• PNF and Movement
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.291-302
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of neck and trunk stabilization exercise on the onset time of trunk muscle contraction in the elderly. Methods: Elderly subjects were divided into 2 groups: a neck and trunk stabilization exercise group (NTSG) and a control group (CG). The NTSG performed both neck and trunk stabilization exercises and the CG performed gait training on a treadmill, at 30 min per session, 3 times per week, over 8 weeks. Surface electromyography was employed to measure the onset times of trunk muscle contractions in the right anterior deltoid, rectus abdominis, external oblique abdominis, internal oblique abdominis, and erector spinae muscles. Results: The NTSG subjects showed earlier and statistically significant onset of contraction in trunk muscles as compared to the CG. Conclusion: The combination of neck and trunk stabilization exercises may more effectively improve the onset of muscle contractions in the elderly than other types of exercise. The present study's findings may be used as basic data for the development of exercise programs suitable to the elderly, specifically for the design of home exercise programs.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.453-458
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the activities of the abdominal and neck flexor muscles of children with and without cerebral palsy (CP) while lifting the head in a supine position. Methods: The subjects were eight children with CP and eight children without the disease. The activities of the external abdominal oblique (EO), internal abdominal oblique (IO), rectus abdominis (RA), sternocleidomastoid (SCM), and RA/SCM muscles were collected by surface electromyography (EMG) when the children lifted their heads. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the activity of each muscle during the head-lifting exercise. Statistical significance was accepted at p<0.05. Results: The activities of the EO, IO, and RA, and RA/SCM muscles differed significantly between the children with and without CP, but there was no significant between-group difference in the activity of the SCM muscle. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the abdominal muscles are not employed as much in the activities of children with CP compared to those without the disease. Additionally, those with CP were more dependent on the neck flexor muscle during the head-lifting exercise in a supine position.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the PNF stabilization technique for the hip joint and the bridging exercise on the trunk stabilizer muscles in healthy adults. Methods: Twenty-eight healthy adults were randomly allocated to either a PNF stabilization exercise group (n = 12) or a bridging exercise group (n = 16). The outcome measures included the contraction thickness ratio in the transversus abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO), and the TrA lateral slide was assessed during the abdominal drawing-in maneuver using b-mode ultrasound. The researcher measured the abdominal muscle thickness of each participant before the therapist began the intervention and at the moment that the intervention was applied. Between-group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: The PNF intervention program showed a significant increase in the trunk stabilizer muscle. The percentage of change in the TrA thickness showed a significant interaction between intervention. However, there were no significant differences in the IO and EO between the two groups. Conclusion: The PNF stabilization technique for the hip joint can be used effectively to improve the IO and TrA muscles in healthy adults.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.21-25
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• 1996

The Electomyographic (EMG) signals of flexor-extensor muscle pairs were investigated to identify the neural excitation pattern of low-back pain (LBP) patients during a repetitive bending motion. New parameters and EMG normalization technique were developed to quantitatively represent the difference of temporal EMG patterns between ten healthy subjects and ten LBP patients. Flexor-extensor muscle pairs such as rectus abdominis(RA)-erector spinae (ES at LS), external oblique(EO)-internal oblique(IO), rectus femois (quadriceps: QUD)-biceps femoris(hamstrings:HAM), and tibialis anterior(TA)-gastrocnemius(GAS) pairs of muscles were selected in this study. Results indicated that the temporal EMG pattern such as the peak timing difference of QUD-HAM muscle pair and the duration of coexcitation of ES-RA muscle pair showed a statistically isgnificant difference between healthy subjects and LBP patients. These results indicated that the new technique and parameters could be used as a diagnostic tool especially for LBP patients with soft tissue injuries that are rarely dentified by traditional imaging techniques such as X-ray, CT scan or MRI. Improtantly, the new EMG technique did not require the maximal volutary contraction(MVC) measure for normalization that helped patients minimize the pain experience during and after the session. Further study needs to be made to validate and refine this method for clinical application.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2016

Background: Prolonged sitting leads to low back discomfort and lumbopelvic muscle fatigue. This study examined the characteristics of body perceived discomfort and trunk muscle fatigue during 1 hour of sitting in three postures in office workers. Methods: Thirty workers sat for 1 hour in one of three sitting postures (i.e., upright, slumped, and forward leaning postures). Body discomfort was assessed using the Body Perceived Discomfort scale at the beginning and after 1 hour of sitting. Electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from superficial lumbar multifidus, iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis, internal oblique (IO)/transversus abdominis (TrA), and rectus abdominis muscles during 1 hour of sitting. The median frequency (MDF) of the EMG power spectrum was calculated. Results: Regardless of the sitting posture, the Body Perceived Discomfort scores in the neck, shoulder, upper back, low back, and buttock significantly increased after 1 hour of sitting compared with baseline values ($t_{(9)}=-11.97$ to -2.69, p < 0.05). The MDF value of the EMG signal of rectus abdominis, iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis, and multifidus muscles was unchanged over time in all three sitting postures. Only the right and left IO/TrA in the slumped sitting posture was significantly associated with decreased MDF over time (p = 0.019 to 0.041). Conclusion: Prolonged sitting led to increased body discomfort in the neck, shoulder, upper back, low back, and buttock. No sign of trunk muscle fatigue was detected over 1 hour of sitting in the upright and forward leaning postures. Prolonged slumped sitting may relate to IO/TrA muscle fatigue, which may compromise the stability of the spine, making it susceptible to injury.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.177-185
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• 2022

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of additional isometric contraction of trunk, shoulder, and hip muscles during abdominal crunch exercise on abdominal muscle thickness and to identify the most effective intervention for core muscle activation. Methods : This study was conducted on 22 healthy male adults. Subjects performed three types of crunch exercises (abdominal crunches accompanied by internal and external isometric rotation of the hip, horizontal shoulder adduction and abduction, and rotation of the trunk). The thickness of the transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) were evaluated using ultrasonography. The collected data used one-way repeated ANOVA statistics. Wilcoxon signed-rank test of nonparametric statistics was used for post-test analysis. Results : The IO thickness was significantly lower than general abdominal crunch when shoulder adduction was added (p<.05). The crunch with shoulder abduction, hip external rotation, and ipsilateral trunk rotation was significantly higher than the abdominal crunch (p<.05). The EO thickness was significantly greater in the crunch with hip external rotation than in the abdominal crunch (p<.05). Conclusion : The level of contraction in abdominal muscles appears to vary when isometric contractions of the trunk, shoulder, and hip muscles are added to the abdominal crunch exercise. Therefore, the use of isometric contractions of other joints to selectively induce contraction of the abdominal muscles may be considered.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.129-136
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• 2018

PURPOSE: This Study compared the level of activation of the muscles around the shoulder at the time of abduction through Pilates breathing and regular breathing by using quantified biofeedback. METHODS: Experiment was conducted on 25 healthy males and females in the age bracket of 20's~30's as the subjects. The level of activation of muscles displayed at the time of Pilates breathing were measured at intercostal (InC) muscle, transverse abdominis (TrA) muscle, internal oblique (IO) muscle and external oblique (EO) muscle by using surface electromyogram (EMG) and were provided as biofeedback. Moreover, the changes in the level of muscular activation at sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle, upper trapezius (UT) muscle and Deltoid (Del) muscle, which are the muscles around the shoulder, at the time of abduction of shoulder during Pilates breathing and regular breathing were measured. RESULTS: When abduction of shoulder is executed through Pilates breathing, the level of muscular activation of UT muscle was $11.56{\pm}7.10%$ at the time of exhaling of Pilates breathing and $17.54{\pm}9.57%$ at the time of exhaling of regular breathing. Del muscle also displayed lowered level of muscular activation at the time of Pilates breathing with $12.88{\pm}5.80%$ during inhaling and $15.14{\pm}5.49%$ during exhaling. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the results could be interpreted as indicating that the muscle activities of upper trapezius and deltoid muscle were decreased based on Pilates breathing more than those on regular breathing.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of abdominal muscle contraction thickness using real-time ultrasound imaging while applying an abdominal draw-in maneuver (ADIM) and pelvic floor muscle contraction (PFC) to low back pain patients and healthy subjects. Methods: The subjects were 21 young adults; a group of 10 low back pain patients and a control group of 11 healthy subjects. Measurements were made with the subjects on a pillow in a supine position, with the knee joints flexed at 60 degrees. While the two groups conducted ADIM and PFC, their transverse abdominal muscle (TrA), internal abdominal oblique muscle (IO), and external abdominal oblique muscle (EO) thicknesses were measured using an ultrasound imaging system. Result: The TrA muscle contraction thickness ratio during PFC and ADIM was significantly lower in the low back pain group than in the healthy group (p<0.05). The EO muscle contraction thickness ratio during ADIM was also significantly lower in the low back pain group than in the healthy group. The healthy group's muscle contraction thickness ratio was significantly lower during PFC than during ADIM in the TrA, IO, and EO (p<0.05). The low back pain group's muscle contraction thickness ratio was lower during PFC than during ADIM in the TrA, IO, and EO, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that oral direction during ADIM induced an appropriate contraction of the TrA. Therefore, the procedure reported here may be applied during rehabilitation for appropriate contraction of the TrA.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.8-15
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• 2011

Abdominal muscle plays a crucial role in postural control and respiration control. However, thickness of abdominal muscle in the paretic side of a hemiplegic patient has not been reported in previous studies. The purpose of this research was to compare lateral abdominal muscle thickness between the nonparetic and paretic side in patients with chronic stroke using rehabilitative ultrasound imaging. Twenty two patients with chronic stroke participated in this study. Absolute thickness of transversus abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO) and external oblique (EO) was measured at the end of inspiration and expiration during quiet breathing, and relative thickness was calculated (thickness of each muscle as a percentage of total muscle thickness). Ultrasound imaging was recorded three times and the average value was determined for statistical analysis. Differences in absolute and relative lateral abdominal muscle thickness between the nonparetic and paretic side were assessed with paired t-tests. Absolute muscle thickness of the paretic side TrA was thinner than that of the nonparetic side at the end of inspiration and expiration during quiet breathing. Relative muscle thickness of the paretic side TrA was thinner than the paretic side only at the end of expiration during quiet breathing (p>.05). Therefore, it is necessary to strength TrA in patients with chronic stroke during physical therapy intervention. Further study is needed whether physical therapy intervension will induce TrA thickness in patients with chronic stroke in prospective study design.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of three pelvic floor muscle (PFM) exercises on the thickness of PFM and transverse abdominal muscle (TrA), the internal oblique muscle, and the external oblique muscle. The PFM and trunk muscles were measured using ultrasonography in 4 conditions.rest, conventional PFM contraction (Ex A), PFM contraction with hip adductor contraction (Ex B), and PFM contraction with real-time ultrasound imaging (Ex C). The thickness of PFM in Ex C showed a significantly more decrease compared to rest and others (all comparisons, p<.05). The thickness of TrA in Ex C showed a significantly more increase compared to rest and others (all comparisons, p<.05). This study would recommend the use of PFM contraction with real-time ultrasonographic imaging to improve women's incontinence.