• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.91-101
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of balance exercises accompanied by ankle fixation on the healthy side on the balance control ability and gait of patients with subacute stroke. METHODS: The study was conducted on 23 patients with subacute stroke. Eleven people were assigned randomly to the experimental group who performed balance exercises with ankle fixation on the healthy side, and 12 were assigned to the control group who performed balance exercises without ankle fixation. The intervention was conducted for 30 minutes three times a week for four weeks. The Berg Balance Scale, a weight-bearing ratio measurement, was performed to evaluate the balance ability before and after intervention. The gait symmetry, walking speed, cadence, step length, and 10-meter walk test were conducted to evaluate the walking ability. RESULTS: A significant difference in the Berg Balance Scale was observed between before and after the intervention in the experimental group. A comparison of the two groups also revealed a significant difference. Significant differences in the gait symmetry, walking speed, and step length measurements were observed before and after the intervention in the experimental group, and significant differences in the gait symmetry and step length measurements were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Through this study, balance exercises with the healthy side ankle fixed showed qualitative improvement in the balance and walking ability, suggesting future directions for the rehabilitation treatment of stroke patients.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.67-74
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• 2009

Background: This study had been carried out with 20 elderly subjects as its object for about one month from November 3, 2008 to December 14, 2008 in order to observe the effect of Underwater Treadmill on the elderly's walking and balance ability. Methods: Subjects were assigned either experimental group (n=10) or the control group (n=10), experimental group received Underwater Treadmill program (30 min per course, 3days a week for 6weeks). Subjects were assessed for muscle power (Nicolas Manual Muscle Test), balance (Functional Reach Test), gait ability (Time Up and Go, 10M walking test) before experiments and after experiments. Results: The results of this study were as follows; 1. After underwater treadmill exercise, the change of isometric contraction indicated a beneficial increase on lower extremity muscle power of experimental group and functional test of balance function; FRT, TUG indicated beneficial difference between groups. 2. beneficial difference between groups in walking speed of hourly index change of walking function. 3. between muscle power and balance, gait ability, we could find out there's high correlation ship between lower extremity muscle power increasing and balance and gait ability of the elderly. Conclusion: Aerobic exercise using underwater treadmill effects on muscle power strengthening of the elderly, and because of this, increase of lower extremity muscle power is very helpful not only to improvement of balance ability, but also to improvement of gait ability, so it will be used as a physical therapy program on clinic and used as an exercise program for protecting the elderly from falling down very well.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.75-88
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of anterior, posterior, and lateral pelvic tilt exercise upon the gait characteristics of patients with hemiplegia including their gait velocity, cadence, stride length, step length of the non affected side, step length of the affected side, foot angle of the non affected side, foot angle of the affected side, base of support, and so on. The subject of this study was 24 men and women patients with hemiplegia. The patients, the subject of this study, were classified into 12 patients of treatment group applying pelvic tilt exercise using visual feedback and 12 patients of control group applying general pelvic tilt exercise, and then analyzed their gait before and after exercise. Temporal distance gait analysis (Boening, 1977) was used to analyze their gait, and ink foot-print was applied as on of measurement methods. To find out meaningful difference between control group and treatment group, this study carried out independent sample t-test for each item by utilizing SPSS/Win 10.0, compared changes in control group's and treatment group's gait characteristics before and after exercise as percentage, and applied paired t-test to conduct before-after test in same group. Statistical significance level was ${\alpha}$ < 0.05. The results of this study were as follows. As a result of independent sample t-test for control group's and treatment group's gait characteristics after exercise, it was not statistically significant so there was no meaningful difference between two groups. However, it was statistically significant in the change rate(%) of gait characteristics, and treatment group's patients with hemiplegia had been highly changed in gait characteristics in comparison with control group. From the above-mentioned results, could find that pelvic tilt exercise using visual feedback for patients with hemiplegia was effective to improve their gait ability and it could increase the ability in comparison with general pelvic tilt exercise. In the future, studies on the effect of pelvic tilt exercise using visual feedback shall be continued based on more quantitative methods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2014

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of flexible derotator of femur orthosis (FDO) during treadmill gait training on the quadriceps-angle (Q-angle), lateral pelvic tilt, gait speed, and number of steps in children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: Seven children with cerebral palsy who had rotational deformity of the lower extremities participated in this study. We used single group repeated measure design. The procedure consisted of baseline phase, intervention phase, and post-intervention phase. The baseline phase consisted of stretching and strengthening exercise and treadmill gait training without FDO. The treatment phase not only included the same procedures as those for baseline, but also included FDO during treadmill gait training. Postural alignment of the lower extremities was assessed with the Q-angle, and lateral pelvic tilt using the Dartfish software program. A 10-m walk test was used to evaluate gait speed and number of steps. RESULTS: For postural alignment, there was significant differences after the application of FDO (p<.05). For gait ability, there was significant differences in all phases (p<.01). CONCLUSION: These finding suggest that the application of FDO during treadmill gait training had a positive effect on the improvement of postural alignment and gait ability in children with cerebral palsy having rotational deformity.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.7-17
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the involved lower limb weight bearing training on symmetrical weight supporting rate improvement and gait characteristics of patients with hemiplegia including their gait velocity, cadence, stride length, step length of the non affected side, step length of the affected side, foot angle of the non affected side, foot angle of the affected side, base of support, and so on. The subject of the study was 28 men and women patients with hemiplegia from 22 to 77 age, among patients who doctor diagnosed as hemiplegia due to stroke or traumatic brain injury, were possible to do independent gait more than 45m without others assistance, the flexion contracture of hip pint was less than $15^{\circ}$, did not have contracture for knee pint and one more than $5^{\circ}$ for ankle joint, did not have contraindication for exercise or gait did not show visual defect due to brain injury. The patients, the subject of the study, were classified into 14 patients of treatment. group applying continuous involved weight bearing with general therapeutic exercise and 14 patients of control group applying general therapeutic exercise, and then analyzed their gait before and after exercise. Temporal distance gait analysis(Boening, 1977) was used to analyze their gait, and ink foot-print was applied as one of measurement methods. However, it was statistically signifiant in the change rate(%) of gait characteristics, and treatment group's patients with hemiplegia had been highly changed in gait characteristics in comparison with control group. From the above-mentioned results, could find that continuous involved weight bearing training for patients with hemiplegia was effective to improve their gait ability and it could increase the ability in comparison with general exercise.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2014

Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify functional problems, including walking ability, of patients with strokes using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and to present a method that could solve functional problems, thereby determining the applicability of the ICF to increase the quality of evaluation and intervention in clinical fields in the future. Methods: Information on stroke patients who were admitted and treated in a hospital was collected. The authors conducted evaluations, interventions, and measurements of the results of the ICF tool in order to improve gait abilities of patients. The subjects were trained using proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) one hour a day and five times a week for four weeks. The result measurement variables were a six-minute gait test, 10 m velocity test, gait instability test, and measurements using the ICF sheet. Results: In the six-minute gait test, gait distance increased by 48 m, from 102 m to 150 m. The gait velocity test result showed an improvement from 0.36m/s to 0.44m/s. The subjects performed a gait instabilitytestwithacupfilledwith50mmwater. In the gait instability test, the amount of water was 38 mm before the intervention; however, it was 50 mm after the intervention. The gait velocity with a cup filled with water improved from 0.25m/s to 0.31m/s. Conclusion: An evaluation and intervention were designed with the ICF tool for stroke patients. Gait abilities improved when the PNF technique was used. The IFC method can be used for evaluation and intervention, and it could help improve gait abilities of stroke patients.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.135-145
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between cognitive and motor inhibition by comparing muscle activity and ground reaction force during unplanned gait termination according to reaction time measured through the stop-signal task. Methods: Sixteen young adults performed a stop-signal task and an unplanned gait termination separately. The subjects were divided into fast and slow groups based on their stop-signal reaction time (SSRT), as measured by the stop-signal task. Electromyography (EMG) and ground reaction force (GRF) were compared between the groups during unplanned gait termination. The data for gait termination were divided into three phases (Phase 1 to 3). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare spatiotemporal gait parameters and EMG and GRF data between groups. Results: The slow group had significantly higher activity of the tibialis anterior in Phase 2 and Phase 3 than the fast group (p <0.05). In Phase 1, the fast group had significantly shorter time to peak amplitude (TPA) of the soleus than the slow group (p <0.05). In Phase 2, the TPA of the tibialis anterior was significantly lower in the fast group than the slow group (p <0.05). In Phase 3, there was no significant difference in the GRF between the two groups (p >0.05). There were no significant difference between the two groups in the spatiotemporal gait parameters (p >0.05). Conclusion: Compared to the slow group, the fast group with cognitive inhibition suppressed muscle activity for unplanned gait termination. The association between SSRT and unplanned gait termination shows that a participant's ability to suppress an incipient finger response is relevant to their ability to construct a corrective gait pattern in a choice-demanding environment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.125-135
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• 2012

Purpose : This study is designed to demonstrate the effects of circuit obstacle group gait training on walking ability and emotion in stroke patients. Methods : Twenty one patients with stroke were participated in this study. The subjects were divided into control group(n=10) and experimental group(n=11). Circuit obstacle group gait training consisted of walking around obstacles, walking over obstacles, walking up and down slopes and walking up and down stairs. Circuit obstacle group gait training was conducted five times per week, 1 hour per session, for 6 consecutive weeks. At pre-test and post-test, subjects were tested with 10 m walking test, timed up and go test, up and down 4 stairs test, depression and self esteem. Results : After 6 weeks of research, the experimental group showed statistically significant difference in all items when comparing prior to training and after training (p<.05), but the control group showed statistically significant difference in items other than depression and self esteem(p<.05). In the comparison between the two groups, the experimental group showed higher improvement than the control group in the 10 m walking test, timed up and go test, and up and down 4 stairs test, and there was statistically significant difference in decrease of degree in depression between the experimental group and control group(p<.05). Conclusion : This study have shown that circuit obstacle group gait training improves walking ability and emotion in stroke patients.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the effects of taping therapy on the balance and gait of stroke patients. Methods: The subjects of this study were 30 stroke patients. The treatment groups were prescribed a combination of taping, therapy applied simultaneously to the ankle and the hip joint, and general physical therapy twice a day for 30 minutes each, five days per week for 4 weeks for a total of 40 times. The control group was treated with general physical therapy for 30 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks, and total 40 times. All subjects were followed up on a Berg balance scale, timed up and go test, activity-specific balance confidence scale, and GaitRite. Results: The group that simultaneously received taping therapy to the ankle and hip joint showed more significant effects than the group treated with ankle joint taping only (p<0.05). Effects were noted in the Berg balance scale, timed up and go test, activity-specific balance confidence scale and gait ability test. Compared to the control group, the group treated at the ankle and hip joint showed significant effects after the experiment in the Berg balance scale, timed up and go test, activity-specific balance confidence scale, and gait ability test (p<0.05). Conclusion: Taping therapy applied to both the ankle and hip joints, and combined with general physical therapy appears to be effective in patients with chronic stroke who have an impaired balance and gait ability.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.237-243
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of toe wedges on the gait ability of adolescents with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Methods: Six adolescents with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy participated in this study. During the participants walked with- and without toe wedges, the gait ability was analyzed using the electronic walkway system. Gait parameters, including velocity, cadence, step length, stride length, single support time, and double support time, were collected and analyzed. Results: When the participants walked with toe wedges, there were significant improvements in gait velocity, cadence, and double support time compared to those without toe wedges (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in step length, stride length, and single support time. Conclusion: Toe wedges may have a positive effect on the gait ability of adolescents with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. However, it is necessary to conduct high-quality studies to identify the effects of toe wedges.