• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.4598-4603
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to compare and evaluate the balance and muscle activity after having performed balance exercise at different ground conditions. The subjects were divided into 3 groups; Sand Group(SG)(N=30) and Balance Form group(BFG)(N=30), Hard Ground Group(HGG)(N=30). The period of intervention was for six weeks. EMG for Tibialis anterior(TA), Soleus(So), Biceps femoris(BF) muscle activity, Air-balance system 3D were used as evaluation tools for this study. the change of balance ability and TA, So muscle activity was greater in the SG, BFG than HGG which may imply that sand can be used for the balance exercise like any other ground.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.85-91
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation of the trunk and lower limbs of subjects wearing high-heeled or flat shoes while crossing over obstacles of different heights. METHODS: Twenty subjects participated in this study. While wearing high-heeled shoes (7 cm) or flat shoes (0 cm), the subjects were asked to cross over obstacles of different heights (10%, 20%, and 30% of their lower-limb length). Muscle activation of the trunk and lower limbs with the supported side while crossing over obstacles of different heights was measured using the electromyogram (Noraxon, DTS, Germany). Two-way repeated ANOVA was used to compare the muscle activation between high-heel shoes and flat shoes while crossing over obstacles of different heights. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 21, and p-values less than .05 were used to identify significant differences. RESULTS: As an obstacle's height increased, muscle activation of the trunk and lower limbs with the supported side was increased while wearing either type of shoe, and it was generally higher while wearing high-heeled shoes. However, tibialis anterior muscle activity while wearing high-heeled shoes was lower than while wearing flat shoes. CONCLUSION: This study showed that muscle activation of the trunk and lower limbs was higher when subjects wore high-heeled shoes than when they wore flat shoes while crossing over obstacles of different heights. Therefore, high-heeled shoes can easily cause high muscle fatigue of the trunk and lower limbs, and the TA muscle may weaken in persons who wear high-heeled shoes.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.205-209
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• 2016

Objective: Children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy show weakness especially in the lower-extremity rather than upper-extremity muscles and display characteristics such as asymmetric alignment, deficits in postural control or balance ability, and slow walking speed. Various therapeutic interventions are applied to children with cerebral palsy, of which taping is widely used in the field of rehabilitation, however, there are few studies of the effects of kinesio taping on gait patterns of children with cerebral palsy. The present study investigated the effects of kinesio taping on gait parameters of children with cerebral palsy. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Four children with spastic diplegia participated in this study. The participants' gait parameters while walking 10 m with and without kinesio taping (tibialis anterior, quadriceps femoris, and gluteus maximus) were recorded. Gait parameters including gait velocity, cadence, step length, stride length, single support time, and double support time were evaluated using the GAITRite. Mean values were obtained after having the subjects walk three times in each condition with a 5-minute rest period between each condition. The order of each condition was assigned randomly. Results: There were significant improvements in gait velocity, step length, stride length, and single support time of the right leg with kinesio taping condition compared to the without kinesio taping condition taping (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in cadence, single support time of the left leg, or double support time. Conclusions: The results show that kinesio taping may have a positive effect for improving gait parameters of children with spastic diplegia. However, its usefulness in the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy needs to be further investigated.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2020

Background: Augmented somatosensory feedback stimulates the mechanoreceptor to deliver information on bodily position, improving the postural control. The various types of such feedback include ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) and vibration. The optimal feedback to mitigate postural sway remains unclear, as does the effect of augmented somatosensory feedback on muscle co-contraction. Objects: We compared postural sway and ankle muscle co-contraction without feedback (control) and with either of two forms of somatosensory feedback (AFOs and vibration). Methods: We recruited 15 healthy subjects and tested them under three feedback conditions (control, AFOs, vibration) with two sensory conditions (eyes open, or eyes closed and the head tilted back), in random order. Postural sway was measured using a force platform; the mean sway area of the 95% confidence ellipse (AREA) and the mean velocity of the center-of-pressure displacement (VEL) were assessed. Co-contraction of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles was measured using electromyography and converted into a co-contraction index (CI). Results: We found significant main effects of the three feedback states on postural sway (AREA, VEL) and the CI. The two sensory conditions exerted significant main effects on postural sway (AREA and VEL). AFOs reduced postural sway to a level significantly lower than that of the control (p = 0.014, p < 0.001) or that afforded by vibration (p = 0.024, p < 0.001). In terms of CI amelioration, the AFOs condition was significantly better than the control (p = 0.004). Vibration did not significantly improve either postural sway or the CI compared to the control condition. There was no significant interaction effect between the three feedback conditions and the two sensory conditions. Conclusion: Lower-extremity devices such as AFOs enhance somatosensory perception, improving postural control and decreasing the CI during static standing.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the effects of exercise types on lower extremity muscle activity in stroke patients. For the purpose, the subjects of this study were classified into three groups such as therapeutic exercise group(n=7), elastic band group(n=7), and stretch reflex group(n=7). The three exercise programs were 5 times a week for 8 weeks. The stretch reflex group revealed higher in iliopsoas and biceps femoris %MVIC than the therapeutic exercise group and elastic band group, whereas elastic band group revealed lower in tibialis anterior %MVIC than therapeutic exercise group in the primary single-limb support. The stretch reflex group revealed higher in iliopsoas %MVIC than the therapeutic exercise group and elastic band group, whereas stretch reflex group revealed lower in medial gastrocnemius %MVIC than therapeutic exercise group in the secondary double support phase.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.832-839
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• 2007

In this study, a new bicycle system was developed to improve muscular strength using the Magneto-Rheological(MR) rotary brake. The friction load of the MR rotary brake is adjusted according to muscle strength of the subjects. The characteristic of muscular strength was studied with various friction loads of MR rotary brake. The friction load was occurred with the current, applied to the MR. rotary brake. Experiments was composed of several cycling trials for various friction loads. In training programs involving muscle improvement, it is necessary to confirm muscle activity and fatigue. To measure the muscle activity and fatigue, EMG signals of rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tensor fasciae latae (TFL), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VAS), gastrocnemius (GAS), tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus (SOL) muscles were collected with surface electromyography and analyzed into time and frequency domain. The experimental results showed that the muscle activity according to the applied current to the MR rotary brake was significantly different. The more the current was applied, the higher value of the integrated EMG (IEMG) was obtained. Especially, the magnitude of IEMG of the RF, BF, TFL and VL varied in direct proportion to the current. However, there was not significant in the median frequency as the cycling time continue.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.43-50
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• 2004

This study was designed to determine the effects of different widths in the base of support (BOS) on trunk and lower extremity muscle activation during upper extremity exercise. Twenty-seven healthy male subjects volunteered for this study. Exercises were performed for a total of 10 trials with a load of 10 repetitions maximum (10 RM) for each of the various widths of BOS (10 cm, 32 cm, 45 cm). The width of a BOS is the distance between each medial malleoli when a subject was in a comfortable standing position. Electromyography was used to determine muscle activation. Surface bipolar electrodes were applied over the tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, gluteus maximus, upper rectus abdominis, and elector spinae muscle. Electromyographic (EMG) root mean square (RMS) signal intensity was normalized to 5 seconds of EMG obtained with a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). The data were analyzed by atwo-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated-measures ($3{\times}7$) and Bonferroni post hoc test. The results were as follows: (1) There were significant differences in the width of the BOS (p=.006). (2) The post hoc test showed significant differences with the BOS between 10 cm and 32 cm, between 10 cm and 45 cm and between 32 cm and 35 cm (p=.008, p=.003, p=.011). (3) There was no interaction with the BOS and muscle. (p=.438) There were no significant differences in the muscle activation (p=.215).

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2001

Recovery of nerve injury is conditioned by various factors including physical state, injured site, cause of injury, and neurorrhaphy Many researchers have reported on regeneration of nerve using end to side neurorrhaphy. The purpose of this study was to examine regeneration of nerve in various conditioned side to side neurorrhaphy. Total of 25 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 220 to 250 gm were divided into five groups of five rats each. The group 1, sham group, composed of dissection only without nerve transaction. The group 2, control group, composed of nerve division only without neurorrhaphy or sural nerve graft. The group 3 composed of one segmental sural nerve graft between the tibial and peroneal nerve after division. Group 4 had two segment graft, and the group 5 with three segment graft, each segment being 6mm long and 5 mm apart. The side to side neurorrhaphy was performed between peroneal nerve and tibial nerve using segmental sural nerve graft in rats. We exposed the sciatic nerve, tibial nerve, peroneal nerve, and sural nerve on left side with prone position. The peroneal nerve was cut on the bifurcation site from tibial nerve and the side to side epineurial neurorrhaphy was performed between peroneal nerve and tibial nerve through 6 mm sural nerve segment graft with 11-0 nylon under operating microscope. The electromyography and the weight from ipsilateral tibialis anterior muscle was performed at one month after neurorrhaphy Peroneal and tibial nerve was examined at distal and proximal to the neurorrhaphy site by methylene blue stain under light microscope for histologic appearance. The number of nerve fibers were counted using the image analyzer. Statistically, both in electromyography and number of nerve fibers, the differences in values between the groups were significant.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.381-385
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was to identify the relationship between the game score and muscle strength in order to elucidate whether the obtained score for the dorsiflexor and plantar flexor muscles in the ankle joint using an EMG-based interactive game system can reflect muscle strength as measured conventionally. Methods: Forty adults were enrolled in the present study. They had no congenital deformities, and no neurological or orthopedic disorders in the 6 months prior to the start of the study. The Biodex were used to measure the isokinetic concentric maximal strength of the plantar flexor and dorsiflexor muscles in the ankle joint. EMG electrodes were attached to the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius. Results: (1) There was a positive relationship between the obtained game score by the plantar flexor (sPF) and muscle strength of the plantar flexor (tPF) and dorsiflexor (tDF). In addition, the tPF affected the sPF, but the tDF did not. Thus, the higher the tPF, the higher the sPF. (2) There was no relationship between the obtained game score of dorsiflexor (sDF) and tPF or tDF. In addition, neither the tDF or tPF affected the sDF. Conclusion: The game score had a relationship with muscle strength, which is related to ankle instability and re-impairment. Thus we suggest that this game system can be used to predict the degree of weakness of muscle strength.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.57-61
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of active foot arch support on the muscles of lower extremity electromyographic activity during squat exercise in persons with pronated foot. Methods: The study subjects were 16 persons with pronated foot. They have no history of surgery in lower extremity and trunk and limitation of range of motion or pain when performing squat exercise. Each subject was measured the navicular drop (ND) to determine the pronated foot. And then the subjects were asked to perform three repetitions of a $90^{\circ}$ knee flexion squat in both conditions which are 1) preferred squat and 2) squat with active foot arch support. Results: Paired t-test revealed that squat with active foot arch support produced significantly greater EMG activities in abductor hallucis (p=0.00), proneus longus (p=0.03) and gluteus medius (p=0.04) than preferred squat. But the EMG activities of tibialis anterior, vastus medialis oblique and vastus lateralis were not showed significantly different between the both squat conditions. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that active foot arch support during squat increase the activities of lower extremity muscles which are the abductor hallucis, proneus longus and gluteus medius. Also, the abductor hallucis which is one of the planter intrinsic muscle and peroneus longus play a role in support of the foot arch and active foot arch support induced the increase of the activity of gluteus medius. Therefore active foot arch support can change the lower extremity biomechanics as well as passive foot support such as foot orthotics and taping.