• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the peak torques of the knee and ankle joint and local stability of the lower extremity's joints, and muscle activation patterns of the lower extremity's muscles between fallers and non-fallers in the elderly women during walking. Method: Four elderly women (age: $74.5{\pm}5.2yrs.$; height: $152.1{\pm}5.6cm$; mass: $55.3{\pm}5.4kg$; preference walking speed: $1.19{\pm}0.06m/s$) who experienced falls within six months since experiment had been conducted (falls group) and thirty-six subjects ($74.2{\pm}3.09yrs.$; height: $153.6{\pm}4.9cm$; mass: $56.7{\pm}6.4kg$; preference walking speed: $1.24{\pm}0.10m/s$) who had no experience in falls (non-falls group) within this periods participated in this study. They were measured torque peaks of the knee and ankle joint using a Human Norm and while they were walking on a treadmill at their natural pace, kinematic variables and EMG signals were collected with using a 3-D motion capture system and a wireless EMG system, respectively. Lyapunov Exponent (LyE) was determined to observe the dynamic local stability of the lower extremity's joints, and muscles activation and their co-contraction index were also analysed from EMG signals. Hypotheses between falls and non-falls group were tested using paired t-test and Mann-Whitey. Level of significance was set at p<.05. Results: Local dynamic stability in the adduction-abduction movement of the knee joint was significantly lower in falling group than non-falling group (p<.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, muscles which act on the abduction-adduction movement of the knee joint need to be strengthened to prevent from potential falls during walking. However, a small number of samples for fallers make it difficult to generalize the results of this study.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.325-333
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity between Figure-of-8 Walking Test (F8W), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Four Squared Step Test (FSST), and Timed UP and GO Test (TUG) in patients with stroke. Methods: Forty two participants (26 men, 16 women, $55.0{\pm}11.72$) with at least three months post stroke who were able to walk at least 10 m without walking aid participated in this study. Assessment of concurrent validity between the F8W (time and steps) and BBS was performed using Spearman rank order correlation and between the F8W (time and steps), FSST and TUG assessed using Pearson correlation. Results: The time of the F8W showed correlation with BBS (r=-0.46, p<0.01), FSST (r=0.64, p<0.01), and TUG (r=0.81, p<0.01), and steps of the F8W showed correlation with BBS (r=-0.43, p<0.01), FSST (r=0.47, p<0.01), and TUG (r=0.51, p<0.01). Conclusion: The F8W is a valid measure of balance and walking skill among patients with stroke and may provide complementary information with regard to dynamic balance and functional walking for the real life of stroke patients.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2020

Objective: The study aimed to develop a functional performance index that evaluates the functional performance of Parkinson's patients, i.e., to integrate biomechanical measurements of walking, balance, muscle strength and tremor, and to use multiple linear regression with stepwise methods to identify the most suitable predictors for the progression of disease. Method: A total of 60 subjects were tested for sub-variables of four factors: walking, balance, isometric strength and hand tremors. Potential independet variables were extracted through correlation analysis of the sub-variables and dependent variables, Hoehn & Yahr scale. And then, a stepwise multiple regression analysis using the potential independent variables was performed to identify predictor of Hoehn & Yahr scale. Results: First, the results of the study showed that physical composition and gait had a relatively more correlated with the progression of the disease, compared to balance and hand tremor. Second, Parkinson's functional performance is characterized by dynamic pattern of walking, such as foot clearance and turning angle (TA) of walking, and a high-explained regression model is completed. Conclusion: The study emphasized the importance of walking variables and body composition in minor pathological features compared to Parkinson's patient's balancing ability and hand tremor. Specifically, it revealed that dynamic walking patterns functionally characterize patients. The results are worth considering when assessing functional performance related to the progression of the disease at the site.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.30 no.6 s.249
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• pp.643-652
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• 2006

This paper is concerned with computer simulations of a biped robot walking in static and dynamic gaits. To this end, a three-dimensional robot is considered possessing a torso and two identical legs of a typical design. For such limbs, a set of inverse kinematic solutions is analytically derived between the torso and the feet. Specific walking patterns are off-line generated meeting stability based on the VPCG or ZMP condition. Subsequently, to verify whether the robot can walk as planned in the presence of mass and ground effects, a multi-body dynamics CAE code has been applied to the resulting joint motions determined by inverse kinematics. As a result, the key parameters to successful gaits could be identified including inherent characteristics as well. Upon comparisons between the two types of gaits, dynamic gaits are concluded more desirable for larger humaniods.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.141-145
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare walking conditions (straight line and curved path) on walking patterns in persons who had experienced hemiplegic stroke and to determine whether if they adapt their walking pattern and performances according to changes in environmental conditions. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Forty-four hemiplegic stroke survivors participated in this study. This study measured walking performance in three different walking conditions, such as straight walking, the more-affected leg in the inner curve walking, and less-affected leg in the inner curve walking conditions, and a 2-dimentional gait analysis system was used as a primary measurement. This study also measured secondary clinical factors including the Timed Up-and-Go Test, the Trunk Impairment Scale, and the Dynamic Gait Index. Results: After analyzing, cadence and step length of the less-affected side, stride length in the more-affected side, and stride length in less-affected side were significantly different among the three different walking conditions in this study (p<0.05), but other temporospatial parameters were not significant. Cadence was the largest in the straight walking condition. Step length in the less-affected side, stride length in the more-affected side, and stride length in less-affected side were also the longest in the straight walking condition. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that hemiplegic stroke survivors show walking adaptability according to changes in walking demands and conditions, and moreover, cadence and step and stride lengths were significantly different between straight and curved walking conditions.

• Journal of Institute of Convergence Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.55-59
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• 2014

A cat is able to quickly recover balance from unstable posture. To observe the balance recovery procedure of the cat, an impulse is applied to the cat while walking on a narrow bridge. We find that it rotates its tail toward the falling direction. In our previous research, the balance recovery procedure is analyzed based on the law of the angular momentum conservation and then a key equation is derived to maintain the balance. However, it did not consider the gravity, so the performance is not good. In this paper, a new dynamic model is proposed using the Lagrangian mechanics. In the method, the gravity is included in the potential energy. Through the proposed dynamic model, controlling the balance of a walking robot is possible.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.889-895
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• 2007

Quantifying dynamic stability is important to assessment of falling risk or functional recovery for leg injured people. Human locomotion is complex and known to exhibit nonlinear dynamical behaviors. The purpose of this study is to quantify major joints of the body using chaos analysis during walking. Time series of the chaotic signals show how gait patterns change over time. The gait experiments were carried out for ten young males walking on a motorized treadmill. Joint motions were captured using eight video cameras, and then three dimensional kinematics of the neck and the upper and lower extremities were computed by KWON 3D motion analysis software. The correlation dimension and the largest Lyapunov exponent were calculated from the time series to quantify stabilities of the joints. This study presents a data set of nonlinear dynamic characteristics for eleven joints engaged in normal level walking.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1669-1677
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 14-week proprioceptive resistance exercise on muscle endurance strength, dynamic balance and gait ability of elderly women in a social welfare facility. Thirty community dwelling elderly subjects (mean age 70.84±3.33) divided into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The participants performed the muscle endurance strength(30sec hair stand), dynamic balance (3m up and go) and low extremity performance (10m walking, 400m walking) pre and after the training program. The exercise groups were submitted to 14 weeks proprioceptive training with a Swiss ball three times a week. As a results were as follow. Significantly improvements were observed in low extremity strength and dynamic balance. And there have significantly improvements in 10m walking, 400m walking. Conclusionly, the improvement of dynamic balance and gait ability by proprioceptive resistance training will reduce the possibility in female elderly people.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2016

In this paper, we deal with the dynamic walking of a humanoid robot. In our method, the inverted pendulum model is used as a dynamic model for a humanoid robot in which the Zero Moment Point (ZMP) and COG constraints of the robot are analyzed by considering the motion of the robot as that of an inverted pendulum. The motion of a humanoid robot should be generated by considering the dynamics of the robot, which commonly requires a large amount of computation. If a robot walks from one position to another while keeping the ZMP in the stable region, then the robot remains dynamically stable. The linear inverted pendulum model regards the whole robot as a point mass. It is simple, and relatively less computation is needed; however, it cannot model the whole dynamics of a humanoid robot. We propose a method for modeling a humanoid robot as an inverted pendulum system having 14 point masses. We also show that the dynamic stability of a humanoid robot can be determined more precisely by our method.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a handrail (presence and position) on treadmill gait and balance in stroke patients during gait training. Methods: 39 patients with stroke (male 31, female 8) participated in this study. The training groups were classified into a no-handrail group (NHG), front handrail group (FHG), and bilateral handrail group (BHG). Each group comprised 13 subjects. The subjects were trained to walk in a straight path 30 minutes per day for 8 weeks. The Good Balance System was used to measure static balance and dynamic balance. To measure walking ability, timed up and go (TUG) was also assessed. Results: The NHG showed no significant differences in static balance, dynamic balance, and TUG. The FHG was significantly different in their medial-lateral speed of static balance, dynamic balance, and TUG. The BHG was significantly different in their static balance, dynamic balance, and TUG. Conclusion: These findings consider the effects of holding handrails concomitantly with changes in postural stability. We conclude that for training stroke patients, treadmill walking while holding handrails improves balance and gait more than treadmill walking without holding handrails. The resulting changes in muscle activity patterns may facilitate the transfer to a gait pattern. The results of this study suggest methods for training treadmill walking in stroke patients.