• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.25-32
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• 2009

Purpose: This study examined whether breathing exercises might increase the chest expansion and pulmonary function of stroke patients. Methods: Twenty four patients with stroke were assigned randomly into two groups: a combination of diaphragmatic resistive breathing and pursed-lip breathing exercise (CB) group (n=10) and control group (n=14). The CB group completed a 4-week program of diaphragmatic resistive breathing and pursed-lip breathing exercise. The subjects were assessed using the pre-test and post-test measurements of the chest expansion (length for resting, deep inspiration, deep expiration, deep expiration-inspiration) and pulmonary function (forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow (PEF), vital capacity (VC), tidal volume (TV), expiratory reserve volume (ERV), inspiratory reserve volume (IRV)). Results: A comparison of the chest expansion between the pre and post tests revealed similar rest, deep inspiration, deep expiration, and deep expiration-inspiration lengths in the CB and control groups (p>0.05). A comparison of the pulmonary function between pre and post tests, revealed significant improvements in the FVC, FEV, PEF, VC, IRV, and ERV in the CB group (p<0.05). There was a significant difference in the FVC, FEV1, PEF, VC and IRV between the 2 groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that breathing exercise should help improve the pulmonary function, such as the volume and capacity. This suggests that the pulmonary functions of stroke patients might be improved further by a continued respiratory exercise program.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.18-28
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the changes in functional status and caregiver burden after a community based case management program for stroke patients. Method: This study was designed as a one group pre and post test. A total of 61 stroke patients and their caregivers were sampled in three urban areas and two rural areas. Face to face interviews were conducted as a pre test one week before intervention, and a post test two weeks after intervention. The case management program consisted of four home visits and two telephone counseling sessions for assessment, education and providing information during the eight weeks. The collected data were analyzed with paired t test. Results: First, significant differences in functional status, and specifically mobility and cognition, were found between pre test and post test. Second, caregiver burden, in particular, objective burden was significantly decreased after 8 weeks. Third, the positive response for the services increased after 8 weeks. Conclusion: The community based case management program was effective to improve the functional status of stroke patients and to decrease the caregiver burden.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2009

Background: Community ambulation has been recently recognized as one of the most essential factors of activities of daily living in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. This study aimed to compare walking velocity and step number in 5 community situations in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Methods: Ten chronic stroke patients volunteered for this study. The main variables analyzed were walking speed and step number, and these were measured in 5 different community situations: a physical therapy room, a parking lot, a bank, a crosswalk, and a hospital lobby. The measurements obtained for walking in the physical therapy room were measured using a 10m walk test and were used as baseline data for comparison with each option. The ambulation distance was set at 300m for the parking lot and the bank and 150m for the crosswalk and hospital lobby. For data analysis, walking speed and step number were standardized with the distance options of each ambulation. Results: Compared to the walking speed in the physical therapy room, those in the other situations, except for the parking lot, were significantly different (p<.05). Moreover, there were significant differences in the speeds between the bank and the parking lot and between the parking lot and the crosswalk (p<.05). Compared to the step number in the physical therapy room, those in all situations except for the crosswalk were significantly different (p<.05). Further, there was a significant difference in the step number between the bank and the crosswalk (p<.05). Conclusion: The walking ability of patients with hemiparesis in real environments within a community could be different from that in a physical therapy room. Therefore, the evaluation of walking should be performed in a variety of community situations.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed (1) to identify asymmetry observed in electromyography (EMG) activity patterns of lower limb muscles between affected and unaffected sides of stroke patients during sit to stand (STS) movement and (2) to identify the muscles of the paretic lower limb that affected STS performance in stroke patients. Methods: This study consisted of 27 patients (15 males and 12 females) with poststroke hemiparesis. The activation of the rectus femoris (RF), tibialis anterior (TA), and gastrocnemius (GCM) of the affected side and unaffected side during STS movement were recorded using surface EMG. In addition, EMG lower limb muscle activation patterns were measured in the all section, pre-thigh off (pre-TO), and post-thigh off (post-TO) section. All measurements were obtained during five repetitions of the STS (FTSTS) movement. An independent t-test was performed to compare the affected side and unaffected side of the lower limb during the STS movement. A stepwise linear regression analysis was conducted to identify the muscles that affected STS performance. Results: Activation of both the RF and TA significantly affected the lower limb during the STS movement (p<0.05). Two muscles showed a difference on the post-TO section. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the RF and TA muscles of the affected lower limb were affected in FTSTS. Conclusion: These results provide a basis for reinforcement training, focusing on the RF and TA muscles of the affected side of stroke patients to improve asymmetric movement and performance in STS movement.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2020

Purpose: To explore the effects of action observation combined with modified constraint-induced movement therapy on upper-extremity function and the activities of daily living in subacute stroke patients. Methods: Twenty-four subacute stroke patients were randomly assigned to the experimental group or the control group (n = 12 each). Both groups received therapy based on motor learning concepts, including repetitive and task-specific practice. The experimental group watched video clips for 10 minutes related to tasks performed during modified constraint-induced movement therapy while the control group watched videos unrelated to upper-extremity movement. These programs were performed for 40 minutes a day five times a week for four weeks. Their scores on the Fugl-Meyer assessment of upper extremities (FMA-UE), the action research arm test (ARAT), a motor activity log (amount of use [AOU] and quality of movement [QOM]), and the modified Barthel index (MBI) were recorded. Results: In both groups, all variables were significantly different between the pre-test and post-test periods (p < 0.05). The post-test variables were significantly different within each group (p < 0.05). In the experimental group, the changes between pre-test and post-test scores in the FMA-UE (14.39 ± 4.31 versus 6.31 ± 4.63), the ARAT (16.00 ± 4.73 versus 11.46 ± 3.73), MAL-AOU (1.57 ± 0.15 versus 1.18 ± 0.28), and MBI (27.54 ± 4.65 versus 18.08 ± 8.52) were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that action observation combined with modified constraint-induced movement therapy may be a beneficial rehabilitation option to improve upper-extremity function in subacute stroke patients with moderate impairment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.77-83
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined the changes in the respiratory function when PNF chopping and lifting patterns were used in chronic stroke patients METHOD: The subjects were 30 patients diagnosed with chronic stroke. The respiratory function (FVC, FEV₁, and FEV₁/FVC) were measured by spirometry. Thirty subjects were divided randomly into an experimental group to which 15 PNF chopping and lifting were applied and a control group to which chest breathing exercise was performed. The intervention was conducted three times a week for six 6 weeks. To examine the effects of intervention, the pre- and post-intervention values for each group were compared using a paired t-test. An independent t-test was used to compare the differences in the values of changes pre- and post-intervention in the two groups. Statistical significance was set to .05. RESULTS: Satistically significant differences in FVC and FEV₁ were observed in both the experimental group and control group according to the intervention (p < .05). A statistically significant difference was found in FVC and FEV₁ compared to values of changes pre- and post-intervnetion between the experimental and control groups. There was no difference in FEV₁/FVC. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that PNF chopping and lifting can be applied as an excellent respiratory intervention program compared to general chest breathing exercises to improve respiratory function in stroke patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.408-424
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• 2023

Central post-stroke pain (CPSP) is an incapacitating disorder that impacts a substantial proportion of stroke survivors and can diminish their quality of life. Conventional therapies for CPSP, including tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and opioids, are frequently ineffective, necessitating the investigation of alternative therapeutic strategies. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is now recognized as a promising noninvasive pain management method for CPSP. rTMS modulates neural activity through the administration of magnetic pulses to specific cortical regions. Trials analyzing the effects of rTMS on CPSP have generated various outcomes, but the evidence suggests possible analgesic benefits. In CPSP and other neuropathic pain conditions, high-frequency rTMS targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) with figure-eight coils has demonstrated significant pain alleviation. Due to its associaton with analgesic benefits, M1 is the most frequently targeted area. The duration and frequency of rTMS sessions, as well as the stimulation intensity, have been studied in an effort to optimize treatment outcomes. The short-term pain relief effects of rTMS have been observed, but the long-term effects (> 3 months) require further investigation. Aspects such as stimulation frequency, location, and treatment period can influence the efficacy of rTMS and ought to be considered while planning the procedure. Standardized guidelines for using rTMS in CPSP would optimize therapy protocols and improve patient outcomes. This review article provides an up-to-date overview of the incidence, clinical characteristics, outcome of rTMS in CPSP patients, and future perspective in the field.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.246-258
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• 2024

This case report describes a patient diagnosed with central post-stroke pain (CPSP) and hemiparesis due to anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery infarction. The patient was treated with Korean medicines, including moxibustion, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, herbal medicine, Western medicine, and rehabilitation therapy for 67 days. CPSP improved based on scores on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) (from 8 to 0), paresthesia NRS (7 to 0), Manual Muscle Test (4/1 to 4+/4-),4+/4-), Korean version of the modified Barthel Index (24 to 73), National Institute of Health's Stroke Scale (7 to 0), Global Deterioration Scale (1 to 1), and Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (27 to 29). No seizures, shocks, recurrent ischemic stroke, and liver dysfunction were recorded during the treatment. A moxibustion-induced burn healed within 7 days. This case suggests that moxibustion, combined with other treatments, has the potential to improve CPSP, without severe side effects.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2000.06c
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• pp.19-22
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• 2000

This paper presents new on-line handwritten algorithm for continuous alphabet uppercase characters. The algorithm is based on the idea that alphabet uppercase character consists of at most 4 strokes. It tries to determine the maximum output for a recognition result among outputs of four recognizers which have the capacity to discriminate the character using from 1 through 4 stroke information. The recognition module has 4 neural network based recognizers, which can recognize from 1 through 4 stroke character. We also use specialized post-processing techniques for improving the recognition performance. Trained on 440 input data and choosing 390 uppercase words for a recognition test we reached a 92% recognition rate.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.413-420
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• 2010

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effect of trunk stability exercise on various support base and posture on gait speed, static and dynamic balance performance. Methods : Included 17 persons with stroke who were living in the community. Trunk stability exercise program was conducted three times per week, 50 minutes per session, for 8 consecutive weeks. Subjects were tested with 10 m walking test(sec), multidirectional reach test (cm), timed get up and go test(sec) and K.A.T.3000 at both (pre and post treatment) time points. Paired t-test was used to exam mean differences between pre and post treatment by using SPSS 12.0. Results : After 8 weeks exercise program, there were significant differences in gait speed, static and dynamic balance performance(p<0.05). Conclusion : This study have shown that trunk stability exercise on various support base and posture improve physical functions(gait speed, static and dynamic balance performance).