• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the muscular activity and muscle strength for swing track of upper limbs during rowing exercise. Subject was all twenty healthy adults and they were divided into linear exercise group and elliptical exercise group in random. Subjects performed rowing exercise 3-times for a week and performed all 8-weeks. We measured realtime-surface EMG. Also we measured joint torque of elbow, ankle and lumbar in subjects using BIODEX. The result showed that when rowing exercise, elliptical track exercise had higher muscular activity in trapezius, deltoid, erector spinae, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, gastronemius than linear track exercise on more many muscle of upper and lower limbs. Also elbow joint torque and lumbar joint torque was more higher too. but linear exercise also had higher muscular activity in multifidus, tibilalis anterior than elliptical track exercise. According to this experiment, we found out that elliptical track was more efficient than linear track.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how different knee alignments (genu varum and genu valgum) affected activations of quadriceps muscles with measurements of onset-time differences between vastus medialis and vastus lateralis during isometric contractions at both 30 and 60 degree knee flexion. Methods: Fifty-two adults (20 genu varum, 12 genu valgum, and 20 control) were enrolled in this study. Subjects with over 4cm distance between knee medial epicondyles were assigned to Genu varum, while subjects with over 4cm distance between ankles medial malleolus were considered as genu valgum group. Surface EMG was used to measure onset time of both vastus medialis and vastus lateralis during isometric contraction at 30 and 60 degree knee flexion. Results: The onset time of vastus lateralis was delayed in genu varum group, and that of vastus medialis was delayed in genu valgum group at both 30 and 60 degree knee flexions. Moreover, onset time difference at $30^{\circ}$ knee flexion between muscles was larger in genu valgum group than genu varum group. Conclusion: Subjects with genu varum or valgum activated quadriceps muscles with different orders pending on flexion degrees. Therefore, when quadriceps training program were planned to prevent pain or deformities, the findings that quadriceps were activated with different orders affected by knee alignments and joint degree at which trainings were performed, must be considered. If the selective training programs of quadriceps femoris are planned to prevent pain or deformities due to poor knee alignments, these should consider the subject's knee alignment condition.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.825-831
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• 2007

An elbow orthosis with a pneumatic rubber actuator has been developed to assist and enhance upper limb movements and has been examined for the effectiveness. The effectiveness of the elbow orthosis was examined by comparing muscular activities during alternate dumbbell curl exercises with and without the orthosis. The subjects participated in the experiment were younger adults in their twenties. The subjects were instructed to perform dumbbell curl motion in a sitting position with and without orthosis in turn and a dynamometer was used to measure elbow joint torque outputs in an isovelocity mode. The measurements were done with four various dumbbell loads: 0 kg, 1 kg, 3 kg, and 5 kg. The orthosis was pneumatically actuated and controlled in a passive mode. The most comfortable air pressure to the pneumatic actuator was determined to be 0.294MPa. Electromyography(EMG) was also measured during curl exercises. The muscles of interest were biceps brachii(BB), triceps brachii(TB), brachioradialis(Bo), and flexor carpi ulnaris(FCU) in the upper limbs. The experimental results showed that the muscular activities themselves significantly reduced with elbow orthosis on in performing similar activities without orthosis. As a result of this experiment, the effectiveness of the developed upper limb orthosis was confirmed and the level of assistance was quantified.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2005

The function of the masseter and anterior temporal muscles was assessed by electromyography in 30 patients with mandibular prognathism (20 patients with facial asymmetry and 10 patients without facial asymmetry) before orthognathic surgery and 4weeks afterwards. Electromyogram(EMG) recordings were made during resting, clenching and swallowing. We compared with right-left difference of this recording and asymmetry index before and after orthognathic surgery. The result of this study was as follows. 1. There was no significant right-left difference in muscle activities of masticatory muscles both asymmetric groups and controls and many variable change after orthognathic surgery.(P>0.05) 2. The mean electric activity of the masticatory muscles was found to have decreased during more clenching than resting, but there was no statistically significant difference because of individual difference of measuring values.(P>0.05) 3. The asymmetry index of masticatory muscles in asymmetric groups was significantly greater during clenching compared with controls.(P<0.05) In conclusion, no right-left difference of muscle activities was found in patients with facial asymmetry before orthognathic surgery and 4weeks afterwards. Not only muscular functioning but also many other factors, such as occlusion, temporomandibular joint disorder and trauma, probably affect facial asymmetry and will be analyzed in future studies. And we will need long term follow-up after orthognathic surgery.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supporting surface instability to trunk and lower extremity muscle activities during bridging exercise combined with core-stabilization exercise. Thirty young healthy adults (15 males and 15 females) voluntarily participated in this study. Each subject was asked to perform bridging exercise combined with core-stabilization exercise on three different supporting surfaces (stable ground surface, the wooden balancing board, and the air cushion). The muscle activities were measured using surface electromyography (EMG) during performing exercise. To test statistical significance, one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used with the significance level of .05. The findings of this study are summarized as follows. (1) There were significant differences in muscle activities on internal oblique, external oblique, gluteus medius, semitendinosus, biceps femoris, medial gastrocnemius and lateral gastrocnemius during exercise (p<.05). (2) The biceps femoris and lateral gastrocnemius showed significantly higher muscle activity on the wooden balancing board rather than on the ground, and semitendinosus, biceps femoris, medial gastrocnemius and lateral gastrocnemius showed significantly higher muscle activity on the air cushion rather than on the ground (p<.05). Therefore, it is concluded that muscle activities in the trunk and the lower limbs during bridging exercise combined with core-stabilization exercise was affected with instability of supporting surface. Further researches are needed to investigate the long term effect of bridging exercise on muscle activity with patient group.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.676-680
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• 2010

Purpose: Median nerve entrapment syndrome within carpal tunnel is usually called carpal tunnel syndrome and it is the most common form of peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome. Many factors such as diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hormonal replacement theraphy, corticosteroid use, rhematoid arthritis and wrist fractures may cause carpal tunnel syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of median nerve entrapment syndrome due to adhesion of laceration wound after suicidal attempt. Methods: A 28-year-old woman presented with a sensory change and thenar hypotrophy on her left hand. On her history, she attempted suicide by slashing her wrist. Initial electromyography (EMG) showed that the nerve conduction velocities of median nerve was delayed. Therefore, we performed surgical procedures. When exploration, Fibrous scar tissue observed around the median nerve but nerve had not been injured. Transcarpal ligament was completely released and adjacent fibrous tissue was removed to decompress the median nerve. Results: The postoperative course was uneventful until the first year. Opposition difficulty and thenar hypotrophy were improved progressively after the surgery. Sensory abnormality was slowly improved over one year. Conclusion: We report a case of median nerve entrapment syndrome that was caused by adhesion of laceration wound after suicidal attempt. This is an unusual cause of median nerve entrapment syndrome, the symptoms were relieved after transcarpal ligament release and fibrous scar tissue removal.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study is to suggest an intervention method for clinical use in the future by analyzing the effect of breathing exercise on activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior muscle, which are respiratory synergist muscles, and pulmonary functions in patients with forward head posture. Methods: Prior to the experiment, 12 patients (experimental group) performed feedback exhalation exercise along with conventional deep neck exercise, and 11 subjects (control group) performed feedback deep neck exercise along with conventional deep neck exercise. The intervention programs were performed for 40 minutes once a day (three times a week for four weeks). Results: Before intervention, %RMS was measured for surface electromyography (sEMG), and FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC were measured using a spirometer. After four weeks, these items were re-measured under the same condition and analyzed. In within-group comparison of the experimental group, activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior muscle showed a significant decrease (p<0.05)(p<0.001), and forced vital capacity (FVC) showed a significant increase (p<0.05). In within-group comparison of the control group, activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior muscle showed a significant decrease (p<0.05), and in between-group comparison, there were significant differences in activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and FVC (p<0.05). Conclusion: Long-term forward head posture restrains exercise performance of the neck and leads to exercise avoidance of the neck during daily activities, thus restraint factors might be created even while breathing. To cut off this link, a constant effort is required and diversified research on the correlation between neck functions and breathing should be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.193-199
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the activities of the serratus anterior (SA) and upper trapezius (UT) muscles during scapular protraction exercise with a dumbbell. Twenty-one healthy subjects with no medial history of shoulder pain or upper extremity disorders were recruited for this study. Subjects performed scapular protraction at $90^{\circ}$ and $130^{\circ}$ shoulder flexion with a dumbbell in supine and standing positions. The activities of the SA and UT were measured via surface electromyography (EMG) during 4 scapular protraction exercises. A 2 (angle) ${\times}$ 2 (position) repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the normalized activities of the SA and UT and the UT/SA ratio. The results showed that activities of both the SA and UT were the highest for the scapular protraction exercise at $130^{\circ}$ shoulder flexion in the standing position. However, the UT/SA ratio was the lowest for the exercise at $90^{\circ}$ shoulder flexion in supine position. Therefore, for selective activation of the SA muscle, we recommend performing the scapular protraction exercise with a dumbbell in the supine position at $90^{\circ}$ shoulder flexion.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.273-281
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of motor imagery training on residual upper extremity strength and activities of daily living of chronic cervical spinal cord injury patients. Methods: Twelve ASIA A B patients, who had more than a 12-month duration of illness and C5 or 6 motor nerve injury level, were randomly divided into experimental group (n=6) and control group (n=6). Patients in the experimental group performed motor imagery training for five minutes prior to general muscle strengthening training, while those in the control group performed general muscle strengthening training only. The training was performed five times per week, 30 minutes per day, for a period of four weeks. General muscle strengthening training consisted of a progressive resistive exercise for residual upper extremity. Motor imagery training consisted of imagining this task performance. Before and after the training, EMG activity using BTS Pocket Electromyography and Spinal Cord Independent Measure III(SCIM III) were compared and analyzed. Results: The residual upper extremity muscle strengths showed improvement in both groups after training. Comparison of muscle strength improvement between the two groups showed a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group (p<0.05). SCIM III measurements showed significant improvement in the scores for Self-care and Transfer items in the experimental group. Conclusion: Motor imagery training was more effective than general muscle strengthening training in improving the residual upper extremity muscle strength and activities of daily living of patients with chronic cervical spinal cord injury.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1345-1350
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• 2010

Sit-to-stand movement is a basic movement in daily activities. On the basis of this movement, the biomechanical functions of a person can be evaluated. The study of the joint kinematics, moment, and muscle coordination is necessary to understand the characteristics of the sit-to-stand movement. We have developed a motion-based program for inverse dynamics analysis and the electromyogram-based program for muscle force prediction. The joint kinematics and the kinetic results estimated on the basis of obtained motion data, ground reaction force, and electromyogram signals were compared with those reported in previous studies, and the muscle forces determined by the two methods were compared with each other. The methods and programs developed in this study can be used to understand biomechanics and muscle coordination involved in basic movements in daily activities.