• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2020

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of a whole body vibration-exercise program on the muscle strength, balance, and falling efficacy of super-aged women. METHODS: Thirty participants, who are over 75 years of age, were recruited. They were assigned randomly to an experimental group (n=15), which received whole body vibration exercise, and a control group (n=15), which received an exercise program that did not include vibration. The interventions lasted for four weeks, three times a day, and 25 minutes per session. To compare the effects of the intervention, a 30-second chair stand test (CST), Korean version of Berg balance scale (K-BBS), functional reach test (FRT), timed up and go test (TUG), and Korean version of the falls efficacy scale (K-FES) was used. RESULTS: The experimental group showed a significant increase (p.<05) before and after the intervention in the chair stand test (CST), Korean version of the Berg balance scale (K-BBS), functional reach test (FRT), timed up-and-go (TUG), and Korean version of the fall efficacy scale (K-FES). Compared to the control group, the experiment group showed a more significant increase (p.<05) in the CST, K-BBS, and FRT. CONCLUSION: A whole body vibration exercise program could be suggested as an effective intervention method for muscle and balance strengthening for super-aged women.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.49-56
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• 2006

This study was designed to examine, using Rasch analysis, the rating scale performance of the Korean version of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The subjects were 95 elderly people at community dwelling. Subjects (19 men, 76 women) ranged in age from 65 to 91 years. Rasch analysis was then done by means of the Winsteps program to determine the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the BBS evaluation tools for elderly people. The results were as follows: Twenty-one elderly people were excluded for misfit persons. Three items were found to be misfits and the order of item difficulty of the remaining 11 items was arranged. Elderly people BBS ability is indicated by -.94~7.41 logit, and the transformation formula is score=(logit score+.94)/$(.94+7.41){\times}100$. This transformation formula can be applied to Korean elderly people for balance ability. In the order of difficulty of evaluation items, the most difficult item was "Standing on one foot" and the easiest item was "Standing to Sitting". In conclusion, the Korean version of BBS evaluation tool for the elderly people has been proved valid and will be useful in clinical practice and research in Korea.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.373-382
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• 2014

Objectives: This study is a report of the clinical application of traditional Korean medicine on ataxia with cerebellar atrophy. Methods: The ataxia in this case occurred 5 years ago. The symptoms had been getting worse until the patient came to hospital. The MRI of this patient showed atrophy of the cerebellum. We measured the state of this case with the Korean version of the Berg Balance Scale (K-BBS), before and after treatment and Numeric Rating Scale-11 (NRS-11) of the symptoms, every week. We treated the case with traditional Korean medicine such as acupuncture and Gamiyukmijihwang-tang. Results: After treatment, the score of K-BBS increased, while the score of NRS-11 decreased. Conclusions: According to this study, traditional Korean medicine is effective for controlling ataxia caused by cerebellar atrophy.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.195-204
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• 2020

Purpose: The study investigated the effect of combined balance exercise using visual feedback and balance pads in rehabilitation of chronic stroke patients. Methods: The participants were 30 patients diagnosed with stroke who met the study selection criteria. Participants were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10: a balance pad exercise (BPE) group, a visual feedback exercise (VFE) group, and a combined balance exercise (CBE) group. All three groups engaged in 30 minutes of exercise, 3 times per week, for 6 weeks. Results: Pre-test and post-test results were analyzed using the functional reach test (FRT), the Berg balance scale (BBS), the timed up & go test (TUG), and the Korean version of the activities-specific balance confidence (K-ABC) scale. The study yielded the following results. Pre- and post-program FRT measures showed significant differences between the BPE and CBE groups (p < 0.05). BBS, TUG, and K-ABC scores showed clear differences in all three groups. Secondly, the CBE group and the BPE group a differed significantly on the BBS before and after the 6-week program (p < 0.05). Finally, the CBE group and the VFE group differed significantly on the BBS before and after the 6-week program (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study results indicate that combined balance exercise improves balance more effectively than the balance pad and visual feedback exercises. This finding should help to improve rehabilitation in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.61-71
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of whole body vibration exercise on balance, muscle strength and falls efficacy in the elderly. METHODS: In this blinded randomized allocation study, 27 elderly were assigned to a whole-body vibration exercise group (n=14), consisting of 25 min structured exercises for 2 days per week for 6 weeks and a control group (n=13) performing the same program without vibration. At baseline and after the 6-week intervention, balance was measured using the Korean version of the Berg balance scale (K-BBS), timed up and go (TUG) test and functional reach test (FRT). Muscle strength was determined using the 30-s chair stand test (CST). Fear of falling was assessed using the Korean version of falls efficacy scale (K-FES). Paired t-test and independent t-test were used for within and between group comparisons, respectively. RESULTS: After the intervention, the experimental group showed significantly higher changes in all the parameters (K-BBS score, TUG test, CST, K-FES score) (p<.05) compared with the control group. However, there was no significant change in all parameters in the control group (p>.05). CONCLUSION: The whole-body vibration exercise program may be helpful to improve balance, mobility, muscle performance and fear of falling in the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.139-146
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to systematically analyze the reliability and validity of the Korean-version of the balance assessment tools. METHODS: Two reviewers of this study independently evaluated the titles of articles and abstracts of studies published until December 2016 through electronic databases (RISS, NDSL, KISS, DBpia) using the keywords "Balance or posture or postural control or postural stability", "Test or assessment or measurement or outcome measure or assessment tool or measurement tool", "Korean version", "Reliability" and "Validity". Regarding the questions considered suitable for the purpose of this study, consensus was reached after reading the full text. Selecting journals suitable for the purpose of the study, they were analyzed as data. RESULTS: The reviewers selected nine papers suitable for the purpose of this study, and Korean-version of the balance assessment tools, included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke (PASS), Motor Assessment Scale (MAS), Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Falls Efficacy Scale (FES), Tinetti-Balance scale, Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) scale, and Function In Sitting Test (FIST). Our study showed that the reliability and validity of the Korean-version of the balance assessment tools were high. CONCLUSION: The Korean-version of the balance assessment tools with high reliability and validity would enable physical therapists to make a more accurate evaluation of balance.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.355-363
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• 2016

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a 12-week virtual reality exercise program using the Nintendo Wii console (Wii) in improving balance, emotion, and quality of life among patients with cognitive decline. Methods: The study included 30 patients with cognitive decline (12 female, 18 male) who were randomly assigned to an experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=15). All subjects performed a traditional cognitive rehabilitation program and the experimental group performed additional three 40-minute virtual reality based video game (Wii) sessions per week for 12 weeks. The berg balance scale (BBS) was used to assess balance abilities. The short form geriatric depression scale-Korean (GDS-K) and the Korean version of quality of life-Alzheimer's disease (KQOL-AD) scale were both used to assess life quality in patients. Statistical significance was tested within and between groups before and after treatment, using Wilcoxon signed rank and Mann-Whitney u-tests. Results: After 36 training sessions, there were significant beneficial effects of the virtual reality game exercise on balance (BBS), GDS-K, and KQOL-AD in the experimental group when compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed within the control group. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that a virtual reality-training program could improve the outcomes in terms of balance, depression, and quality of life in patients with cognitive decline. Long-term follow-ups and further studies of more efficient virtual reality training programs are needed.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify whether virtual reality-based exercise could improve on balance, gait and fall efficacy in patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods : Ten patients with Parkinson's disease were randomly divided into either an experimental or control group. The experimental subjects performed vertual reality-based exercise, whereas the control subjects performed conventional physical therapy for 4 weeks. The balance, gait and fall efficacy of all subjects were assessed by using the Measurement Training and Documentation (MTD) balance system, force platform system, Korean version of Berg Balance scale (K-BBS), 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and Korean version of Fall efficacy scale (K-FES) at pre training and post training. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to analyze change before and after intervention in intra-group. Mann Whitney U test was used to analyze changes of all variables in inter-groups. Results : Subjects in the experimental group showed significant improvements in difference of weight distribution, K-BBS scores, antero-posterior and medio-lateral sway length, ground reaction force (GRF), 6MWT, and step length following training. The changes of difference of weight distribution, K-BBS scores, AP Sway Length, GRF, 6MWT, step length and K-FES scores in the experimental group were significantly more than them of the control group. Conclusion : The result of this study suggest that virtual reality-based exercise training is an intervention to improve on balance, gait, and falls efficacy in patients with Parkinson's disease.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.193-201
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to report the effect of Korean medicine treatment with scalp acupuncture of patient with lateropulsion, dizziness, headache caused by lateral medullary infarction. We treated the patient with scalp acupuncture, acupuncture, herbal medicine. Numeric rating scale (NRS), Korean version of berg balance scale (K-BBS), gait balance evaluation, dizziness handicap inventory (DHI), activities-specific balance confidence scale (ABC) and vestibular disorders activities of daily living scale (VADL) were used to evaluate symptoms. NRS of Lateropulsion, dizziness, headache were decreased. K-BBS score increased from 4 to 56, and in the gait balance evaluation, it returned to normal. DHI, VADL score were decreased and ABC score increased from 0 to 1,300. This case report shows that Korean medicine treatment with scalp acupuncture can be effective in lateral medullary infarction. However, further controlled studies are needed to confirm the effect of scalp acupuncture on such patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.105-114
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• 2016

PURPOSE: This study is to investigate the therapeutic effect of Tetrax on balance dysfunction caused by ataxia in cerebellar stroke. METHODS: A total of thirty subjects with cerebellar stroke were recruited. The participants was divided into two groups, the experimental (n=15) and the control group (n=15). Tetrax training and conventional physical therapy (CPT) were performed in experimental group, whereas the patients in the control group were treated with CPT twice a day. Each session of the Tetrax and CPT was carried out for 30 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. Korean version of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (K-SARA) was the primary outcome measure, and the secondary outcomes covered Berg balance scale (BBS), falling index (FI), Timed up and go (TUG), and modified Barthel index of Korean version (K-MBI). All outcome measures were evaluated before and after 4 weeks. RESULTS: K-SARA was decreased significantly after 4 weeks intervention in both the experimental (p<.05) and the control group (p<.05). Furthermore, the experimental group produced significantly better outcomes in K-SARA, BBS, FI, and TUG compared with the control group (p=.012, p=.027, p=.008, and p=.048). There were significant correlations between K-SARA and BBS, FI, TUG, and K-MBI (p<.001, p<.001, p=.004, and p<.001). CONCLUSION: The restoration of ataxia was related with the improvement of the balance, falling risk, mobility, and activity of daily living. Tetrax training was effectively aided recovery of ataxia after cerebellar stroke.