• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.647-656
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of vibratory stimulus as somatosensory inputs on the postural control in human standing. To study these effects, the center of pressure(COP) was observed while subjects were standing on a stable and an unstable support with co-stimulated mechanical vibrations to flexor ankle muscles(tibialis anterior tendon, achilles tendon) and two plantar zones on both foot. The COP sway measurement was repeated twice in four conditions: (1) with visual cue and vibration, (2) without visual cue and vibration, (3) with visual cue and without vibration, (4) without visual cue and with vibration. The calculated parameters were the COP sway area and the distance, the median frequency and the spectral energy of COP sway in three intervals $0.1{\sim}0.3,\;0.3{\sim}1,\;1{\sim}3Hz$. The results showed that vibratory stimulus affect postural stability. The reduction rate of the COP sway with vibratory stimulus were higher on the unstable support because the effect of postural stability increases when afferent nervous flow is more activated by vibration on unstable support. If unclear visual or vibratory information is received, one type of information is compared with the other type of sensory information. Then the input balance between visual and vibratory information is corrected to maintain postural stability. These findings are important for the rehabilitation system of postural balance control and the use of vibratory information.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.257-262
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• 2017

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the differences in skiing time and vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) between the basic parallel turn and short turn. Method: Eleven alpine ski instructors (age: $28.73{\pm}4.29yrs$, height: $172.36{\pm}6.30cm$, body mass: $71.45{\pm}9.16kg$, career: $11.09{\pm}2.70yrs$) participated in this study. Each skier was asked to perform a basic parallel turn and short turn on a $16^{\circ}$ groomed slope. A foot pressure measurement system was used to measure the skiing time and vGRF under the three plantar regions (forefoot, midfoot, rearfoot). Results: Skiing time decreased significantly in all three phases during the short turn (p<.05). In the initiation phase, the vGRF showed a greater decrease on the midfoot and rearfoot during the short turn (p<.05). In the steering phase 1, the vGRF showed a greater increase on the forefoot and decreased on the midfoot during the short turn (p<.05). In the steering phase 2, the vGRF showed a greater increase on the forefoot and rearfoot during the short turn (p<.05). Conclusion: Our findings proved that the skiing time and vGRF changed during the short turn. Consequently, we suggest that recreational skiers should decrease the skiing time of the steering phase compared to that of the initiation phase and increase the vGRF on the forefoot and rearfoot in the steering phase.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to compare the balance and gait between fallers and non-fallers in elderly. A brief questionnaire was used to obtain the fall history. Twenty-seven women subjects were evaluated in this study. Eleven subjects and a mean age of 84.5 years (SD=4.6) were designated as the faller group. Sixteen subjects and a mean age of 80.3 years (SD=5.3) were designated as the non-faller group. The fall-related factors (mental status, balance, range of motion and muscle strength of lower extremity, sensation of foot, and cadence, walking velocity, stride length) were compared between faller group and non-faller group and measured. The results showed that faller group had significantly less range of motion of the hip flexion and knee extension, and strength of the knee extensor and ankle dorsiflexor and plantar flexor than non-faller group. The scores of the Functional reach test and One leg standing were significantly less in faller group than in non-faller group. Faller group showed less walking velocity and stride length compared to non-faller group. However, there was no significant difference in cadence during comfortable waking and fast walking between two groups. There were no significant differences in pressure, position sensory between two groups. These results suggest that exercise for improving the flexibility, muscle strength of the lower extremity and balance may be useful strategies to prevent fall in elderly. Further studies are needed to identify which specific factors are related to fall in the elderly population.

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

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.124-130
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• 2022

Background: During postural control, older adults are more dependent on proprioception than are young adults. Ankle proprioception, which plays an important role in maintaining postural balance, decreases with age. Published studies are insufficient to establish a significant age difference in postural sway resulting from the known age-related decrease in ankle proprioception and do not examine various detailed test conditions. Objects: The present study aimed to compare ankle proprioception between older and younger groups along dimensions of position vs. force proprioception and dorsiflexion vs. plantarflexion. The present study also aimed to compare postural sway between young and older women during quiet standing under two sensory conditions. Methods: We recruited seven young women aged 21-24 and seven older women aged 60-63. Ankle proprioception was assessed as the accuracy of the joint position sense (JPS) and the force sense (FS). Postural sway was assessed using center-of-pressure measurements recorded during quiet standing under two sensory positions: eyes open and eyes closed with head tilted back. Results: Older women had lower JPS in dorsiflexion and lower FS in plantarflexion than did younger women. We found no significant age differences in JPS in plantarflexion or in FS in dorsiflexion. We observed a main effect of group on postural sway in two sway parameters out of three. We observed significant differences in JPS with dorsiflexion, and in FS with plantarflexion. Conclusion: Proprioception for ankle plantar flexor decreased more significantly with aging than did that for ankle dorsiflexor, accounting for the impaired postural balance observed in older women.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.496-502
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• 2010

The acidic saline animal model of pain has been suggested to mimic fibromyalgia (FM). Oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes (OPC) from grape seeds are known to act as an antioxidant. We studied the effects of OPC on the pain threshold in the acidic saline animal model of pain. The left gastrocnemius muscle was injected with $100\;{\mu}l$ of saline at pH 4.0 under brief isoflurane anesthesia on days 0 and 5. Control rats (n=5) received identical injections of physiological saline (pH 7.2) on the same schedule. Rats (n=10) with acidic saline injection were separated into two study subgroups. After measurement of pre-drug pain thresholds, rats were injected intraperitoneally with either saline or OPC 300 mg/kg. Paw withdrawal thresholds to pressure were again measured 60 min after intraperitoneal injection. Nociceptive thresholds were measured with a Dynamic Plantar Aesthesiometer by applying an increasing pressure to right or left hind paw until the rat withdrew the paw. Compared to baseline (day 0), acid injections produced mechanical hyper-responsiveness on day 7 (pre-drug) in these rats [p<0.05]. A potent antihyperalgesic effect was observed when rats were injected intraperitoneally with OPC 300 mg/kg [injected paw, p=0.001; contralateral paw, p=0.002]. OPC treatment decreased the expression of acid sensing ion channel 3 in the brain motor cortex area on immunohistochemical staining when OPC 300 mg/kg was administered intraperitoneally in the animal model of FM pain [p<0.05]. Further research is required to determine the efficacy of OPC treatments in FM pain in humans.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5211-5217
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• 2012

This study was to evaluate the effects of foot strengthening exercise to improve hallux valgus in young of hallux valgus with flexible flatfoot. Subjects 28 people were randomly divided by the foot strength group(n=14) and control group(n=14). In a period of 8 weeks, they put on I.D.W. Experimental group took foot strengthening exercise for 20 minutes 3 times a week during 8 weeks. Foot structure and max pressure were evaluated by hallux angle, 1~2 metatarsal angle, navicular height, 1st phalange, 2~5phalange, 1st metatarsal, 2nd metatarsal, 3rd metatarsal, 4th metatarsal, 5th metatarsal, mid foot, medial hind foot, lateral hind foot. There were significantly increased by exercise group in outcomes of the structural and plantar foot pressure from hallux angle, 1~2 metatarsal angle, 1st phalange, 1st metatarsal, 2nd metatarsal, 3rd metatarsal, mid foot. The result suggest that foot strengthening exercise is feasible and suitable for individuals with hallux valgus with flexible flatfoot.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.365-371
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• 2006

Bee Venom aqua-acupuncture (BVA) simultaneously exerts pharmacological effects of biologically active compounds, existed in the whole bee venom, and medicinal effect of the stimulation of acupuncture points. BVA has been considered as a promising therapeutic method for treating various chronic diseases, mainly accompanying severe pain and inflammation. As a painless injection device, jet injectors have been commercially marketed for various clinical applications including insulin injection and vaccination. Among them, a pressure-driven jet injector system could be used for intradermal delivery of a variety of drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic effects of the BVA using a needle-free injector (Biojector $2000^{\circledR}$, Bioject Inc., OR, USA), compared to the conventional BV aqua-acupuncture using a typical syringe. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with bee venom $(0.08mg/kg,\;50{\mu}l)$ using Biojector $2000^{\circledR}$ (BVA-B) or a syringe (BVA-5) into the Zusanli (ST36) acupoint, 30 minutes before plantar injection of 2% formalin. It was found that BVA-B-, or BVA-5-treated rats, compared to controls, exhibited significantly less licking behavior during the late phase in the rat formalin test, when compared to controls. During early phase, however, those effects were not significant but substantial. The analgesic effect of BVA-B was also compatible with that of the conventional BVA-5. In the immunohistochemical studies, BVA-B significantly suppressed the expression of formalin-evoked c-fos, a biomarker of neuronal activity, in the lumbar dorsal horn of the spinal cord. These results indicated that BVA-B waseffective in the modulation of pain in the rat formalin test, compared to BVA-5. Taken together, the needle-free jet injector system could be substituted for the conventional aqua- acupuncture with the advantage of little pain.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2008

This study investigated gait characteristics, kinematics, and kinetics in the lower extremities between two different shoe conditions (high heeled shoes (7 cm), and high heeled shoes with a total contact insert (TCI)) after lower extremity muscle fatigue. Although TCI shave been applied in high heeled shoes to increase comfort and to decrease foot pressure, no study has attempted to identify the effects of TCI in fatigue conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of walking in high heeled shoes with TCI after lower extremity muscle fatigue was induced. This study was carried out in a motion analysis laboratory at Hanseo University. A volunteer sample of 14 healthy female subjects participated. All in fatigue conditions, the subjects were divided into two groups. The muscle fatigue was induced by 40 voluntary dorsi- and plantar-flexion exercises and 40 heel-rise exercises of the dominant foot. Surface electromyography was used to confirm the localized muscle fatigue using power spectral analysis of three muscles (tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis). The results were as follows: (1) In muscle fatigue conditions, the use of TCI decreased the peak flexion angle of the hip joint significantly in the early stance phase (p<.05) and increased the peak hip flexion moment in the terminal stance phase (p<.05). (2) In muscle fatigue conditions, the application of TCI also increased peak hip power generation in the early stance phase and peak hip power absorption in the terminal stance phase (p<.05). (3) In muscle fatigue conditions, the use of TCI reduced the impact force significantly and increased the secondary peak vertical GRF. These findings suggest that the TCI may provide beneficial effects when muscle fatigue occurs for a high heeled shoe gait. Future research employing the patient population and various types of TCI materials are required to clarify the effects of TCI.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.51-63
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• 2023

This study aimed to verify the effects of a 4-week program of ankle-strengthening exercise and toe-taping walk exercise on the basic lower body strength and walking to examine the benefits of the two exercises. The subjects involved 30 women in their 20s enrolled in university A. The subjects were equally divided into three groups - ankle-strengthening exercise group, toe-taping walk exercise group, and control group. The subjects were instructed to massage and do ankle-strengthening exercises using a towel, massage ball, and CRT, for 60 minutes, 3 times a week. They also taped their hallux valgus using a kinesiology tape and walked for 20 minutes with white tape applied. To sum up, the 4-week ankle-strengthening exercise and toe-taping walk exercise were identified to have a partial statistical significance on the basic lower body strength (muscular strength, power, and balance) and walking (length of gait line, plantar pressure, and COP) of women in their 20s. Therefore, the study confirmed the effects of ankle-strengthening exercises and toe-taping walk exercise on the lower body exercise function, and it is considered that further studies should be conducted on more various effects of the exercises by subdividing them into different pain locations and orthomechanic findings.