• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2015

Objective: Cervical stabilization exercises are frequently to improve strength and endurance of cervical muscles. The purpose of this study was to identify changes in head repositioning accuracy (HRA) and neck proprioception through cervical stabilization exercises in healthy adults. Design: One group pretest-posttest design. Methods: Thirteen participants with no previous history of neck pain or injury to the cervical spine were recruited. HRA was measured by equipment including laser pointer, helmet, eye patch and marking pens. The distance between the spot where the beam had stopped and the center of the graph paper was measured three times with the averaged value used as the head repositioning accuracy. Neck proprioception was measured by a cervical range of motion device (CROM). Subjects wore the CROM tester and were to look straight ahead while bending his/her neck. Subjects were instructed to perform extension, lateral flexion and rotation, and the values were then measured and recorded. The measurements were performed pre-intervention, and after cervical stabilization exercise. Results: There was no significant difference on HRA after intervention. In addition, there was no significant difference on neck proprioception compared with pre-intervention. Conclusions: The present study did not identify any effect on HRA and neck proprioception of cervical stabilization exercise. Further investigations are required to elucidate this in old aged participants and patients with neck pain.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.36-46
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• 2021

Background: It is reported that the proprioceptive sensation of patients with neck pain is reduced, and neck sensory-motor control training using visual feedback is reported to be effective. Objects: The purpose of this study is to investigate how sensorimotor control training for the cervical spine affects pain, function, and psychosocial status in patients with chronic cervical pain. Methods: The subjects consisted of 36 adults (male: 15, female: 21) who had experienced cervical spine pain for more than 6 weeks. An exercise program composed of cervical stabilization exercise (10 minutes), electrotherapy (10 minutes), manual therapy (10 minutes), and cervical sensorimotor control training (10 minutes) was implemented for both the experimental and the control groups. The cervical range of motion (CROM) and head repositioning accuracy were assessed using a CROM device. In the experimental group, the subjects wore a laser device on the head to provide visual feedback while following pictures in front of their eyes; whereas, in the control group, the subjects had the same training of following pictures without the laser device. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in pain, dysfunction, range of motion, or psychosocial status; however, post-test results showed significant decreases after 2 weeks and 4 weeks compared to baseline (p < 0.01), and after 4 weeks compared to after 2 weeks (p < 0.01). The cervical joint position sense differed significantly between the two groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, visual feedback enhanced proprioception in the cervical spine, resulting in improved cervical joint position sense. On the other hand, there were no significant effects on pain, dysfunction, range of motion, or psychosocial status.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.319-324
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was to investigate the effect of dorsal neck muscle fatigue on the cervical range of motion (CROM) and proprioception in adults with the forward head posture (FHP). Methods: Thirty pain-free subjects were enrolled in this study. All subjects were measured the forward head angle by taking the capture of the sagittal plane of their upper body to determine the FHP. Subjects were distributed into two groups: the FHP group (n=14) and Control group (n=16). All subjects were measured the CROM and the Head repositioning accuracy (HRA) for joint proprioception before and after inducing muscle fatigue of the dorsal neck. The CROM and HRA were measured in neck flexion, extension, right-left lateral flexion, and right-left rotation. Sorenson's test was used to induce muscle fatigue of the dorsal neck. Results: Total CROMs were significantly decreased after dorsal neck muscle fatigue in both groups (p<0.05). Total HRAs were significantly increased after dorsal neck muscle fatigue in the FHP group (p<0.05), but there were no significant differences in the control group (p>0.05). Total CROM changes were not significant differences between groups (p>0.05), but total HRA changes were significant differences between groups (p<0.05) except for right and left lateral flexion (p>0.05). Conclusion: Immediate CROM and proprioception reduction after the dorsal neck muscle fatigue were observed in adults with the FHP. Therefore, FHP can significantly affect the CROM and positioning consistency of cervical proprioception.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.115-123
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mandible position on proprioception and range of motion (ROM) during neck stabilization exercise using a sling in healthy adults. Methods: The subjects were randomly assigned to either a sling exercise and mandible open group (n=10) or a sling exercise and mandible closed group (n=12). The sling exercise-mandible open group and sling exercise-mandible closed group took part in an exercise program for 30min, three times per week for 4 weeks. After each training session, head repositioning accuracy (HRA) and the ROM of the cervical spine were measured. Wilcoxon's test was conducted to verify changes within each group, and the Mann-Whitney U test was performed to examine between-group differences. Results: The HRA of the cervical spine was significantly increased during left rotation and extension in the sling exercise-mandible open group. In addition, there were significant differences in both rotations and extension in the two groups. The ROM of the cervical spine increased significantly during both rotations in the sling exercise-mandible closed group. In addition, there was a significant difference in right rotation and extension in both groups. Conclusion: Cervical stabilization exercise using a sling, with the mandible closed increased proprioception and the ROM of the cervical spine.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2002

We invented the newly developed Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy(F.S.R.T) system using combined techniques of couch mounting and pedestal mounting system. Head fixation frame consists of a milled alluminium alloy(duralumin) and is placed to the couch. This frame immobilized patient head using the dental bite, 3.2 mm frontal and occipital thermoplastic mask. To evaluate the coordinate of target isocenter, Brown-Revert-Walls C.T localizer can be attached to this frame. And also, we developed the frame mounting system by developing the modification of pedestal mounting system. This system is fixed to couch floor and can be used to evaluate the isocenteric accuracy of gantry, couch and collimator in Q.A procedure. In order to measure the relocation accuracy, the acrylic phantom and the accurate pointers have been made. The repositioning of the targets in the phantom were estimated by comparing C.T coordinates and E.C.L portal films taken with anterior-posterior and right-left direction. From the results of experiments, the average distance errors between the target isocenter and its mean position were 0.71$\pm$0.19 for lateral, 0.45$\pm$0.15 for inferior-superior, 0.63$\pm$0.18 for anterior-posterior. And the maximum distance error was less than 1.3 mm. The new head fixation frame and frame mounting system were non-invasive, accurately relocatable, easy to use, very light and well tolerable by the results of phantom tests. The major advantage of using this frame mounting system is complete access to any point in the Patients cranium especially posterior direction

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2013

At present, megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) is the only method used to correct the position of tomotherapy patients. MVCT produces extra radiation, in addition to the radiation used for treatment, and repositioning also takes up much of the total treatment time. To address these issues, we suggest the use of a video image-guided setup (VIGS) system for correcting the position of tomotherapy patients. We developed an in-house program to correct the exact position of patients using two orthogonal images obtained from two video cameras installed at $90^{\circ}$ and fastened inside the tomotherapy gantry. The system is programmed to make automatic registration possible with the use of edge detection of the user-defined region of interest (ROI). A head-and-neck patient is then simulated using a humanoid phantom. After taking the computed tomography (CT) image, tomotherapy planning is performed. To mimic a clinical treatment course, we used an immobilization device to position the phantom on the tomotherapy couch and, using MVCT, corrected its position to match the one captured when the treatment was planned. Video images of the corrected position were used as reference images for the VIGS system. First, the position was repeatedly corrected 10 times using MVCT, and based on the saved reference video image, the patient position was then corrected 10 times using the VIGS method. Thereafter, the results of the two correction methods were compared. The results demonstrated that patient positioning using a video-imaging method ($41.7{\pm}11.2$ seconds) significantly reduces the overall time of the MVCT method ($420{\pm}6$ seconds) (p<0.05). However, there was no meaningful difference in accuracy between the two methods (x=0.11 mm, y=0.27 mm, z=0.58 mm, p>0.05). Because VIGS provides a more accurate result and reduces the required time, compared with the MVCT method, it is expected to manage the overall tomotherapy treatment process more efficiently.