• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.93-101
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study sought to investigate the effects of treadmill gait training combined with a thoracic mobility exercise on gait and balance in patients with stroke. METHODS: In this single-blinded, randomized, controlled, comparative study, a total of 20 patients at a rehabilitation hospital who had suffered a hemiplegic stroke were randomly assigned to the experimental group (treadmill gait training combined with a thoracic mobility exercise, n = 11) or control group (treadmill gait training without the thoracic mobility exercise, n = 9). All the participants underwent comprehensive rehabilitation therapy (5 × /week for 4 weeks). Additionally, the experimental group underwent 20 min of treadmill gait training combined with 10 min of a thoracic mobility exercise (3 × / week for 4 weeks) and the control group underwent the former but not the latter. Gait and balance were measured before and after the 4-week training. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed in the 10-m walking test (10 MWT), timed up-and-go (TUG) test, center of pressure (COP) velocity, and COP length in the experimental group (p < .05). This group also showed a larger decrease in the 10 MWT and COP velocity than the control group (10 MWT, -3.02 sec vs. -1.68 sec, p < .05; COP velocity, -.07 mm/sec vs. .08 mm/sec, p < .05). CONCLUSION: Treadmill gait training, combined with the thoracic mobility exercise, could be effective in improving the gait and balance of stroke patients. It could also be more effective in improving walking speed and static balance than the treadmill gait training alone.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.206-210
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• 2015

Background: Fatigue has a strong impact on workers' performance and safety, but expedient methods for assessing fatigue on the job are not yet available. Studies discuss posturography as an indicator of fatigue, but further evidence for its use in the workplace is needed. The purpose of the study is to examine whether posturography is a suitable indicator of fatigue in clerical workers. Methods: Thirty-six employees (${\emptyset}$ 34.8 years, standard deviation = 12.5) participated in postural tasks (eyes open, eyes closed, arm swinging, and dual task) in the morning and afternoon. Position of their center of pressure (COP) was registered using a Nintendo Wii Balance Board and commercial software. From registered COP time series, we calculated the following parameters: path length (mm), velocity (mm/s), anterior-posterior variance (mm), mediolateral variance (mm), and confidence area ($mm^2$). These parameters were reduced to two orthogonal factors in a factor analysis with varimax rotation. Results: Statistical analysis of the first factor (path length and velocity) showed a significant effect of time of day: COP moved along a shorter path at a lower velocity in the afternoon compared with that in the morning. There also was a significant effect of task, but no significant interaction. Conclusion: Data suggest that postural stability of clerical workers was comparable in the morning and afternoon, but COP movement was greater in the morning. Within the framework of dynamic systems theory, this could indicate that the postural system explored the state space in more detail, and thus was more ready to respond to unexpected perturbations in the morning.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.120-130
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of line dance activity on the balance factors during static standing to reveal the exercise intervention for fall prevention. A 15-week line dance programme was applied to 16 elderly females who aged more than 65 years in the community. Balance ability during static standing was evaluated by the range of center of pressure(cop), the velocity of cop, and sway area that calculated on the basis of ground reaction force data, forces, and moments. The range and velocity of cop in the anterio-posterior were significantly reduced after line dance(p<.01, p<.05, respectively), but change in those of cop in the medio-lateral was not found. It was demonstrated that 16-week line dance activities allow more effective in anterio-posterior stability and sway area of static standing. It was suggested that the effect of fall prevention exercise should be studied more associate with fall from vestibular and sensory system as future study.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.214-221
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact of using the LED light electromyographyfeedback system (EMG-light) during Pilates exercises in women to maintain consistent muscle contraction in the abdominal external oblique muscles and reduce muscle contraction in the upper trapezius muscles. This study compared Pilates training using the EMG-light with Pilates training only in healthy women for 4 weeks. Design: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 17 healthy women were divided into an experimental group (n=9) and a control group (n=8). Both groups performed Pilates exercises as assigned, twice per week for four weeks, with each session lasting fifty minutes. The experimental group were used the EMG-light feedback system during pilates exercise while the control group did not use EMG-light. We used cervical vertebral angle (CVA), shoulder tilt angle to evaluate neck posture and standing balance with closed eye for 30s before and after exercise. Results: The control group exhibited a significant change in CVA (p<0.05). Both groups showed significant changes in shoulder tilt, center of pressure (COP) path-length, and COP velocity during eyes-closed conditions (p<0.05). However, there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of CVA, shoulder tilt, COP path-length, and COP velocity. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that Pilates exercises had positive effects on shoulder posture and balance. The use of EMG-light provided real-time visual feedback on muscle contraction during Pilates exercise. However, the experimental group did not show significant improvements compared to the control group, which performed Pilates exercises without feedback.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the center of pressure (COP), ground reaction force (GRF) and joint angles of elderly people and young people while stair-descent. The participants in this experiment were 5 elderly people and 5 young people, each of which was asked to descend stairs of three different heights (8 cm, 16 cm, and 32 cm). As they climbed down the stairs, they received vibration stimulation on the lower limb. The change of COP, GRF and joint angles were analyzed during the standing phase. COP decreased as the Achilles tendon and tibialis anterior tendon were vibrated. Vertical GRF increased as the Achilles tendon was vibrated, and the joint angle differed according to vibration stimulation conditions. These results mean that ankle joint, knee joint and hip joint were influenced by the vibrations on the lower limb as the participants descended the stairs. It was concluded that the vibration stimulation on the lower limb allowed the participants to efficiently climb down the stairs.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.265-274
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of the elastic band on ballet arabesque based on kinematics analysis. Methods : To observe the effect of the elastic band, the availability of the elastic band during movement was set as the independent variable, and the dependent variables were set by using factors from two different categories such as motor mechanics and kinematics variables. For motor mechanics variable, the muscle activity and the center of pressure(COP)'s trajectory and velocity were used. Furthermore, the physical angle was used for kinematic variables. Data samples from the experiment was used to understand the correlation between independent and dependent variables while using paired samples t-test as a data analysis tool. Results : After analyzing the result of experiment, the usage of the Elastic band on ballet arabesque movement seemed to increase the activity of the agonistic muscle, which is mainly used for movement, and to improve the stability of the supporting leg by decreasing the trajectory and velocity of the center of pressure(COP). Moreover, the elastic band increased the level of elevation of the stretching leg with reducing the angle of the hip joint that resulted into a more stable movement and furthermore providing more beauty while standing on it. Conclusion : The movement training program while the using elastic band are expected to lead to appropriate muscular development and reduce the muscle imbalance, which usually occurs to dancers, during training with unfamiliar specific movements or strengthening muscular strength for a specific movement. In addition, this work is expected to be used as a training reference to understand and learn the fundamentals of movements of ballet and other dance fields.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.559-566
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• 1999

환자의 기능평가를 위하여 중요한 자세균형의 유지는 압력중심(COP) 의 동요 신호를 직접 연속적으로 계측함으로써 가능하다. COP 신호로부터 다양한 종류의 자세안정도지표를 산출할 수 있으나 임상적으로 유용한 최소한의 지표종류로는 규명된 바 없다. 이에 본 연구에서는 인체가 서있는 상태의 정적자세를 유지할 때 압력중심 신호로부터 자세안정도지표를 산출하여 분석함으로써 임상적 유용성이 가장 큰 지표의 종류를 결정하고자 하였다. 양발을 편안히 벌리거나 (FS), 모두 모으거나(FT), 한쪽발 만으로(RL, LL)서있는 자세에 대해서 양쪽 눈을 뜨거나(EO) 감은(EC)8가지 정적자세를 취하며 30초간 자세균형을 유지시켰다. 자세형태에 따른 안정도의 척도로서 신체가 지면을 차지하는 면적(S)을 사용하였다. 자세안정도지표로서 1)position deviation, 2) position turn 3) velocity의 3가지로 분류할 수 있는 18가지 지표를 설정하였다. 피검자는 20, 30, 40 ,50 대 정상인을 연령대 별로 각각 남·녀 5명씩 고르게 총 40명을 선정하여 실험하였다. 자세안정도지표 모두가 S와 비교적 높은 유의한 상관관계를 보인 바 인을 연령대 별로 각각 남·녀 5명씩 고르게 총 40명을 선정하여 실험하였다. 자세안정도지표 모두가 S와 비교적 높은 유의한 상관관계를 보인바 (상관계수=0.6∼0.8, P<0.0001), S가 자세형태를 정량화 할 수 있음을 입증하였다. 모든 지표들에 있어서 시각의 영향이 뚜렷하였으며 특히 자세가 불안해질수록 상대적으로 시각의 영향이 두드러졌다. 그러나 시각의 영향의 지표들간의 차이는 없었다. 반면 노화(연령증가)에 따른 안정도지표의 변화는 미미하였으며 위의 3가지 안정도지표분류 중 position deviation 지표만이 통계적으로 유의한(P<0.05) 상관관계를 보였다. 따라서 정적자세유지시 안정도지표로는 position deviation 지표들이 가장 예민함을 알 수 있었다. 그러나 position deviation 지표들과 연령과의 상관계수는 0.5이하로서 매우 느슨한 상관관계를 보였으며, 연령증가에 따른 자제불안정도의 증가도 매우 작아서 그 임상적 응용가능성은 의문시되었다. 또한 위에서 제시한 3가지의 분류의 지표중 position turn 과 velocity 지표의 의미에 관해서는 향후 심층적인 연구가 필요한 것으로 판단되었다.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2020

Objective: Hallux valgus (HV) is a common musculoskeletal deformity that is accompanied with pain and continues to decrease one's quality of life and ability to perform daily life activities by affecting gait and static stability. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of the angle of HV (HVA) and to compare the one-legged stance and gait parameters in young adults with less HV and severe HV. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Forty young adults were divided into two groups, where HVA ≥15° (n=20) was defined as HV, and HVA <15° (n=20) was defined as normal. For balance ability, the center of pressure (COP) path, velocity, length of axis of the COP path, deviation of the x-axis and y-axis, and percentage of foot pressure were measured, and gait, the foot rotation angle, step length, percentage of each phase of the gait cycle, time change from the heel to forefoot, and maximum pressure of the forefoot and midfoot were measured. Results: Significant differences were found in sway length and time change from heel to forefoot during walking between the normal and HV groups (p<0.05). Most parameters were not associated with the HVA, but parameters such as length of axis and time to change from heel to forefoot were significantly associated with the HVA (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that most one-legged stance and gait parameters were not significantly affected by the HVA in young adults; therefore, future studies are needed in order to address other dynamic parameters and other methods of gait analysis for detecting clinically meaningful conditions.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.80-90
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• 2013

Recently, functional insoles of wedge-type it is for the young to raise their height inserted between insole and heel cause foot pain and disease. Additionally, these have a problem with stability and excessively load-bearing during gait like high-heel shoes. In this study, we compared the changes in biomechanical characteristics of foot with different insole thickness then we will utilize for the development of the insole with the purpose of relieving the pain and disease. Subjects(male, n = 6) measured COP(center of pressure) and PCP(peak contact pressure) on the treadmill(140cm/s) using F-scan system and different insole thickness(0~50 mm) between sole and plantar surface during gait. Also, we computed changes of stresses at the foot using finite element model with various insole thickness during toe-off phase. COP moved anterior and medial direction and, PCP was increased at medial forefoot surface, $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ metatarsophalangeal, ($9%{\uparrow}$) with thicker insoles and it was show sensitive increment as the insole thickness was increased from 40 mm to 50 mm. Change of the stress at the soft-tissue of plantar surface, $1^{st}$ metatarsal head represents rapid growth($36%{\uparrow}$). Also, lateral moments were increased over the 100% near the $1^{st}$ metatarsal as the insole thickness was increased from 0 mm to 30 mm. And it is show sensitive increment as the insole thickness changed 10 mm to 20 mm. As a result, it was expected that use of excessively thick insoles might cause unwanted foot pain at the forefoot region. Therefore, insole thickness under 30 mm was selected.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2024

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore how using inspiratory training affects the respiratory function and balance of stroke patients. We also plan to compare the results with a control group that does not receive the intervention. Design: A Randomized Controlled Trial Methods: In this study, 27 chronic stroke patients were randomly assigned to either a control group (n=14) or an experimental group (n=13). Both groups underwent six weeks of common interventions involving standard physiotherapy and treadmill training. Additionally, the experimental group received inspiratory training. Respiratory function and balance were evaluated using Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1), Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (MIP), Maximal Expiratory Pressure (MEP), Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), Five times Sit-to-Stand (FTSTS), Seated Center of Pressure (S-COP), and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests. Results: Respiratory function and balance were compared within each group before and after intervention. The experimental group, which received inspiratory training, showed significant improvements in FVC (0.26±0.18), FEV1 (0.35±0.32), MIP (11.54±12.39), PEF (1.12±1.52), and TUG (-3.39±2.45) compared to pre-intervention values (p<0.05). When comparing changes between groups post-intervention, the experimental group demonstrated significant increases in FVC, FEV1, MIP, PEF, and TUG compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in MEP, FTSTS, and S-COP. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate a positive effect of inspiratory training on chronic stroke patients. These findings suggest that with further research involving a larger sample size and enhanced intervention methods, inspiratory training could be employed positively in the rehabilitation of stroke patients.