• PNF and Movement
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.213-222
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of early body-weight-supported treadmill training on quadriceps strength, knee pain, and arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) after knee surgery. Methods: Sixteen adults were selected. Seven patients in the experimental group performed body-weight-supported treadmill training, and nine patients in the control group performed general therapeutic exercise programs. Both groups received 20 minutes of neuromuscular electrical stimulation and 20 minutes of exercise therapy for two weeks. We measured quadriceps strength, visual analogue scale, and modified AMI classification grade before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Within the experimental group, significant differences were observed in quadriceps strength, visual analogue scale, and modified AMI classification grade. Significant differences were observed between the before- and after-intervention groups in quadriceps strength and visual analogue scale. However, no significant differences were found in the modified AMI classification. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that early body-weight-supported treadmill training may be an effective intervention for improving strength, reducing pain, and addressing arthrogenic muscle inhibition following knee surgery.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of massage, stretching exercise, and scapular stabilization exercise in patients with upper trapezius myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). Methods: Twenty-three female patients with upper trapezius MPS were randomly allocated to three groups: massage, stretching exercise, and scapular stability exercise groups. Therapeutic intervention for all groups included general therapy such as hot pack, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and ultrasound. Patients in the massage group (n=8), stretching group (n=7), and stabilization exercise group (n=8) received their respective therapy program after general therapy for 15 minutes. Therapeutic intervention for each group was performed three times per week for six weeks. All groups were tested four times: prior to the test, at three weeks, at six weeks, and at nine weeks. Results: Pain levels decreased significantly in the stretching and stabilization exercise groups over time (p<.05). The rate of change in pain level was significantly different among all groups (p<.01), and the stability exercise group experienced the lowest pain level. Pressure-pain level increased significantly in the stabilization exercise group over time (p<.05). The rate of change in pressure-pain level was significantly different among all groups (p<.01), and the stability exercise group had the highest pressure-pain level. The level of upper-extremity stability increased significantly in the stability exercise group over time (p<.05). The rate of change in the upper-extremity stabilization level was significantly different among all groups (p<.01), and the stability exercise group had the highest upper-extremity stability level. Conclusions: Scapular stabilization exercises proved to be the most effective therapy for MPS patients.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.453-464
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• 2021

Abdominal obesity is increasing due to a decrease in physical activity and westernization of diet in busy daily life. Therefore, in order to satisfy the desire for body shape management, a management program with high efficiency versus time is needed. In this study, the diet-gel (i.e., slimming cosmetics) with the electrical muscle stimulation therapy was used to promote the effect of reducing waist circumference and body fat mass (or abdominal fat). For men and women in their twenties, the subjects simply applied diet-gel to their waist, wore EMS, and massaged for 20 minutes twice a day after waking up and before going to sleep. The experiment period was carried out for 2 weeks. The reduction of subcutaneous fat was observed using non-contrast CT, and it was confirmed by measuring waist circumference and body fat mass. In conclusion, the developed EMS and diet-gel combination program showed excellent waist management effects by reducing waist circumference by about 3 cm (p<0.001) and body fat mass by about 1 kg (p<0.01). This result suggests that the use of EMS shows a massage effect by muscle stimulation, and plays a role in promoting fat decomposition by helping the absorption of diet gel.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.689-694
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• 2014

We report a female small cell lung cancer patient in the extensive stage(T3N3Mx). After 6 cycles of chemotherapy combined radiation therapy, she received inpatient Korean medical care including herbal medicine, acupuncture therapy and concurrent western oral medications of opioid analgesics and anti-anxiety agent. The chief complaint was right side thoracic wall pain which had started after chemotherapy and was not effectively controlled by analgesics. For this condition, we treated her with 2Hz of constant electrical stimulation on Jiaji (Ex-B2) points T5-T7 laterally (right) using three needles for 20 minutes once a day for 9 days. With every session of electrical acupuncture treatment, thoracic pain decreased acutely. Korean medicine treatments including Jiaji (Ex-B2) point stimulation might be tried for lung cancer patients with uncontrolled thoracic pain at least for the acute analgesic effect.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.22-26
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was performed to estimate the effectiveness of burning acupuncture therapy (Hwachim) and sweet bee venom pharmacopuncture (S-BV pharmacopuncture) in treating lateral epicondylitis of elbow. Methods: We selected 33 patients at first, but 13 patients were excluded due to unclear medical records. Finally, a total of 20 patients who had received treatment from January 2012 to December 2013 were included in this study; all 20 patients had undergone Hwachim for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis of elbow, and 19 of the 20 had been treated with S-BV pharmacopuncture (Korea Pharmacopuncture Institute, KPI) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as an ancillary treatment method. The degrees of pain of the 20 patients were evaluated by using the visual analogue scale (VAS) score at their first and final visits. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the VAS scores statistically. Results: The VAS score had decreased significantly from $10.00{\pm}0.00$ to $4.00{\pm}2.47$ (P = 0.000) by the end of the treatment. No significant changes were observed based on the number of treatments (P = 0.246), the age of the patients (P = 0.810), the duration of the illness (P = 0.705), and the location of the lesion (P = 0.076). Conclusion: This study suggests Hwachim and S-BV pharmacopuncture are very effective for treating lateral epicondylitis of the elbow.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate influence of superficial heat and deep heat for lumbo-sacral segment on H-reflex. Methods: Subjects of this research were 12 normal men and women (6 men and 6 women) and they were assigned to superficial heat group (6) and deep heat group (6). Heat treatment was applied between Th12-L2 by placing them at prone posture. superficial heat was applied for 20 min at 30 cm height with infrared lamp. Deep heat was applied for 20 mm at 5 cm height with 100 watt of microwave diathermy. H-reflex used diagnostic electromyography, active electrode was placed at muscle belly of medial gastrocnemius muscle at prone posture and electrical stimulation was given to posterior tibial nerve. Measurement was made before and after experiment and 10 min. and 20 min. after experiment. All data were analyzed with window 12.0 program, comparison of differences among measured items of groups according to repeated measurement was made with repeated measures ANOVA and significance level a was 0.05. Results: M latency at latency analysis showed little changes at two groups. H latency was reduced a little immediately after experiment and recovered to original state, there was significant difference. In analysis of amplitude, Mmax amplitude showed rise a little immediately after.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.87-95
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• 2008

Background: Hemiplegic patients usually have difficulty maintaining balance. Balance training is a major component of there habilitation program for patients with neurological impairment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of PLS(Posterior Leaf Spring), FES(Functional Electrical stimulation), treadmill training, and neurodevelopmental treatment on the improvement of balance in patients with hemiplegia. Methods: We looked into published studies from Dankook University’s electronic library databases of RISS4U, KMbase, NCBI, and MEDLIS concerning the effectiveness of any form of intervention leading to improvement of balance. All types of studies relevant to the topic that were published in English during the time period of 1986 to 2005 were included. Results: 1. There were significant differences in standing balance, dynamic activity balance, and gait speed between barefoot subjects and subjects who wore SPAFO and HPAFO(p<.05). 2. The changes in ROM and FRT related to sex, age, height, and weight part of the diagnosis, as well as experience relapse, was of meaningless value. Changes in ROM related to the duration of pain and experiences of falling down were also meaningless. However, FRT showed significant static differences(p<.05). 3. The body-weight-support treadmill training scoring of standing balance, step length, and a timed 10m walking test showed definite improvement. 4. The proprioceptive control approach improved dynamic balance in patients with hemiplegia. Conclusion: Consequently, further study is needed to verify methods when physical therapists are researching balance ability in hemiplegic patient.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.211-220
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• 2020

Purpose : The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of VR training with FES on improving the muscle strength, AROM, and function of the upper limb joints in patients with chronic stroke. Methods : The present study makes use of a pre-post control group design. Thirty patients with chronic stroke were randomly assigned to two groups according to treatment method - the VRFES group and the control group. The VRFES group received 15 minutes of VR training and 15 minutes of FES treatment. The control group received 15 minutes of conservative physical therapy and 15 minutes of VR training. All subjects received 30 minutes of treatment, three times a week, for eight weeks, which amounted to 24 sessions of training. The muscle strength, AROM, and function of the upper extremities were measured before the training and eight weeks after. Upper limb muscle strength was tested using the Digital Manual Muscle Tester while AROM was measured using the Digital Dual Inclinometer. The clinical assessment tools for upper extremity function included the use of the Manual Function Test and the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test. Results : Both groups exhibited great improvements in muscle strength and upper extremity function during the intervention period. The VRFES group exhibited a significant difference in muscle strength, AROM, and function of the upper extremities in comparison with the control group(p<.05). Our results reveal that VRFES is more effective for the muscle strength, AROM, and function of the upper extremities in patients with chronic stroke. Conclusion : VRFES treatment will be used as an important intervention for improving the muscle strength, AROM, and function of the upper extremities in patients with chronic stroke and achieving the functional recovery of the upper extremities.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.113-120
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• 2022

Purpose : Lymphedema is a common complication in mastectomy patients and is usually characterized by pain, swelling, and limited range of motion (ROM) in the arm. Electromyostimulation (EMS) is widely used for the rehabilitation and recovery of subjects with various neuromusculoskeletal disorders after breast cancer. However, EMS has not yet been used in many Pilates exercises. This study was aimed at comparing the effects of instrument Pilates integrated with EMS on pain, lymphedema, and ROM of the upper extremity (UE) in breast cancer subjects after mastectomy. Methods : Nine female breast cancer subjects who had undergone mastectomy participated in the study. The subjects underwent instrument Pilates with EMS (experimental group) or instrument Pilates only (control group). Pain, lymphedema, and ROM of the UE were measured using the visual analog scale (VAS), the circumference length of the UE, and the ROM of the UE. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the pain, lymphedema, and ROM of the arm before and after the intervention, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the two groups. The statistical significance level was set to p < .05. Results : In the experimental group, there were significant differences in pain (p<.05) and UE circumference (p<.05) before and after intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in VAS (p>.05) or circumference length of the UE (p>.05). There was one significant difference between the groups in terms of internal rotation of the ROM of the UE (p<.05). Conclusion : These results show that instrument Pilates exercises combined with EMS may positively affect the internal rotation of the ROM of the UE in breast cancer patients after mastectomy, thus contributing to existing knowledge about instrument Pilates using EMS for the effective management of in breast cancer subjects after mastectomy.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.175-182
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• 2017

Microcurrent electrical stimulation(MES) has been used to accelerate recovery of atrophied skeletal muscle. However, convincing stimulation parameters for suppressing muscle atrophy due to injured sciatic nerve remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effective intensity of MES on restraining muscle atrophy with rat model underwent sciatic nerve injury(SNI). Twenty-5-week-old Sprague Dawley male rats were equally assigned to five groups : Control group(Control, CON, n = 4), Denervation group(Denervation, D, n = 4), Denervation with MES of $22{\mu}A$ group(Denervation + $22{\mu}A$, D+22, n = 4), Denervation with MES of $100{\mu}A$ group (Denervation + $100{\mu}A$, D+100 n = 4), Denervation with MES of $400{\mu}A$ group(Denervation + $400{\mu}A$, D+400, n = 4). To induce muscle atrophy, all rats in the D, D+22, D+100, and D+400 groups, were subjected to sciatic nerve injury on their right hindlimb and allowed to have 1 week of resting period. Following this period, rats underwent daily MES(60 min/ a day, 5times/1week) for 4 weeks. After that, we investigate morphological changes in muscle volume by using in vivo micro-computed tomography at week 0, 1, 3 and 5. After 5 weeks, the muscle volume had the highest value in D+400 group, and also noticeably increased in D+100 group compared to it in D group. The results of this study imply that MES with current intensities between $100-400{\mu}A$ can suppress muscle atrophy effectively.