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

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.12
• /
• pp.5217-5221
• /
• 2016

Objective: A study of primary cancer morbidity among children and subsequent calculation of average annual incidence were carried out for boys and girls, and young men and women in Kazakhstan. Methods: The investigated population lived in three areas of the Aral Sea region: designated catastrophe (Aral, Kazalt, Shalkar regions), crisis (Zhalagash, Karmakshy, Shiely regions), pre-crisis (Irgiz, Arys, Ulytau regions). Zhanaarka region of Karaganda oblast was applied as a control. Parameters were retrospective analyzed for the 10 years from 2004 to 2013. Result: The results indicate that indices of children cancer morbidity were slightly higher in the Aral Sea region than in the control district, but they were comparable with similar data from studies in other regions. In all areas of the Aral Sea region, except for Ulytau, primary cancer morbidity exceeded the control level by 1.3-2.7 times (4.7%000). Hematological malignancies, including solid tumors - tumors of musculoskeletal system and skin, digestive system, brain and central nervous system predominated. Stress levels in zones of the Aral Sea region were slightly higher in the crisis zone than in the catastrophe zone that can be explained by the phenomenon of wave-like dynamics of disease growth risk. Gender differences in characteristics of malignancy formation were not more pronounced in the studied region. Conclusion: Indices of children cancer are slightly higher in the Aral Sea region than in the control area of Kazakhstan, but they are comparable to results for other regions.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.55-72
• /
• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate clinical features of children and adolescents patients admitted to the oriental medical hospital. Methods: The study composed of 1284 inpatients aging from 0 to 19 who had been admitted in 4 oriental medical hospitals located in Daejeon and Chungcheong. Results: 1. In this study, 688 boys and 715 girls were examined, giving the ratio of 0.96:1. Average age of the children and adolescents was 11.5, and the number of inpatients has increased as getting older. 2. The percentage of children and adolescents inpatients has increased every year : 9.1% in 2005, 13.0% in 2006, 13.8% in 2007, 16.3% in 2008, 18.0% in 2009, with 22.2% in 2010, 7.8% until May 2011. The month scored the highest admittance was December and the lowest was March. 3. In systemic division, the musculoskeletal system was the most common, followed by neuromuscular system, respiratory system, digestive system, psychological system, and nervous system. 4. Most patients have admitted in acupuncture & moxibustion department, followed by oriental pediatrics, oriental rehabilitation medicine. 5. In Pediatrics, 196 boys and 166 girls were admitted. The age distribution showed that 6.4% were in infancy, 43.6% in preschool period, 30.1% in prepuberal period, 18.8% in early puberty and 1.1% in late puberty. The percentage of pediatrics inpatients has increased every year. Conclusions: More data of patients should be collated for further study. More detailed study with different kinds of diseases are expected based on this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2015

PURPOSE: Low-intensity exercise with transient restriction of blood flow to muscle could be an alternative rehabilitation method which avoids the problems associated with conventional high-intensity exercise. However, the mechanism of low-intensity exercise with transient restriction of blood flow is not clearly known. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of improvement of muscular function after low-intensity exercise with transient restriction of blood flow using H-reflex analysis. METHODS: Twenty one healthy young adults with no medical history of neurological or musculoskeletal disorder voluntarily participated in this study. The ${\alpha}$-motor neuron excitability of the triceps surae was assessed using the H-reflex. The amplitude of the M-wave and H-reflex were measured across three conditions: rest, after low-intensity exercise without restriction of blood flow and after low-intensity exercise with restriction of blood flow. The subjects performed low-intensity ankle plantar flexion exercise at their own pace for one minute without or with transient restriction of blood flow achieved by a sphygmomanometer cuff on popliteal fossa at a pressure of 120mm of mercury(120 mmHg). RESULTS: No significant changes of the excitability of the ${\alpha}$-motor neuron were obtained across three different conditions. CONCLUSION: This study found that low-intensity exercise with transient restriction of blood flow did not influence to ${\alpha}$-motor neuron excitability of the triceps surae. From the results, I could come to the conclusion that further study will be required.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.120-123
• /
• 2006

Spontaneous extensor pollicis longus tendon rupture is commonly caused by attrition of the tendon from trauma or inflammatory processes. We experienced a patient with extensor pollicis longus tendon rupture after steroid injection, in which the rupture may have been caused by the effects of steroid itself as well as direct damage from the needle. A 51-year-old woman complained of inability to extend her right thumb at the first metacarpophalangal & interphalangeal joint level. The patient had a history of local steroid injection into the dorsal & radial side of wrist on two occations, and had no history of trauma or rheumatologic disease. After a physical examination of the patient, we decided to explore the wrist. The patient agreed with operation. Intraoperatively, an incision was made into the wrist and the proximal and distal ends of the ruptured extensor pollicis longus tendon were identified. The defect between the proximal and the distal end was measured to approach 8cm, and a palmaris longus tendon graft was performed. After three months of rehabilitation, the first metacarpophalangal & interphalangeal joint recovered the normal range of motion. Steroid injection has been widely used in various musculoskeletal disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. However, inadvertent steroid injection into the extra or intra articular spaces may lead to tendon rupture. Steroids reduce tensile strength by decreasing tenocyte activity and collagen synthesis. Also, the physical effect of direct needle-stick injury into the mesotenon and blood vessels around the tendon may cause damage. In addition, hematoma and edema may increase pressure around the tendon and compromise blood supply, leading to tendon degeneration and subsequent rupture. When injecting steroid into an articular area, all physicians should have a complete understanding of the surrounding anatomy and always keep in mind the hazards of such procedures.

• PNF and Movement
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.9-18
• /
• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) applied to the unilateral upper extremity on the muscle activation of contralateral lower extremity. Twenty-two healthy subjects (mean age of 23.7 years) participated in this study. Method : PNF patterns applied on the unilateral upper extremity in all subjects were the flexion/abduction/external rotation and lifting pattern. The hold and appoximation techniques for the irradiation were applied to end range of both patterns. Muscle activations in four patterns were measured in vastus medialis, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris, and gastrocnemius medial muscles of contralateral lower extremity using surface EMG system. Each EMG value in individual muscle was normalized for maximal voluntary contraction. The data were analyzed by one factor analysis of variance with repeated measure test. Result : There were significant differences in the between-subject effect (muscles) and within-subject effect (patterns) in comparison of muscle activation by application of PNF patterns (p<.05). The irradiation led to higher activation in the flexion/abduction/external rotation pattern than that of lifting pattern in all muscles (p<.05). The approximation techniques revealed more activations than these of hold technique in all muscles (p<.05). Conclusion : These results suggest that the application of PNF patterns to the unilateral upper extremity affect on the muscle activation of contralateral lower extremity and increase according to the intensity of resistance. This mechanism of contralateral effect might provide a help to the development of treatment method for the affected side and functional improvement for the patients who have damages of central nervous system or musculoskeletal problems by orthopedic injury.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.64-71
• /
• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to select standing posture parameters that have a significant difference according to the severity of spinal deformity, and to develop a novel Cobb angle prediction model for adolescent girls with idiopathic scoliosis. Methods: Five normal adolescents girls with no history of musculoskeletal disorders, 13 mild scoliosis patients (Cobb angle: $10^{\circ}-25^{\circ}$), and 14 severe scoliosis patients (Cobb angle: $25^{\circ}-50^{\circ}$) participated in this study. Six infrared cameras (VICON) were used to acquire data and 35 standing parameters of scoliosis patients were extracted from previous studies. Using the ANOVA and post-hoc test, parameters that had significant differences were extracted. In addition, these standing posture parameters were utilized to develop a Cobb-angle prediction model through multiple regression analysis. Results: Twenty two of the parameters showed differences between at least two of the three groups and these parameters were used to develop the multi-linear regression model. This model showed a good agreement ($R^2$ = 0.92) between the predicted and the measured Cobb angle. Also, a blind study was performed using 5 random datasets that had not been used in the model and the errors were approximately $3.2{\pm}1.8$. Conclusions: In this study, we demonstrated the possibility of clinically predicting the Cobb angle using a non-invasive technique. Also, monitoring changes in patients with a progressive disease, such as scoliosis, will make possible to have determine the appropriate treatment and rehabilitation strategies without the need for radiation exposure.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.41 no.8
• /
• pp.691-701
• /
• 2017

The barbell squat is a fundamental physical exercise for strengthening the lower body and core muscles. It is an integral part of training and conditioning programs in sports, rehabilitation, and fitness. In this paper, we proposed a virtual test framework for squat exercises using a Smith machine to simulate joint torques and muscle forces, based on an integrated product-human model and motion synthesis algorithms. We built a muscular skeletal human model with boundary conditions modeling the interactions between the human body and a machine or the ground. To validate the model, EMG, external forces, and squat motions were captured through physical experiments by varying the foot position. A regression-based motion synthesis algorithm was developed based on the captured squat motions to generate a new motion for a given foot position. The proposed approach is expected to reduce the need for physical experiments in the development of training programs.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.135-144
• /
• 2021

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 2 weeks of backward walking exercise (BWE) on cervical angle and gait parameters in college students with forward head posture. Methods : Fifteen subjects participated in the experiment. All the participants had a craniovertebral angle (CVA) of 55 degrees or less. The purpose of the study was explained to all the subjects prior to participation, and volunteered to take part in the study. A camera capable of taking pictures of the lateral plane was installed at a distance of 1.5 meters from each subject. Images of forward head posture were obtained before and after performing the BWE, and the CVA and craniorotational angle (CRA) were compared pre- versus post exercise. Foot pressure and gait parameters (step length of left and right, stride length, stance of left and right, swing of left and right, step time of left and right, and stride time) were measured using a rehabilitation treadmill. The subjects performed the BWE for 2 weeks. The exercise program consisted of a 5-minute warm-up exercise, 20-minute main exercise, and 5-minute cool-down exercise. In the main exercise, the treadmill speed was set to 2.4 km/h in the first week and 3.4 km/h in the second week. A paired t test was used to compare the CVA and CRA and gait parameters before and after the exercise. Results : Comparison of the CVA and CRA before and after the BWE revealed a significant difference post exercise, with a marked improvement in forward head posture after the exercise (p<.05). Conclusion : Based on the results of this study, the BWE is considered to be an effective exercise for the forward head posture. Also, additional research is needed to shed light on the impact of the BWE on gait parameters.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.63-73
• /
• 2021

Purpose : Selective functional movement assessment(SFMA) is a movement-based assessment tool designed for clinicians to diagnose and treat pain and functional physical problems. This concept is used for assistance in occupations related to movement, including clinical medical personnel, such as physical therapists, physical education instructors, and athlete coaches. Although this concept is widely used by clinicians, research and scientific proofs are relatively insufficient. This study aimed to review the literature on the understanding, reliability and effectiveness of SFMA, and to consider its role in the future of rehabilitation. Methods : In this review, a total of nine articles were selected according to the eligibility criteria of three major thesis topics. The main topics covered in the literature are reliability and effectiveness of clinical use of SFMA. To gather research articles, we searched official term 'Selective Functional Movement Assessment'. Among the searched 60 studies, nine were mentioned in this study that contained overlapping information and matched our desired topic. We reviewed four reliability analyses, four case reports, and one experimental study. Results : Reliability has an intermediate degree between high raters and within raters. The validity of the SFMA system is influenced by a combination of experience and logic; hence, further improvement is needed. Therefore, if the intervention was effective based on the diagnosis result, then biomechanical evidence is necessary to further support the claim. Conclusion : In future research, to use SFMA as a diagnostic tool with high accuracy, it is necessary to improve the reliability of the main problem through breakout, support for guidelines and validity and efficiency.