• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of abdominal breathing and thoracic expansion exercises on craniovertebral and cranial rotation angles in patients with rotator cuff injury. METHODS: This study enrolled 19 patients with rotator cuff injury, and ten and nine of the patients were randomly placed in abdominal breathing and thoracic expansion exercise groups, respectively. After pain treatment in each group, breathing exercise was conducted thrice a week for four weeks. The patients were recorded by using a digital camera and Image J (version 1.46, National Institutes of Health, USA), an angle measurement program, was used to analyze changes in the craniovertebral angle, cranial rotation angle, and sagittal shoulder posture. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences in the craniovertebral angle were found in both the abdominal breathing and thoracic expansion exercise groups (p<.05). A significant difference in cranial rotation angle was found in the thoracic expansion exercise group only (p<.05). No statistically significant differences in sagittal shoulder posture were found in both groups (p>.05). CONCLUSION: Although abdominal breathing and thoracic expansion exercises did not effectively change sagittal shoulder posture, the exercises were effective in improving craniovertebral and cranial rotation angles. Therefore, abdominal breathing and thoracic expansion exercises are suggested as effective exercise programs for forward head posture.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.145-156
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• 2002

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of thoracic flexibility exercise on chest function and mobility and to provide the information of physical therapy for patients with idiopathic scoliosis. Forty female subjects who were diagnosed with scoliosis participated in this study and were divided into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group consisted of 20 patients who were treated with thoracic flexibility exercise program during the admission (10 days) ad one month after discharge. The control group consisted of 20 patients who were not treated with thoracic flexibility exercise program. Vital capacity was measured using a respirometer. The chest expansion were calculated using differences of chest circumference between maximum inspiration and maximum expiration measured under armpits, at the junction between the sternum and xyphoid process, and at the waist. All subjects were measured two times: before the admission and at one month after discharge. Data were compared by groups using independent t-test, Vital capacity and chest expansion values (the armpit, chest and waist values) were significantly higher for the experimental group compared to those of the control group (p<.05). The findings of this study show that thoracic flexibility exercise program can lead to an increase in vital capacity and chest expansion and has a positive effects in relieving symptoms and restoring thoracic mobility.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.169-174
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• 2014

Purpose: This study demonstrated a postural alignment exercise as conservative management strategy for a woman with excessive thoracic kyphosis presenting decreased chest function, and reports its results. Methods: A 21-year-old woman with thoracic kyphosis presenting limited chest function. The exercise program underwent for 30 min in the intervention phase, which consisted of exercises to improve the strength of back extensor and to stretch anterior chest region. Outcome measures comprised the severity of thoracic kyphosis and chest function (vital capacity [VC], forced expiratory volume in a second [FEV1], and chest expansion length). Results: The thoracic kyphotic angle decreased by 23.6% ($9.38^{\circ}$) and 25.4% ($10.58^{\circ}$) in the intervention and follow-up phases respectively. Also, chest function was improved in the intervention (VC: 3.7% [$0.10{\ell}$], FEV1: 17.1% [$0.39{\ell}$], and chest expansion length: 17.1% [0.96 cm]), and the improvement was maintained during the follow-up phase (VC: 4.8% [$0.13{\ell}$], FEV1: 17.1% [$0.39{\ell}$], and chest expansion length: 64.3% [1.81 cm]). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the postural alignment exercise was favorable for improving chest function of a woman with thoracic kyphosis.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2015

Background: To evaluate the effect of thoracic mobility exercise and deep breathing exercise applied to stroke patients on pulmonary function. Methods: The subjects were divided into two group. Twenty-five patients with stroke were randomly assigned to DB (deep breathing exercise) group (n=13) and TM (combination of deep breathing exercise and thoracic mobility exercise) group (n=12). During four weeks, DB group were carried out deep breathing exercises for 5~10 minutes twice a day and TM Group were carried out deep breathing exercises for 5~10 minutes and thoracic mobility exercise for 20~30 minutes twice a day. All tests were completed before and after experiment. The pulmonary functions were measured by PowerBreathe K5 (Hab International Ltd, England) and tape measure respectively. For each case, the experimental data were obtained in 4 items; average of inspiratory load, inspiratory flow speed, inspiratory flow volume and chest expansion. Results: The results of this study were as follows: 1. In DB group, the statistically significants were shown on average of inspiratory flow speed, inspiratory flow volume and chest expansion (p<.05). 2. In TM group, the statistically significants were shown on all items (p<.05). 3. There was a statistically significant difference on all items between DB group and TM group (p<.05). Conclusions: The above results revealed that DB and TM group can be used to improve pulmonary function in stroke patients. In comparison of DB and TM group, TM group was more improved. In conclude, thoracic mobility exercise helped improving function of vital capacity and chest expansion in stroke patients.

• The Korean journal of sports medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.197-206
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• 2018

Purpose: This study analyzed the muscle activity changes induced by motions of reaching forward and chest expansion that were examined from the bilateral muscles with rectus abdominis, external oblique, multifidus, and longissimus thoracic using Pilates cadillac instrument. Methods: Nine young adult women, who have no musculoskeletal disorder and any of chronic diseases, were participated. Surface electromyography system was used for recording of all signals produced by muscles, and then normalized as percentage of maximum voluntary isometric contraction (%MVIC). The paired t-test and repeated measures of analysis of variance was performed. Results: Reaching-forward motion showed a higher muscle activity from non-dominant external oblique muscle than that of the chest-expansion motion. During both reaching-forward motion and chest-expansion motion, MVIC values collected from dominant side of external oblique muscle were shown a significantly lower than the values obtained from non-dominant side (p<0.05). Conversely, %MVIC values in external oblique muscle collected from dominant side showed a significantly higher than the values obtained from non-dominant side of the same oblique muscle (p<0.05). Reaching-forward motion was caused a higher %MVIC on non-dominant external oblique muscle than that of the chest-expansion motion (p<0.05). Regardless of dominant or non-dominant sides, external oblique muscle was shown the highest activation rate of all the other muscles during reaching forward action, and longissimus thoracic muscle was shown the highest activation rate of all the other muscles during chest expansion action. Conclusion: Reaching-forward motion is suitable for activating an external oblique muscle, and chest-expansion motion is an effective enough in activating of longissimus thoracic muscle.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.278-292
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• 2023

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the effects of thoracic joint mobilization and breathing exercises on diaphragmatic thickness, chest expansion, respiratory function, and endurance in patients with chronic stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial Methods: The study included 24 chronic stroke patients who were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group (12 people) performed 15 minutes of thoracic joint mobility exercises and 15 minutes of breathing exercises, three times a week for 6 weeks, 30 minutes each time. The control group (12 people) received 15 minutes of conservative physical therapy and 15 minutes of breathing exercises, 3 times a week for 6 weeks, 30 minutes per session, the same as the experimental group. The experimental and control groups performed the same breathing exercises. To assess training effectiveness, changes in diaphragm thickness, chest expansion, respiratory function, and endurance were measured. Results: As a result, the experimental group exhibited significant improvements in diaphragm thickness, chest expansion, and respiratory function. The endurance mode also displayed significant enhancement (p<0.05), a finding consistent with the control group. However, the experimental group displayed more substantial improvements in non-affected diaphragm thickness and thoracic expansion compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: Drawing from these findings, breathing exercise which combine thoracic mobilization, will be actively utilized in addition to physical therapy interventions in clinical trials as an effective intervention method.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2014

Background: This study was aimed to determine the effects of deep abdominal muscle exercises (DAME) and thoracic mobility exercises (TME) on pulmonary function. Methods: This study was conducted with 22 college students who are in their 20s and have no problem carrying out activities of daily living. All subjects were randomly assigned to either the DAME group (11) or the TME group (11) to undertake the exercises for 2 weeks. To measure pulmonary function of subjects, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced exploratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were measured using chest graph. Chest expansion of subjects was also measured with tape ruler. These measurements were performed on the first day before the exercise program started and on the next day after the 2-week exercise program was completed. A paired-t test was performed to compare the differences in pulmonary function before and after the exercise program, and an independent t-test was performed to compare the two groups. Results: The results of this study were as follows: 1) In comparison of pre- and post-exercise changes in the DAME and TME groups, both groups showed significant increase in chest expansion and PEF after the exercise program, compared with the baseline data (p<.05). Both groups also demonstrated improvements in FVC and FEV1 after the exercise program, compared with the baseline data. However, the differences were not statistically significant (p>.05). 2) The comparison of the DAME and TME groups revealed no significant differences in chest expansion, FVC, FEV1 and PEF (p>.05). Conclusion: It is therefore concluded that both DAME and TME were effective in improving pulmonary function.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.430-437
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• 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 3-dimensional posture correction(3DPC) exercise program incorporating PNF respiratory muscle strengthening(RMS) exercise on spinal alignment and trunk expansion in patients with idiopathic scoliosis and the difference in intervention effect by type of idiopathic scoliosis. Design: Comparative study using paired t-test and analysis of variance measures. Methods: The subjects of this study were 5 men and 24 women diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis with a Cobb angle greater than 10 degrees and less than 45 degrees. A 3DPC exercise program incorporating PNF RMS exercise was conducted twice a week for 1 hour per session for 6 weeks, and Cobb angle, Angle of trunk rotation, and trunk expansion were measured before and after the intervention. Results: After the intervention, Cobb angle and trunk rotation angle showed a statistically significant decrease, and trunk expansion showed a statistically significant increase. In the effect difference by type, there was a statistically significant difference in the angle of trunk rotation of the thoracic in 3C and Single Lumbar. Conclusions: In conclusion, it is thought that a 3DPC exercise program incorporating PNF RMS exercise can be effectively used in clinical practice to improve spinal alignment and trunk expansion in patients with idiopathic scoliosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2014

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study suggests the exercise programs for improving the function and structure by applying the Schroth exercise method and sling exercise method to the scoliosis patient. METHODS: The subjects were 16 patients who were diagnosed with scoliosis. They were randomly assigned either to a Schroth exercise group (n=8) that received Schroth exercise program or to a sling exercise group (n=8) that received sling exercise program. Flexibility, static balance, dynamic balance, and spinal angles were measured by using the modified sit and reach test, one leg standing with closed eyes, functional reach test, and Cobb's angle, respectively. The chest expansion were calculated using differences of chest circumference between maximum inspiration and maximum expiration measured under armpits, at the junction between the sternum and xiphoid process, and at the waist. RESULT: Schroth group before and after the intervention there was a difference in the static balance, spine angle, chest expansion (p<.05). sling group before and after the intervention there was a difference in the flexibility, static balance, spine angle, chest expansion (p<.05). There were significantly differences between the both groups for chest expansion thoracic level inspiratory variables at post-exercise. CONCLUSION: These results revealed that two exercise program improved flexibility, static standing balance, spine angle, chest expansion level and ability used as scoliosis management and intervention. Therefore, it is expected to be used as a method for the treatment and prevention in the process of rehabilitation of patients with scoliosis.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-71
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• 2007

Objective : Respiratory muscle weakness and decreased chest mobility has been suggested to result from the deconditioning that accompanied activity level in chronic elderly stokes. The benefits of respiratory exercise programmes on exercise capacity and muscle strength in hemiplegia. This study aimed to determine the effects of selective inspiratory and expiratory muscles training and chest mobility exercise on patients with strokes to establish if an improved exercise capacity can be obtained in patients that are not limited in their daily activities. Methods & Intervention : Twelve patients were assigned to the intensive respiratory exercise group participated in a measures design that evaluated the subjects with pre-treatment and post-treatment. Thirteen subjects who were assigned to a control group received training with breathing exercise and resistance exercise of skeletal muscles. The subjects performed spirometry then undertook a 6-week programme of respiratory muscle and chest mobility training. Training for the two groups was carried out 2 times a week for 6 weeks. Measurements and Results : Spirometry(Forced Vital Capacity: FVC and Closed Circuit Spiromety: CCS) and thoracic mobility were measured before and after the 6 weeks. The experimental group improved significantly compared to control group in FVC, $FEV_1$, MVV, IRV and ERV, and upper chest wall expansion(p<0.05). No significant improvement was seen in thoracic mobility or lung function in control group(p>0.05). Conclusion : The major findings in this study were that a intensive 6week exercise programme of resistive breathing and chest mobility in patients with hemiplegia led to an increase in lung capacity. The resistive breathing exercise programme used here resulted in a significant increase in the chest excursion during breathing.