• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2015

Objective: Prone bridge exercise is one of the core strengthening exercise for improving abdominal, lower and upper extremity muscles. In addition, coactivation of the trunk muscles and extremities is important for treatment of low back pain. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the thickness, cross-sectional area of the target muscle, and endurance during prone bridge exercise. Our hypothesis was that an increase in muscle thickness is positively related to the hold time for the static prone bridge exercise. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fourteen healthy university students (8 men and 6 women) voluntarily participated in the study at Sahmyook University. Hold time for the prone bridge with one and both legs was measured. The resting and contracted thickness of the lateral abdominal, rectus femoris, and triceps muscles was measured using rehabilitative ultrasound imaging. The correlation between muscle thickness and endurance for maintenance time was evaluated. Results: The prone bridge with both legs and the contraction thickness of the triceps muscle showed a positive correlation (r=0.692, p<0.05); the prone bridge with one leg and the contraction thickness of the internal oblique and transversus abdominis muscles showed a positive correlation (r=0.545, 0.574, p<0.05, 0.05, respectively). Conclusions: Endurance for the prone bridge exercise with a stable support surface is correlated with the contraction thickness of arm muscles; the prone bridge exercise with an unstable support surface is correlated with the contraction thickness of the deep abdominal muscles.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.325-332
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• 2006

The dynamic responses of human standing postural control were investigated when subjects were exposed to long-term horizontal vibration. It was hypothesized that the motion of standing posture complexity mainly occurs in the mid-sagittal plane. The motor-driven support platform was designed as a source of vibration. The AC Servo-controlled motors produced anterior/posterior (AP) motion. The platform acceleration and the trunk angular velocity were used as the input and the output of the system, respectively. A method was proposed to identify the complexity of the standing posture dynamics. That is, during AP platform motion, the subject's knee, hip and neck were tightly constrained by fixing assembly, so the lower extremity, trunk and head of the subject's body were individually immovable. Through this method, it was assumed that the ankle joint rotation mainly contributed to maintaining their body balance. Four subjects took part in this study. During the experiment, the random vibration was generated at a magnitude of $0.44m/s^2$, and the duration of each trial was 40 seconds. Measured data were estimated by the coherence function and the frequency response function for analyzing the dynamic behavior of standing control over a frequency range from 0.2 to 3 Hz. Significant coherence values were found above 0.5 Hz. The estimation of frequency response function revealed the dominant resonance frequencies between 0.60 Hz and 0.68 Hz. On the basis of our results illustrated here, the linear model of standing postural control was further concluded.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.357-368
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• 2020

This study evaluated soccer-specific fitness early and late season to check the conditioning status of K3 league soccer players. Evaluation factors included body composition, agility, quickness, endurance and isokinetic limb muscle strength. As a result, the factors that showed improvement in the late season were skeletal muscle mass, agility and quickness, and body composition, endurance and isokinetic limb muscle strength were not different from each other. The factors that showed improvement in the second half of the season are thought to be due to the learning effect of repetitive training, competition participation during the season. Lastly, endurance and lower extremity strength did not show improvement in the second half of the season due to the fact that no specific training was performed during the season. Taken together, it is necessary to periodically check the fitness status of athletes to develop and apply a fitness training program suitable for competition, transition and preparation period.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2013

Objectives : This study aimed to perform descriptive analysis on demographic characteristics and symptom distribution of 199 marathon participants in Pusan, Korea. Methods : Brief medical charts of 199 marathon participants in 11 marathon rallies who had visited the emergency medical support team of Korean Medicine Hospital, Pusan National University were collected. Participants' demographic and clinical characteristics were descriptively analyzed. Results : More than two third of participants who have visited the support team was male(71.9 %) and their mean age was 44.0(years). The main intervention was manual acupuncture with vigorous stimulation techniques. Most of treated symptoms were lower extremity pain(77.0 %). Knee pain was the most frequently recorded symptoms, following the ankle pain. No information on the safety of acupuncture treatments were reported in the records. Conclusions : Symptom distribution of marathon participants who have visited the emergency medical support team of Korean Medicine Hospital was similar to previous literatures of acute injuries of marathon athletes and runners. The role of acupuncture for emergency support care of acute injuries in marathon participants should be further explored in well-designed clinical studies.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.57-67
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• 2016

Background: Many previous studies recommended the side-lying hip abduction (SHA) exercise for targeting the gluteus medius (Gmed) and gluteus maximus (Gmax) muscle activity while the decreasing tensor fasciae latae (TFL) activation. Mischoice of hip position and angle in SHA may increase the risk of lower extremity injuries and undesirable muscle activation. However, information is limited on the effect of composite hip flexion angles and hip rotation on the gluteal muscle activity during SHA. Objects: This study aimed to compare muscle activity (Gmed, TFL, and Gmax) and activity ratios (Gmed/TFL, Gmax/TFL, and Gmed/Gmax) using surface electromyography (EMG) during SHA exercise at three different hip flexion angles either with or without internal rotation (IR) in subjects with Gmed weakness. We hypothesized that applying hip flexion and IR during SHA would increase gluteal muscle activity and decrease TFL activity. Methods: Muscle activity and activity ratios in 20 volunteers with Gmed weakness during 6 different SHA were investigated with surface EMG. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine the statistical significance. Results: Significant differences were found among the six different exercises for Gmed ($F_{2,41}=11.817$, p<.001) and Gmax ($F_{3,52}=5.513$, p=.003) muscle activity, and Gmed/TFL ($F_{3,54}=8.735$, p<.001) and Gmax/TFL ($F_{2,37}=4.019$, p=.028) activity ratios. Conclusion: Applying hip flexion is an effective method for increasing gluteal activity, and it elicits great Gmed/TFL and Gmax/TFL activity ratios during SHA in subjects with Gmed weakness.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.115-131
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• 2002

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) training of the knee extensors is a useful way to rehabilitate the ability to stand and walk. However, training using FES has not been able to solve the problem of fatigue; clinical application of FES quickly produces muscle fatigue, due to the continuous activation of the muscles of the lower extremity. Therefore, reduction of muscle fatigue is an important factor in increasing the effectiveness of FES training in paraplegia. Intermittent high frequency alternating stimulation is a method that combines the advantages of high frequency (leading to strong muscle contractions) and alternating stimulation (reducing muscle fatigue), thereby continuously strengthening muscles. It is not known whether low frequency simultaneous stimulation results in stronger muscle contraction than high frequency alternating stimulation. This study compared the effectiveness of high frequency alternating stimulation with low frequency synchronized stimulation. Muscle power using FES on the quadriceps of 20 normal subjects were compared. Intermittent high frequency alternating stimulation did not produce more powerful muscle contraction than intermittent low frequency synchronized stimulation, because the muscle characteristics differed individually. Significant individual variation according to muscle characteristics was founded when applying FES. Accordingly, when physical therapists use FES to treat patients, they must be aware of individual variation in muscle characteristics.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2002

This study was conducted to determine the effects of deep breathing exercise and ankle exercise on blood flow velocity in the femoral vein. Sixteen healthy male students were recruited from Yonsei University, at Wonju. The blood flow velocities in the femoral vein were measured under three different conditions: resting, deep breathing, and ankle exercise. All subjects were given a 5-minute relaxing time in supine position prior to the study. Using a doppler ultrasound with a 8 MHz probe, the peak blood flow velocities were collected in a twenty-second-period at each condition. The subjects took a rest in between trials for the blood flow to return to its resting levels. The result showed a significant difference in peak blood flow velocities under those three conditions (p<.001). The peak blood flow velocity was highest in ankle exercise condition. The peak blood velocity was significantly higher in deep breathing condition compared with the resting condition. As a result, it is revealed that not only the muscular contractions but also the deep breathing exercises induced facilitating effects of venous return. Either of the exercise methods can be recommended to prevent blood stasis in patients with risk of deep vein thrombosis after cardiac or lower extremity surgery.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study is to show the effectiveness of performing squat exercises at various angles to show the maximum muscle activity of the Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) and Biceps femoris (BF). Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of seventeen healthy young adults (8 males and 9 females) voluntarily participated in the study. All subjects randomly performed three different squat variations as follows: A squat performed with the ankle joint at $0^{\circ}$ of incline, a squat performed with the ankle joint at $5^{\circ}$ of incline, and a squat performed with the ankle joint at $10^{\circ}$ incline. Muscle activity was measured using surface electromyography. Electrodes were placed on the VMO and BF to measure the muscle activity on the various ankle angles for comparison analysis. Results: There was a significant increase in bilateral VMO muscle activation at $10^{\circ}$ of incline compared to $0^{\circ}$ and $5^{\circ}$ (p<0.05). Greater increases in muscle activation and exercise effect was observed with increasing incline angles of the board. Changes in bilateral BF muscle activity were found; however, none were found to be significant. Conclusions: Bilateral VMO activity was found to be significant when the squats were performed at an ankle angle of $10^{\circ}$ of incline when compared to at an ankle angle of $0^{\circ}$ and $5^{\circ}$ of incline. Squats performed on an incline can be recommended as an effective method to facilitate lower extremity muscle activities.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of intervention using neuromuscular control, self-stretching (SS), and neck stabilization exercises (NSEs) on neck pain, range of motion (ROM), and proprioception of position sense in adults with neck discomfort. Design: Three-group pretest-posttest design. Methods: Forty-four adults who complained of neck pain participated in the experiment. They were randomly assigned to the following groups: neuromuscular control exercise (NMCE) group (n=15), SS group (n=14) and NSE group (n=15). The NMCE group did rolling with only upper limb pattern on both sides. The SS group performed neck stretching on each side, 3 sets of 30 seconds for each muscle. The NSE group had the pressure biofeedback applied with increases in pressure by 2 mmHg at a time from 20-30 mmHg while in the hook-lying position. All groups performed exercises for 10 minutes. Neck pain, ROM, and proprioception were measured to determine differences between the intervention methods. Results: Intra-group comparisons showed significant improvement after exercise in pain, ROM, and proprioception in the NMC group (p<0.05). In the comparison between groups, the NMC group had a significant decrease in pain compared to the other two groups (p<0.05). There was no difference in ROM between the groups but the NMC group showed significant improvement in left rotation compared to the stabilization exercise group (p<0.05). For proprioception, the NMC group had significantly lower error than the other two groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: NMCEs through upper extremity pattern rolling exercise is effective in improving neck pain, ROM, and proprioception.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.16-21
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of contralateral hip adduction (CHA) on the muscle activity of lumbar stabilizers and the angle of pelvic lateral tilting during hip abduction in side lying. Twenty healthy male subjects with no medical history of lower extremity or lumbar spine disorders were recruited for the study. Subjects randomly performed preferred hip abduction (PHA) and hip abduction with contralateral hip adduction in side lying. The muscle activities of the dominant side rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, quadratus lumborum, gluteus medius, and non-dominant side hip adductor longus were measured during PHA and CHA by using a surface electromyography (EMG) system. Pelvic lateral tilting motion was measured by using a three-dimensional motion analysis system. Data on EMG and pelvic motion were collected at the same time during PHA and CHA. A paired t-test was used to compare EMG activity and the angle of pelvic lateral tilting in the two exercises. The study found that the EMG activities of all muscles were more increased significantly in CHA than PHA condition. The angle of pelvic lateral tilting was more decreased significantly in CHA than PHA condition. These findings suggest that CHA could be recommended as a hip abduction exercise for activating lumbar stabilizers and decreasing compensatory pelvic lateral tilting motion.