• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.13-20
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• 2019

PURPOSE: Sitting with crossed legs may have an effect on maintaining a healthy body posture and proper functioning of the respiratory system. Thus, this study's objective was to identify whether or not sitting with crossed legs affects the vertebral angle, chest wall mobility, the pulmonary function, and the activity of the respiratory muscles. METHODS: Thirty healthy subjects were recruited for this study (16 males and 14 females). The vertebral angle, chest wall mobility, pulmonary function, and the activity of the respiratory muscle were measured while the subjects sat in the correct posture and these factors were again measured with the subjects seated with their legs crossed. Three-dimensional motion analysis was used to determine the trunk and lumbar vertebral angles. Surface electromyography was employed to measure the sternocleidomastoid, the rectus abdominis, and the external and internal oblique abdominis muscles. A tapeline was utilized to evaluate the subjects' chest wall mobility. Spirometry was assessed to determine the forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second. Paired t-tests were then performed (p<.05). RESULTS: There were significant differences in the trunk and lumbar flexion angles, the chest wall mobility, the activity of the right external oblique muscle, and the left internal oblique abdominis muscle. However, the difference in pulmonary function did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: A crossed leg posture caused slight thoracic extension and lumbar flexion, which may lead to a decrease of the chest wall mobility and also to an imbalance of the abdominal muscles. Therefore, sitting with a crossed leg posture should be avoided. Yet a crossed leg posture did not have any clinical effect on the pulmonary function of healthy people. It may be necessary to study the effects of sitting with crossed legs over an extended period of time for patients suffering with impaired respiratory function.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-71
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• 2007

Objective : Respiratory muscle weakness and decreased chest mobility has been suggested to result from the deconditioning that accompanied activity level in chronic elderly stokes. The benefits of respiratory exercise programmes on exercise capacity and muscle strength in hemiplegia. This study aimed to determine the effects of selective inspiratory and expiratory muscles training and chest mobility exercise on patients with strokes to establish if an improved exercise capacity can be obtained in patients that are not limited in their daily activities. Methods & Intervention : Twelve patients were assigned to the intensive respiratory exercise group participated in a measures design that evaluated the subjects with pre-treatment and post-treatment. Thirteen subjects who were assigned to a control group received training with breathing exercise and resistance exercise of skeletal muscles. The subjects performed spirometry then undertook a 6-week programme of respiratory muscle and chest mobility training. Training for the two groups was carried out 2 times a week for 6 weeks. Measurements and Results : Spirometry(Forced Vital Capacity: FVC and Closed Circuit Spiromety: CCS) and thoracic mobility were measured before and after the 6 weeks. The experimental group improved significantly compared to control group in FVC, $FEV_1$, MVV, IRV and ERV, and upper chest wall expansion(p<0.05). No significant improvement was seen in thoracic mobility or lung function in control group(p>0.05). Conclusion : The major findings in this study were that a intensive 6week exercise programme of resistive breathing and chest mobility in patients with hemiplegia led to an increase in lung capacity. The resistive breathing exercise programme used here resulted in a significant increase in the chest excursion during breathing.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.281-286
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• 2021

This study aims to compare chest mobility, diaphragm contraction, and lung capacity when wearing a bra and per breast size. The subjects of this study included 10 adult women who were attending Chungnam B University: 5 women who wear underwear size 75A (group A) and 5 who wear underwear size 85B (group B). The chest mobility using a tape measure, the diaphragm contraction using ultrasound, and the lung capacity was measured using a Pony FX before and after bra wear. The chest mobility and diaphragm contraction were significantly reduced when bras were worn in group A and B. Lung capacity was significantly decreased only in group A. There was no significant difference between the groups. This study suggests that women's bras can have a negative effect on diaphragm movement, chest mobility, and lung capacity.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.145-156
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• 2002

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of thoracic flexibility exercise on chest function and mobility and to provide the information of physical therapy for patients with idiopathic scoliosis. Forty female subjects who were diagnosed with scoliosis participated in this study and were divided into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group consisted of 20 patients who were treated with thoracic flexibility exercise program during the admission (10 days) ad one month after discharge. The control group consisted of 20 patients who were not treated with thoracic flexibility exercise program. Vital capacity was measured using a respirometer. The chest expansion were calculated using differences of chest circumference between maximum inspiration and maximum expiration measured under armpits, at the junction between the sternum and xyphoid process, and at the waist. All subjects were measured two times: before the admission and at one month after discharge. Data were compared by groups using independent t-test, Vital capacity and chest expansion values (the armpit, chest and waist values) were significantly higher for the experimental group compared to those of the control group (p<.05). The findings of this study show that thoracic flexibility exercise program can lead to an increase in vital capacity and chest expansion and has a positive effects in relieving symptoms and restoring thoracic mobility.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.27-36
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• 2017

Background: Research efforts to improve the pulmonary function of people with limited chest function have focused on the diaphragmatic ability to control breathing pattern. Real-time ultrasonography is appropriate to demonstrate diaphragmatic mechanism during breathing. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of diaphragmatic breathing training using real-time ultrasonographic imaging (RUSI) on the chest function of young females with limited chest mobility. Methods: Twenty-six subjects with limited chest mobility were randomly allocated to the experimental group (EG) and control group (CG) depending on the use of RUSI during diaphragmatic breathing training, with 13 subjects in each group. For both groups, diaphragmatic breathing training was performed for 30-min, including three 10-min sets with a 1-min rest interval. An extra option for the EG was the use of the RUSI during the training. Outcome measures comprised the diaphragmatic excursion range during quiet and deep breathing, pulmonary function (forced vital capacity; FVC, forced expiratory volume in 1-sec; FEV1, tidal volume; TV, and maximal voluntary ventilation; MVV), and chest circumferences at upper, middle, and lower levels. Results: The between-group comparison revealed that the diaphragmatic excursion range during deep breathing, FVC, and middle and lower chest circumferences were greater at post-test and that the changes between the pretest and post-test values were greater in the EG than in the CG (p<.05). In addition, the subjects in the EG showed increased post-test values for all the variables compared with the pretest values, except for TV and MVV (p<.05). In contrast, the subjects in the CG showed significant improvements for the diaphragmatic excursion range during quiet and deep breathings, FVC, FEV1, and middle and lower chest circumferences after the intervention (p<.05). Conclusion: These results indicate that using RUSI during diaphragmatic breathing training might be more beneficial for people with limited chest mobility than when diaphragmatic breathing training is used alone.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2015

Background: To evaluate the effect of thoracic mobility exercise and deep breathing exercise applied to stroke patients on pulmonary function. Methods: The subjects were divided into two group. Twenty-five patients with stroke were randomly assigned to DB (deep breathing exercise) group (n=13) and TM (combination of deep breathing exercise and thoracic mobility exercise) group (n=12). During four weeks, DB group were carried out deep breathing exercises for 5~10 minutes twice a day and TM Group were carried out deep breathing exercises for 5~10 minutes and thoracic mobility exercise for 20~30 minutes twice a day. All tests were completed before and after experiment. The pulmonary functions were measured by PowerBreathe K5 (Hab International Ltd, England) and tape measure respectively. For each case, the experimental data were obtained in 4 items; average of inspiratory load, inspiratory flow speed, inspiratory flow volume and chest expansion. Results: The results of this study were as follows: 1. In DB group, the statistically significants were shown on average of inspiratory flow speed, inspiratory flow volume and chest expansion (p<.05). 2. In TM group, the statistically significants were shown on all items (p<.05). 3. There was a statistically significant difference on all items between DB group and TM group (p<.05). Conclusions: The above results revealed that DB and TM group can be used to improve pulmonary function in stroke patients. In comparison of DB and TM group, TM group was more improved. In conclude, thoracic mobility exercise helped improving function of vital capacity and chest expansion in stroke patients.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.520-533
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• 2023

The present study developed a test protocol for evaluating the mobility of firefighting chemical and flame personal protective equipment (PPE) for the National 119 Rescue Headquarters in Korea and suggested ergonomic design factors to improve their mobility and performance. Six types of PPE were employed, including three types for flame protective PPE (5 ~ 6 kg excluding the self-contained breathing apparatus), and three types for chemical and flame protective PPE (8 ~ 11 kg). These PPEs are used by the 119 Rescue firefighters. Three male firefighters (34.3 ± 1.2 y in age, 175 ± 8 cm in height, 81 ± 13 kg in body weight) participated in the mobility test and interview. A mobility test protocol consisting of 16 components (nine postures and seven motions including a dexterity test) along with a visibility test were developed based on pre-interviews and literature reviews. The findings indicated that the clothing microclimate humidity on the neck and chest exceeded 85%RH on average for all the six PPE conditions, with the chest area reaching as high as 98%RH. This high humidity caused fogging inside the visor and impaired visibility. The requirements for improving the PPE design in terms of mobility varied depending on whether it was the separated types or all-in-one types, particularly regarding the hood and gloves design. The findings of this study can be applied to improve the design of Level A_PPE for firefighters. The mobility test protocol and visibility test developed in this study can also be applied to other types of Level A impermeable PPE.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.205-213
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• 2021

Purpose: This study investigated the immediate effects of a figure-8 shoulder brace and taping intervention on round shoulder posture, thoracic kyphosis, and chest expansion mobility in forward head posture. Methods: Thirty patients with forward head posture were assigned randomly to the figure-8 shoulder brace group (n = 15) or the taping intervention group (n = 15). Patients were assessed for forward head posture, shoulder posture, thoracic kyphosis, and chest expansion. Results: The figure-8 shoulder brace and taping intervention groups showed a significant difference for forward head posture, shoulder posture, and thoracic kyphosis after the experiment (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that a figure-8 shoulder brace and taping intervention has a positive effect on rounded shoulder posture, thoracic kyphosis, and chest expansion in patients with forward head posture.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2014

Background: This study was aimed to determine the effects of deep abdominal muscle exercises (DAME) and thoracic mobility exercises (TME) on pulmonary function. Methods: This study was conducted with 22 college students who are in their 20s and have no problem carrying out activities of daily living. All subjects were randomly assigned to either the DAME group (11) or the TME group (11) to undertake the exercises for 2 weeks. To measure pulmonary function of subjects, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced exploratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were measured using chest graph. Chest expansion of subjects was also measured with tape ruler. These measurements were performed on the first day before the exercise program started and on the next day after the 2-week exercise program was completed. A paired-t test was performed to compare the differences in pulmonary function before and after the exercise program, and an independent t-test was performed to compare the two groups. Results: The results of this study were as follows: 1) In comparison of pre- and post-exercise changes in the DAME and TME groups, both groups showed significant increase in chest expansion and PEF after the exercise program, compared with the baseline data (p<.05). Both groups also demonstrated improvements in FVC and FEV1 after the exercise program, compared with the baseline data. However, the differences were not statistically significant (p>.05). 2) The comparison of the DAME and TME groups revealed no significant differences in chest expansion, FVC, FEV1 and PEF (p>.05). Conclusion: It is therefore concluded that both DAME and TME were effective in improving pulmonary function.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.864-873
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this case study was to report the symptom improvement effect of integrative Korean medicine treatment based on Pyongsim Solution: Cheonwangbosim-dan in a patient with variant angina and asthma symptoms. Methods: This 68-year-old male patient was treated with Pyongsim Solution, Gamihyangsayukgunja-tang, Gwakhyangjunggi-san, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, and cupping therapy for 24 days. The European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions-5 Levels profile, Numerical Rating Scale score, and pulse rate per minute were measured on admission, at two weeks of hospitalization, and upon discharge to assess the clinical outcomes. Results: After treatment, the "mobility" dimension profile of the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions-5 Levels changed from 1 to 1, "self-care" changed from 1 to 1, "usual activity" changed from 3 to 2, "pain/discomfort" changed from 4 to 3, and "anxiety/depression" changed from 3 to 2. The Numerical Rating Scale score for chest pain decreased from 7 to 5, chest tightness decreased from 6 to 4, sleep disturbance decreased from 6 to 3, polydipsia decreased from 5 to 3, and stomach discomfort decreased from 5 to 3. All the profiles of these five dimensions were unchanged for 11 days in the period between the two weeks of hospitalization and discharge. There were also no changes in the profiles of either "mobility" or "self-care" throughout the entire 24-day hospitalization period. Conclusion: This case report shows that integrative Korean medicine treatment based on Pyongsim Solution can improve the symptoms of patients with variant angina and mild intermittent asthma, suggesting that Pyongsim Solution could be an important herbal medication for treatment.