• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.70-74
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• 2013

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the application of whole body vibration training (WBV) on the balance ability of patients with an American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) type C or D spinal cord injury. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Twelve patients with spinal cord injury were enrolled in this study. The participants were randomized to an experimental group (n=6) or control group (n=6). The subjects in the experimental group received WBV exercise and the control group received the sham exercise without vibration. The vibrations were adjusted vertically to the patient at a 30 Hz frequency and 3 mm amplitude. The whole body vibration lasted for 16 minutes in total including 5-minutes warm-up and cool-down at the beginning and end of the program, respectively. The static sitting balance ability was assessed by measuring the postural sway while sitting on the force plate with the eyes opened or closed. Postural sway length was measured for 30 seconds with a self-selected comfortable position. Results: In the static balance test, the anterio-posterior, medio-lateral, and total postural sway length with the eyes open and closed was improved significantly before and after the intervention in the experimental group (p<0.05). The experimental group showed significantly more improvement than the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that WBV training has a positive effect on improving static sitting balance and enhanced control of postural sway in patients with an ASIA-C or D type spinal cord injury.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 1970

A survey was conducted on 2,321 Chung Rhang Middle School boys to check out their physical growth, development and the number of parasite carriers during the period from June 16. to June 23. 1970 As the results of this study, the following conclusions were revealed. A) Physical Growth and Development State. 1. Direct curve in physical growth and development was observed during the period from 13 to 16 years of age. 2. The age and quantity of maximum growth and development. Height; 13~14 years of age 6.1cm Body weight; 14~15 years of age 5.1kg Chest circumference; 13~14 years of age 9.9cm Sitting height; 14~15 years of age 3.4cm 3. Comparison with Japanese students Most Korean students are shorter than Japanese students, though the standard of height became higher than before. The standard of body weight is visibly lower than Japanese students. The standard of chest circumference of the students of age 14 is higher than counter part of Japanese students and the all boys are lower than Japanese students except at the age of 14. The standard of the sitting heights of the Korean students are growing steadily, but every students are shorter than Japanese students. 4. The greatest differences in physical growth and development were shown in 13~14 years of age. 5. The students of 13~15 years of age developed their bodies most highly according to index of Rohrer. 6. Body weight and chest circumference have not grown enough compared with height. The development of sitting height was made highly and the development is steadily growing as they grow old. B. The Number of Parasite Carriers The number of parasite carriers was shown 79.4 per cent among all the student checked out. The number of trichuris was shown 79.7 per cent. The number of parasite carriers was shown higher per cent as the grow old.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.918-929
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• 2008

This study investigated the effects of inverted position on EEG and heart rate variability before and after Bang song gong. BSG is a training method using in qi-gong and meditation to give a convergence of consciousness on body segments in order and take a silent speech of 'song'. The subjects were the 14 university students(n=7 per group) who had not experienced any medical problem and had not practiced BSG. They took a practice of the two way of BSG training program for 30 minutes every other day for two weeks. During practicing BSG, A group took sitting position and lean sitting position by turns, B group took inverted and lean sitting position in the same way. Statistical analysis conducted by two-way ANOVA($2groups^{\ast}2periods$) with p<0.05 for average difference of EEG and HR according to position change in each group before and after BSG. In A group, EEG and HR were changeless irrespective of the change of position and BSG. On the other hand, in B group, significant changes were observed in EEG(p<0.05). ${\alpha}$ wave of inverted position were on the increase, ${\beta}$ and ${\delta}$ wave of inverted position showed smaller power after two weeks training. In the variation of HR, there were smaller variation according to the position change after BSG compared to before BSG(p<0.05). The results suggested that an inverted position may make the depth of meditation deeper, and is likely to be effective for decreasing tension of brain and the sleepiness during qi-gong training. In addition to, an inverted position seemed to promote control of blood pressure of brain. So the application of an inverted position to 'BSG' will be very helpful to achieve deeper relaxation and to obtain the desired effect from qi-gong training.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.93-103
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• 2017

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the effect of active trunk training in the sitting position on balance and energy consumption in early stroke patients. METHODS: The subjects of this study were twenty four early stroke patients were recruited and randomly divided into two groups; experimental group (n=12) and control group (n=12). The subjects in the experimental group participated in active trunk training (20 min) and conventional physical therapy (20 min) five times a week for four weeks. The control group conducted general balance exercise (20 min) and conventional physical therapy (20 min) five times a week for four weeks. The outcomes were assessed using the Berg balance scale, Timed up and go test and energy cost and physiological cost index. RESULTS: Both groups showed a significant increase in their Berg balance scale and significant decrease in their Timed up and go test score, and energy cost and physiological cost index (p<.05). Compared to the control group, the experimental group experienced a greater increase in the Berg balance scale (p<.05) and a larger decrease in the timed up and go test score, and energy cost and physiological cost index (p<.05). CONCLUSION: We suggest that active trunk training in the sitting position may be effective in improving balance and energy consumption in early stroke patients. Thus, active trunk training is important for such patients. Further studies are needed to better understand the effectiveness of trunk training in early stroke patients.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2018

Background: In this paper, the relationship between the Cranio-Vertebral Angle (CVA) and the vital capacity in each position is reviewed, and the vital capacity in the position is studied. Methods: This study targeted 20 non-smoking female students of U university, which is located in Gyeongju-si. To review the Forward Head Posture (FHP) of each subject, CVA was measured, and FVC, FEV1, and FEF (25-75%) were measured and analyzed using a spirometer. Subjects were ordered to exhale three times with ease and then inhale up to their total lung capacity. After then, they were requested to exhale longer than six seconds. Then the inspiration and expiration were repeated. The measurement was executed in three positions, including supine, prone, and sitting. In each position the measurement was repeated twice, and a one-minute break was given between each cycle, so it was measured six times in total. SPSS 14.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. The subjects' general properties were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the correlation between the angle and the respiration variable result in each position was analyzed. The result of the respiration variable in each position was analyzed using the one-way ANOVA, and then a Scheffe post-hoc comparison was executed. Results: According to the analysis result of the correlation between the angle and respiration variable in each position, the sitting position and FEF (25-75%) showed a positive correlation (P<0.05). The respiration variable in each position showed a significant difference in FVC (p<0.05), and the Scheffe post-hoc comparison differed in prone and sitting positions. Conclusion: To increase the FVC of FHP patients, different exercises for each position can be applied, and the result of this study can be utilized as background data for further research.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.145-152
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• 2013

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop an ergonomic office chair that has an alarm function for the unbalanced sitting postures. Background: Contrary to expectation, it is reported that office workers sit on their chairs much more in unbalanced postures during daily work. Even though an office worker uses an ergonomically good-designed chair and begins their work in a good sitting posture, his/her posture is likely to shift to the unbalanced bad posture. Therefore, a posture alarm system would be very helpful in keeping office workers' good postures. Method: We developed a prototype chair with four load cells under a seat pan and one load cell beneath a backrest. Through some experiments, we set the criteria for unbalanced bad postures then implemented the criteria into the alarm system of the prototype chair. The chair called e-BASE chair could detect unbalance postures and show alarms for chair users. We also enhanced back support by developing a step-wised folding backrest. Results: The e-BASE chair showed better performance in interface pressure distributions and balanced posture ratio in VDT work. Conclusion: The ergonomic chair with posture alarm function(e-BASE chair) was developed. It showed better performance in seat pressure distribution and in keeping good posture during office work. Application: The posture alarm system and folding backrest can be applied to the new models of office chair.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the two different types of chairs on trapezius muscle activation during dictation tasks. Seventeen university students, each of whom were within ${\pm}1$ standard deviation of the mean Korean standard body size, voluntarily participated in this study. Surface electromyography was used to collect electrical signals from both the upper and lower trapezius muscles. Amplitude Probability Distribution Function (APDF) was performed to analyze the muscle activity. The findings of this study were 1) The backrest-point height of the auditorium chair and the height, length and width of the connected desk were shorter than what was suggested by the KS. Another difference was that the auditorium chair had a bigger angle of the backrest compared to the classroom chair. 2) Regarding within-subject effect the sole statistically significant difference was found between activation of the upper trapezius muscle. The upper trapezius muscle's %RVC in the APDF 10th-50th-90th percentile was statistically higher for participants sitting in the auditorium chair than for participants sitting in the classroom chair (p<.05). 3) There was an interaction effect between the 'two chair-types' and the 'two muscle-sides' in the APDF 10th-50th percentile (p<.05). 4) There was an interaction effect between the 'two chair-types' and the 'three gaze-direction' in the APDF 90th percentile (p<.05). The findings of this study indicated that maintaining a writing posture for a prolonged period of time in an auditorium chair significantly increased the left upper trapezius muscle activation compared to a classroom chair.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to suggest an effective method of daily life movement training for stroke patients by comparison and analysis of the biomechanic characteristics of sitting up from a lying posture in stroke patients and healthy elderly participants. Methods: Fifteen stroke patients and 15 age-matched elderly participants were included in the study. The movement of sitting up from a lying posture was divided into three stages, and the differences in muscle activity in the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), and rectus femoris (RF) during the movement were analyzed. Results: Subjects in the experimental group showed slower speed than those in the control group. In the neck joint, the change of angle in movement showed a larger decrease at all stages in the experimental group than in the control group; the movement also decreased in stages I and II in the upper trunk joint. The movement also showed a statistically significant decrease in stage II in the lower trunk, pelvic, and hip joints. The SCM showed higher activity in the control group than in the experimental group, showing a statistically significant difference; the RA showed high activity in the experimental group. The RF showed higher activity in the control group than in the experimental group, showing a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: From the results obtained above, increasing movements in the neck, pelvic, and hip joints and strengthening of lower body muscles are required in order to improve the ability for getting up from a lying posture in stroke patients.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.780-786
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• 2005

This study presents a non-video, non-invasive, automatic, on-site monitoring system the system employs ultrasonic transducers to detect behavior in sows before, during and after parturition. An ultrasonic transmitting/receiving (T/R) circuit of 40 kHz was mounted above a conventional parturition bed. The T/R units use ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) ranging technology to measure the height of the confined sows at eight predetermined locations. From this data, three momentary postures of the sow are determined, characterized as standing-posture (SP), lateral-lying-posture (LLP) and sitting posture (STP). By examining the frequencies of position switch Stand-Up-Sequence (SUS) between standing-posture (SP), lateral-lying-posture (LLP) and sitting-posture (STP) rate can be determined for the duration of the sow' confinement. Three experimental pureblooded Landrace sows undergoing normal gestation were monitored for the duration of confinement. In agreement with common observation, the sows exhibited increased restlessness as parturition approached. Analysis of the data collected in our study showed a distinct peak in Stand-Up-Sequence (SUS, i.e. the transition from lying laterally to standing up ) and sitting-posture (STP) rate approximately 12 h prior to parturition, the observed peak being 5 to 10 times higher than observed on any other measurement day. It is concluded that the presented methodology is a robust, low-cost, lowlabor method for the continuous remote monitoring of sows and similar large animals for parturition and other behavior. It is suggested that the system could be applied to automatic prediction of sow parturition, with automatic notification of remote management personnel so human attendance at birth could reduce rates of sow and piglet mortality. The results of this study provide a good basis for enhancing automation and reducing costs in large-scale sow husbandry and have applications in the testing of various large mammals for the effects of medications, diets, genetic modifications and environmental factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1020-1031
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• 1998

This study was done to investigate thermal reponses and to obtain the basic information of thermal comfort by sex and posture under the Ondol heating system. Six healthy males and females were exposed to Ondol(Room Temp.: 25$\pm$1$^{\circ}C$, 50$\pm$10%R.H, Floor Temp.:30$\pm$1$^{\circ}C$) on the of posture such as sitting, lying aside and supine on the floor for 30 minutes after 30 minutes' control phase. During the experiment, rectal temperature, skin temperature of 10 areas, local sweating rate, clothing microclimate, subjective sensation were measured. Rectal temperature gradually decreased and mean skin temperature grad-ually increased both male and female in any posture. There was not significant difference between male and female in rectal temperature and mean skin temperature. There were significant difference among the postures in rectal temperature(p<0.001) and mean skin temperature(p<0.001). In lying aside and supine on the floor, appearances of change and changes in rectal temperature and mean skin temperature were large, changes of weight were small. In sitting on the floor, appearances of change and changes in rectal temperature and mean skin temperature were small, changes of weight were large. The trunk skin tem-perature was higher in female than in male, but the extremity skin temperature was higher in male than in female. In sitting on the floor, foot skin temperature(p<0.001) was higher than any other local skin temperature. In supine on the floor, back skin temperature(p<0.001) was higher than any other local skin temperature.