• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.23-37
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• 2002

This study examined the muscle recruitment order during extension of the hip joint in normal subjects, and evaluated whether the external support obtained from wearing a lumbosacral corset had an effect on muscle recruitment leading to increased lumbar stability. The subjects were 40 normal adults (32 male, 8 female) with no history of low back pain and no pathological findings in the nervous or musculoskeletal systems. All subjects extended their hip joints under 3 positions (prone, sidelying, standing). During extension, the onsets of contraction of the rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus, and semitendinosus muscles were measured. Electromyographic activity was measured using a surface electrode, and the muscle contraction onset time was designated as the point exceeding a threshold of 25 ms, using a mean plus twice of the standard deviation. To compare the average order of muscle contraction onset time, a Freedman two-way analysis of variance by ranks was used. The relative difference between muscle contraction onset time wearing and not wearing a lumbosacral corset was measured using a paired t-test. A difference in the average muscle contraction onset order for the rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus, and semitendinosus muscles was observed (p<.05) among three positions. However, wearing a lumbosacral corset did not. change the contraction order. In addition, wearing a lumbosacral corset produced a significant difference (p<.05) in the relative onset time between the rectus abdominis and gluteus maximus in the standing position, but no difference was observed for the other muscles or positions. In the future, patients suffering from low back pain should be compared with normal subjects to determine the effectiveness of a lumbosacral corset in changing muscle recruitment order.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 2013

Lysolipids such as LPA, S1P and SPC have diverse biological activities including cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration. We investigated signaling pathways of LPA-induced contraction in feline esophageal smooth muscle cells. We used freshly isolated smooth muscle cells and permeabilized cells from cat esophagus to measure the length of cells. Maximal contraction occurred at $10^{-6}M$ and the response peaked at 30s. To identify LPA receptor subtypes in cells, western blot analysis was performed with antibodies to LPA receptor subtypes. LPA1 and LPA3 receptor were detected at 50 kDa and 44 kDa. LPA-induced contraction was almost completely blocked by LPA receptor (1/3) antagonist KI16425. Pertussis toxin (PTX) inhibited the contraction induced by LPA, suggesting that the contraction is mediated by a PTX-sensitive G protein. Phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitors U73122 and neomycin, and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor GF109203X also reduced the contraction. The PKC-mediated contraction may be isozyme-specific since only $PKC{\varepsilon}$ antibody inhibited the contraction. MEK inhibitor PD98059 and JNK inhibitor SP600125 blocked the contraction. However, there is no synergistic effect of PKC and MAPK on the LPA-induced contraction. In addition, RhoA inhibitor C3 exoenzyme and ROCK inhibitor Y27632 significantly, but not completely, reduced the contraction. The present study demonstrated that LPA-induced contraction seems to be mediated by LPA receptors (1/3), coupled to PTX-sensitive G protein, resulting in activation of PLC, PKC-${\varepsilon}$ pathway, which subsequently mediates activation of ERK and JNK. The data also suggest that RhoA/ROCK are involved in the LPA-induced contraction.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.367-373
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• 2021

Objective: Short foot exercise(SFE) is frequently used to increase the medial longitudinal arch of the foot, as well as the intrinsic foot muscles. This studyinvestigated the effects of SFE onmuscular activity and the onset of contraction of the quadriceps femoris muscle during squats in healthypeople. It also aimed to compare and analyze the results with those of the general squat method and propose a more efficient squat method. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: This study compared 20 adults (male=10, female=10) who statisfied the inclusion criteria for the muscle activity and onset of the muscle contraction of the quadriceps femoris using surface EMG under two conditions: general squats and SFE squats. Results: Separate analyses and comparisons of the outcomes of the SFE squat and the general squat, showed a significant increase in the muscle activities of the rectus femoris and vastus medial muscles in both males and females (p<0.05). The onset of muscle contraction was significantly delayed for the vastus lateralis relative to that for the vastus medialis (p<0.05). However, it delayed significantly in females, but not in males. Conclusions: The SFE squats induced selective muscular activities of the rectus femoris and vastus medialis muscels and affected the onset of contraction of the vastus medialis and lateralis muscles.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.145-155
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to compare differences in endurance time and EMG power spectral characteristics of the masticatory muscles during sustained isometric contraction between patients and controls. 15 CMD patients{8 women and 7 men, aged 15 to 38 years(24.1$\pm$7.5)}, and 15 healthy volunteers{8 women and 7 men, aged 15 to 30 years(24.7$\pm$3.4)} without past history or present symptoms of CMD were included in this study. Sustained isometric contractions of masticatory muscles were perfomeed as long as possible at 50% level of maximum voluntary contraction(MVC) of EMG activity via visual feedback, and the duration of sustained isometric contraction(endurance time) was examined. The author perfomed EMG power spectral analysis in the myoelectric signals of masseter and anterior temporal muscle during sustained isometric contraction in CMD patients with chronic muscle pain and healthy controls. The author came to following conclusions from the results. 1. The endurance time of the patient group was shorter than the control group in sustained isometric contraction of masticatory muscles(p<0.01). 2. MF values of masticatory muscles with sustained isometric contraction during endurance time were decreased following regression line in both groups(p<0.01, r>0.9). 3. The amount of MF shift to lower frequency range exhibited no significant differences between the patients and the control group in sustained isometric contraction during endurance time. 4. SMF to lower frequency range of the patient group was steeper than the control group in sustained isometric contraction during endurance time(p<0.05).

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.287-297
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• 2001

Contraction of smooth muscle is initiated by an increase in cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ leading to activation of $Ca^{2+}$/ calmodulin-dependnet myosin light chain (MLC) kinase and phosphorylation of MLC. The types of contraction and signaling mechanisms mediating contraction differ depending on the region. The involvement of these different mechanisms varies depending on the source of $Ca^{2+}$ and the kinetic of $Ca^{2+}$ mobilization. $Ca^{2+}$ mobilizing agonists stimulate different phospholipases $(PLC-{\beta},\;PLD\;and\;PLA_2)$ to generate one or more $Ca^{2+}$ mobilizing messengers $(IP_3\;and\;AA),$ and diacylglycerol (DAG), an activator of protein kinase C (PKC). The relative contributions of $PLC-{\beta},\;PLA_2$ and PLD to generate second messengers vary greatly between cells and types of contraction. In smooth muscle cell derived form the circular muscle layer of the intestine, preferential hydrolysis of $PIP_2$ and generation of $IP_3$ and $IP_3-dependent\;Ca^{2+}$ release initiate the contraction. In smooth muscle cells derived from longitudinal muscle layer of the intestine, preferential hydrolysis of PC by PLA2, generation of AA and AA-mediated $Ca^{2+}$ influx, cADP ribose formation and $Ca^{2+}-induced\;Ca^{2+}$ release initiate the contraction. Sustained contraction, however, in both cell types is mediated by $Ca^{2+}-independent$ mechanism involving activation of $PKC-{\varepsilon}$ by DAG derived form PLD. A functional linkage between $G_{13},$ RhoA, ROCK, $PKC-{\varepsilon},$ CPI-17 and MLC phosphorylation in sustained contraction has been implicated. Contraction of normal esophageal circular muscle (ESO) in response to acetylcholine (ACh) is linked to $M_2$ muscarinic receptors activating at least three intracellular phospholipases, i.e. phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC), phospholipase D (PLD) and the high molecular weight (85 kDa) cytosolic phospholipase $A_2\;(cPLA_2)$ to induce phosphatidylcholine (PC) metabolism, production of diacylglycerol (DAG) and arachidonic acid (AA), resulting in activation of a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent pathway. In contrast, lower esophageal sphincter (LES) contraction induced by maximally effective doses of ACh is mediated by muscarinic $M_3$ receptors, linked to pertussis toxin-insensitive GTP-binding proteins of the $G_{q/11}$ type. They activate phospholipase C, which hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate $(PIP_2),$ producing inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate $(IP_3)$ and DAG. $IP_3$ causes release of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ and formation of a $Ca^{2+}$-calmodulin complex, resulting in activation of myosin light chain kinase and contraction through a calmodulin-dependent pathway.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.46-55
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of concurrent and reciprocal isometric contraction and angle of ankle joint on fatigue of concentrically contracting contralateral dorsiflexor and plantar flexor. Seventeen able-bodied subjects participated in the study. Concurrent and reciprocal isometric contraction were performed under three different ankle joint angles (dorsiflexion, neutral position, plantar flexion). During concurrent or reciprocal isometric contraction. fatigue of concentrically contracting contralateral tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and soleus was investigated and compared. There was no interaction between different ankle joint angles and direction of isometric contraction (p<.05). No significant differences were found among three different ankle joint angles (p<.05). Contralateral muscle fatigability was lower in reciprocal isometric contraction than that in concurrent isometric contraction (p<.05). Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that reciprocal isometric contraction is more beneficial than concurrent isometric contraction inducing less fatigability during contralateral concentric contraction.

• Proceedings of the KSLP Conference
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.210-210
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• 1998

Vocal fold vibration is essentially the propagation of a mucosal wave, starting from the lower surface of the vocal fold. The mucosal upheaval (MU), where the mucosal wave starts and propagates upward, appears only when the vocal fold vibrates. We investigated the location of the mucosal upheaval in response In variations in vocal fold tension. Vibrations were elicited under three conditions: during bilateral thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle contraction, without TA muscle contraction and during vocal fold lengthening. TA muscle contraction was obtained by direct electrical stimulation of the muscle. The vocal fold was lengthened by cricothyroid (omitted)

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.27-38
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• 2006

This study analyzed changes in action potential of supraspinal neuron and motor unit depending on maximum tolerance isometric contraction(MTIC) by electrical stimulation and examined influence of functional electrical stimulation (FES) on spinal neuron adaptation. It selected 40 university students in their twenties and divided into experimental groups of 25% MTIC(I), 50% MTIC I (II), 75% MTIC(III) and 100% MTIC(IV) depending on MTIC by electrical stimulation, and performed isometric contraction of plantar flexor muscle to each experimental group with given contraction for 20 times. It measured V/Mmax and MDF pre and post exercise, compared volume of contraction. 1. V/Mmax ratio showed no significant difference in comparison among experimental groups. 2. There was significant difference in median frequency of gastrocnemius and soleus in action potential motor unit according to comparison among experimental groups(p<.001). When contraction by electrical stimulation was maximum, change was greatest. This results suggest that muscle contraction by electrical stimulation was influence to action potential of spinal motor neuron system which appear optimal level though aspect and difference degree were not in accordance. Consequently, optimal stimulation level of MTIC(50%) by FES would be lead to central nerve adaptation. muscle contraction by electrical stimulation was influence highly to MDF which should be consider to fatigue of motor unit for muscle contraction by electrical stimulation.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.35-39
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in skeletal muscle architecture and qualitative properties by muscle contraction force when neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of 50% MVIC was applied. Sixteen subjects (8 male, 8 female) without neuromuscular disease volunteered to participate in the study. All subjects were divided into two subgroups: control (no electrical stimulation) group and 50% maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) group. NMES training program was performed in the calf muscle three times a week for 10 weeks. Before and after the experiments, the MVIC of ankle plantar flexor was measured by the use of dynamometer, and the ultrasonography in the gastrocnemius medialis muscle was measured. The following results were obtained; MVIC was significantly increased in the electrical stimulation groups. Pennation angle, muscle density, and white area index also considerably changed in the electrical stimulation groups. In conclusion, the NMES training of 50% MVIC, comparative low level, improved the skeletal muscle architecture and the qualitative properties as well as the muscle contraction force.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.59 no.8
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• pp.1497-1505
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• 2010

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of aging on muscular activity of older subjects under the condition of fixed load muscle contraction. SEMG signals were recorded from old (46 women) and young (45 women) groups performing sustained isometric elbow flexion contraction with a fixed load during 30 seconds. Linear regression and mean square error (MSE) analysis with four characteristic variables (ARV, RMS, MDF, MNF) were used to compare the age-related difference (of local muscle fatigue and fluctuation of the amplitude and frequency) in the SEMG signal. The main results can be summarized as follows: During sustained muscle contraction with a fixed load: i) the MSE values of amplitude (ARV, RMS) and frequency (MDF, MNF) variables were more than 30% higher for the young than for the old adults; ii) the measures of local muscle fatigue (slope of the MDF and MNF) indicated greater fatigue in the old; and iii) the rate of increase of the SEMG amplitude was higher for the young than the old.