the subjects' eyes were open (p<0.05). A comparison between the groups after the experiments revealed significantly increased changes in CTDCSG compared to STDCSE (p<0.05). The changes in static balance ability were not significant when the subjects' eyes were closed (p>0.05). Conclusion: The application of tDCS positively changed the static balance ability of patients with back pain. The results of this study showed that tDCS could be used as an intervention to increase the static balance ability of patients with back pain in the clinical field. The study results could be used further as foundational data for future studies on tDCS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.51-58
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• 2018

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine if the Harrison hip score (HHS), a tool for assessing hip joint function, and the Burg balance scale (BBS), a general balance assessment tool, actually reflect the balance ability of total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients 3 months after surgery. In addition, this study investigated the initial weight distribution strategy for bilateral lower extremity after THA surgery to understand the balance of THA patients. METHODS: Fourteen 3-month THA patients performed static dual standing and sit-to-stand (STS) tasks. Ground reaction forces on each leg were collected to calculate the weight distribution symmetricity (SWD), and the HHS, functional HHS (f-HHS), and BBS were evaluated. Correlation analyses between SWD and the HHS (also f-HHS) and BBS were then applied to the THA patients. RESULTS: The correlations between functional evaluation tools (HHS, f-HHS, BBS) and SWD were weak strength for the static balance task, but moderate for the dynamic STS task. Among the evaluation tools used in the present study, f-HHS was most useful for evaluation of dynamic balance ability. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that use of HHS, f-HHS, and BBS as functional evaluation tools does not provide meaningful information regarding balance ability, but that they are useful for evaluating dynamic balance ability of THA patients. The dynamic balance ability at 3 months after THA seems to be under development.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined the correlations between gait, static balance, and pelvic inclination in patients with chronic stroke. METHODS: Twenty-two chronic stroke patients were included in this study. The subjects participated in gait, static balance, and pelvic inclination tests. In the gait measurement, the cadence and gait velocity were measured, and the average of three trials was calculated and recorded. The static balance was measured using a force platform. The data was captured for ten seconds, and five successful trials were recorded. Pelvic inclination in the sagittal plane was measured using a palpation meter. For data processing, a KolmogorovSmirnov test was used to determine the type of distribution for all variables. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis. The correlations among the gait, static balance, and pelvic inclination was calculated. The level of significance was .05. RESULTS: Significant negative correlations were observed between the gait variables (cadence, velocity) and static balance variables (COP path length, COP average velocity, and 95% confidence ellipse area) (p < .05). On the other hand, there was no significant correlation between pelvic inclination and gait or between the pelvic inclination and static balance variables. CONCLUSION: Significant correlations were observed between the gait function and static balance. On the other hand, there were no significant correlations between the pelvic inclination and gait and static balance. These results suggest that the pelvic inclination is not an important consideration for increasing the gait function and static balance.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.78-85
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• 2023

Background: Despite fall prevention strategies suggested by researchers, falls are still a major health concern in older adults. Understanding factors that differentiate successful versus unsuccessful balance recovery may help improve the prevention strategies. Objects: The purpose of this review was to identify biomechanical factors that differentiate successful versus unsuccessful balance recovery in the event of a fall. Methods: The literature was searched through Google Scholar and PubMed. The following keywords were used: 'falls,' 'protective response,' 'protective strategy,' 'automated postural response,' 'slips,' 'trips,' 'stepping strategy,' 'muscle activity,' 'balance recovery,' 'successful balance recovery,' and 'failed balance recovery.' Results: A total of 64 articles were found and reviewed. Most of studies included in this review suggested that kinematics during a fall was important to recover balance successfully. To be successful, appropriate movements were required, which governed by several things depending on the direction and characteristics of the fall. Studies also suggested that lower limb muscle activity and joint moments were important for successful balance recovery. Other factors associated with successful balance recovery included fall direction, age, appropriate protective strategy, overall health, comorbidity, gait speed, sex and anticipation of the fall. Conclusion: This review discusses biomechanical factors related to successful versus unsuccessful balance recovery to help understand falls. Our review should help guide future research, or improve prevention strategies in the area of fall and injuries in older adults.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.233-238
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• 1988

Human body sways continuously to maintain balance during upright stance. A computer-aided instrumentation system using a force platform has been developed to investigate the body balance. The Kistler force platform and amplifiers were only used to obtain the precise measurements, and the data acquisition and analysis software operating on an IBM PC with A/D converter was developed. This study presents methods for the display of platform center of pressure data on stability study. This system can be used as a tool in evaluating the man's ability to balance and disorders of the nervous system.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.27-29
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• 2006

In this paper, we propose a new method of automatic white balance which is one of the image signal processing techniques. Our method is conceptually based on gray world assumption. However, while previous methods generate linear results as multiplying pixel values by a gain, our method generates non-linear results using the feature of B-Spline curves. The two merits of deriving non-linear results are preventing AWB failure from transforming strong color of high level into wrong color and well preserving original contrast of an input image.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-16
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of four weeks of gaze stabilization exercises and balance training on the static and dynamic balance functions. METHODS: The study was an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial conducted at Daegu University in South Korea. Thirty subjects who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected and divided randomly into three groups containing ten each. The first group received balance exercises with gaze stabilizing exercises (BGG). The second group received a balance exercise (BEG), and the third group received gaze-stabilizing exercise (GEG). Each group exercised for 40 minutes, three times a week for four weeks. The subjects were asked to complete the following static balance test: 1) one-leg standing test, 2) sharpened Romberg test, dynamic balance test, 3) Y-balance test, and 4) single-leg stand-squat-stand test. The static and dynamic balance were measured before and after four weeks to determine the effect of exercise on balance. RESULTS: The static (OLS and SRT) and dynamic (YBT and SST) balance tests showed significant differences in the surface and length of the three groups (p < .05), and the y-balance score effect size, 11.477 (p < .05), was improved significantly. On the other hand, the change in BGG value was larger than those of BEG and GEG, and the improvements in balance control were the most significant. CONCLUSION: After four weeks of exercise, BGG showed the best improvement in static and dynamic balance, suggesting that this specific type of gaze stabilization exercise with balance exercise may benefit healthy young adults.