• PNF and Movement
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.265-272
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate tactile sense perception of the lower extremities according to physical function in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Methods: This study was conducted on 15 children diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy. Physical function measurement items included dynamic balance ability, gross motor function level, and lower extremity ankle spasticity. The lower extremity tactile sensation uses a monofilament to measure the sole of the first metatarsal head, the sole of the fifth metatarsal head, the heel, the anterior part of the shin midway between the patella and the ankle joint, the kneecap, the upper anterior iliac spine, and the knee. A total of six measurements were taken in the mid-femoral region of the bone. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to determine the degree of body function and lower extremity tactile perception. Results: As the physical function of children with spastic cerebral palsy deteriorated, there was a decrease in tactile sensation in the thigh area corresponding to the proximal lower extremity. (p <.05). Conclusion: Children with spastic cerebral palsy and poor physical function have sensory loss not only in the distal part but also in the proximal part, so a treatment approach that recognizes and improves it is necessary.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.41-47
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• 2007

Dance movements consist of combinations of movements such as jumping, rotation, maintaining balance, leg lifts, and plantar flexion with toe shoes. Dance movements require great muscle strength of lower extremities as well as muscular endurance. The purposes of this study were to investigate correlation between the anthropometric variables and the peak torque in young female dancers and to identify variables that affect isokinetic peak torque. Twenty-six female dancers ($19.7{\pm}1.2$ years of age) performed concentric maximum force efforts on the knee extensors and flexors at $60^{\circ}/sec$ and $120^{\circ}/sec$, the ankle plantar flexors (PF) and dorsiflexors (DF) at $30^{\circ}/sec$ and $120^{\circ}/sec$. Antropometric variables such as age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), thigh girth, calf girth and duration of dance training were measured. To identify antropometric variables related to muscle strength, Pearson correlations were computed and a stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed. Pearson correlation coefficients of Knee extensor at $60^{\circ}/sec$ and $120^{\circ}/sec$ revealed moderate positive associations with BMI and thigh girth. Pearson correlation coefficients of ankle PF revealed low-to-moderate positive associations with height. Ankle DF also revealed moderate positive associations with BMI and calf girth. The main predictor variables of knee extensor at 60/sec, were stepwise multiple regression, age, height, thigh and girth.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of gluteal muscle strengthening exercises (GMSE) with ankle joint pumping exercises (AJPE) on thigh swelling, gait ability, and pain level in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: A total of 38 patients who had undergone total hip replacement surgery >1 week prior participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to a group that performed only GMSE (CG; n = 19) and a group that performed GMSE and AJPE (EG; n = 19). The CG group performed GMSE for 30 min, and the EG group performed GMSE for 30 min followed by AJPE for 15 min. Exercises were performed five times a week, for a total of 20 times over 4 weeks in both groups. Thigh swelling (thigh size), 10 m walking test (10MWT) and timed up and go test (TUG) results, pain level (visual analogue scale, VAS) scores, Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36), and hip outcome scale (HOS) scores were evaluated before and after the intervention. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of intervention, significant differences were observed in the thigh size, 10MWT, TUG, VAS, SF-36, HOS before and after intervention in both groups (p < . 05). However, only thigh size showed a significant interaction between group and measurement time (p < . 05). CONCLUSION: GMSE combined with AJPE might be effective in improving the gait ability and pain level in patients with total hip arthroplasty, and GMSE may be more effective in improving thigh swelling and gait ability than GMSE without AJPE.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.49-56
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• 2012

Background : The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of ankle joint taping on balancing abilities of the elderly and to provide preliminary data on preventing falls among the elderly. Methods : In this study, 20 students(8 male, 12 female) in their 20s from D University as well as 14 elderly(4 male, 10 female) in their 70s from S community center have participated. The participants were well informed about the experiment and voluntarily participated. We measured the difference in balancing ability before and after taping between the two groups using methods such as standing on single-leg stance, TUG, and plantar pressure. Kinesio taping, a stop-watch, and the EMED-system were used as equipment along with the SPSS 12.0 program, with a significance level of 0.05, to test the difference before and after taping between the two groups. Result : First, the 70s group showed a significant increase in the dorsal flexion angle after taping. Second, the 70s group showed a significant increase in duration time of standing on one foot after taping. Third, the 70s group's TUG time was significantly shorter. Fourth, the maximum peak value for static and dynamic plantar pressure showed a significant decrease after taping; and dynamic plantar pressure area value decreased as well within significant range. Conclusion : The study has shown that taping is effective on static dynamic balancing ability of the elderly.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1261-1275
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• 2009

Age related decrease of muscle strength, balance, and gait abilities bring about physical inactivity in the elderly. Virtual reality (VR) training has been used successfully to rehabilitate functional balance and mobility in elderly subjects. This study was aimed at determining the effect of VR-based exercise programs by using a video game on the muscle strength, balance, and gait abilities in the elderly. 48 old people were randomly divided into two groups; VR-group (men: 11, women: 14, age: 68.42yrs) and control group (men: 10, women: 13, age: 67.58yrs). VR-group performed an exercise program twice a week for 8 weeks and control group had no intervention. The VR-based exercise program was composed of warm up(10 mins), VR-program(40 mins), and cool down(10mins). It was performed by playstation eyetoy play that provided visual and auditory feedback as well as movements of the upper and lower extremities. Muscle strengths of the knee and ankle were measured using manual muscle tester. Static balance was estimated using computerized posturography. Dynamic balance was measured by Timed up and go test (TUG), Functional reach test (FRT). 10m walk test and 6-min walk test were used to assess gait abilities. After the completion of the VR-exercise program, muscle strength, balance, and gait abilities were improved significantly (p<0.05). In conclusion, the VR-based exercise program showed improvement on the muscle strength, balance, and gait ability in the elderly. This exercise program is both effective and interesting for this age group.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.99-116
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to kinematics factors on during round-off at end of beam-salto backward stretched with step-out to cross on balance beam. Four elite female gymnastics players participated as subject of this study. The methods of this study was analyzed using three dimentional analysis. The results and conclusion of this paper is obtained as follows ; 1. The phase of time was the most short time in board touch down phase and board take-off phase. Also, it was shown a more long time in total time compared to previous study. 2. The horizontal displacement of each phase was shown the most high levels in balance beam landing. The vertical displacement was display a non-linearity increase in board take-of phase, and it was shown the most high levels in vertical displacement during landing of balance beam. 3. The horizontal velocity of each phase was shown the most high levels in board touch down, and it was display a gradually decreased levels because flight during board take-of. The resultant velocity of CG on each phase was shown the most high levels in board touch down and board take-off. 4. The angle of hip joint was shown the most high levels as performed a motion in extension state during board take-off, and the angle of knee joint was display a increased levels because of flight cause body extension in board take-off. Also the angle of ankle joint was shown a increasing levels during board take-off. Considering to this results, it is suggest that the change of kinematics factors in board touch down and board take-off is key role on the effective board control.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.9-17
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This research was designed to study the correlations between physical activities such as foot sensory impairment, balance and ambulatory abilities, as well as fall risk factors and mental activities such as cognitive performance and depression in order to provide fundamental data for the prevention of falling in the elderly. METHODS: A total of 36 elderly people over the age of 65 years who voluntarily joined the research were selected as subjects. Sensory perception in both feet was measured by using a monofilament in 10 parts with each part given one point. The points for each foot were integrated to analyze the correlations between physical and mental activities indices, and the results were analyzed by using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The results of this research show that the extent to which senses in feet were impaired was correlated to TUG, a functional activity index involved in tranfers, gait, and turning movements, which was correlated to BBS (balance index) as well as MMSE-K and K-GDS (mental activities index). BBS was interrelated to FES-K (physical activities index) and MMSE-K. The muscular strength of the right ankle dorsiflexor had mutual relations with FES-K. CONCLUSION: The results of this research indicate that TUG is widely correlated to foot sensory impairment as well as general physical and mental activities in elderly people. BBS was also shown to be correlated with TUG, FES-K, and MMSE-K. Thus, it might be necessary that TUG and BBS be included as two items in physical and mental check-ups for the elderly, and further studies on correlations using evaluation items for physical and mental activities should lead to the simplification of the evaluation criteria.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2019

This study designs a squat posture recognition system that can provide correct squat posture guidelines. This system comprises two modules: a Kinect camera for monitoring users' body movements and a Wii Balance Board(WBB) for measuring balanced postures with legs. Squat posture recognition involves two states: "Stand" and "Squat." Further, each state is divided into two postures: correct and incorrect. The incorrect postures of the Stand and Squat states were classified into three and two different types of postures, respectively. The factors that determine whether a posture is incorrect or correct include the difference between shoulder width and ankle width, knee angle, and coordinate of center of pressure(CoP). An expert and 10 participants participated in experiments, and the three factors used to determine the posture were measured using both Kinect and WBB. The acquired data from each device show that the expert's posture is more stable than that of the subjects. This data was classified using a support vector machine (SVM) and $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ Bayes classifier. The classification results showed that the accuracy achieved using the SVM and $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ Bayes classifier was 95.61% and 81.82%, respectively. Therefore, the developed system that used Kinect and WBB could classify correct and incorrect postures with high accuracy. Unlike in other studies, we obtained the spatial coordinates using Kinect and measured the length of the body. The balance of the body was measured using CoP coordinates obtained from the WBB, and meaningful results were obtained from the measured values. Finally, the developed system can help people analyze the squat posture easily and conveniently anywhere and can help present correct squat posture guidelines. By using this system, users can easily analyze the squat posture in daily life and suggest safe and accurate postures.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 8- week Tai Chi exercise program on improving the risk factors for falls in the older adults with chronic arthritis pain. Method: Fifteen subjects were assigned for experimental group and thirteen were assigned for control group. The subjects of the experimental group participated in a 8 -week program of Tai Chi exercise. In order to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi program, pain intensity, postural stability, balance, gait, and flexibility of knees and ankles were measured before the first and after the 8th session Result: After a 8-week Tai Chi program, there were significant improvement in single-leg stance time with eyes open(left: p=.000, right: p=.003), total scores of balance(p=.004), total scores of gait(p=.005), and the angle of ankle dorsiflexion(p=.008) in the experimental group when compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference in pain intensity between Tai Chi group and control group(p=.054). Conclusion: These results suggest that a 8-week Tai Chi exercise program can be utilized as a safe and effective nursing program to improve on improving the risk factors for falls in the older adults with osteoarthritis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1740-1748
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of the long-term high-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(TENS) on the spasticity and the balance in chronic stroke patients. Twenty-six subjects with spasticity over lower limbs were allocated randomly into two groups under standard rehabilitation: (1) TENS group, (2) placebo-TENS group. TENS stimulation was applied on the both the gastrocnemius for 30 minutes, 5 days a week for 4 weeks(100 Hz, 0.25 ms, 2 times sensory threshold). The Modified Ashworth Scale(MAS) and Hand-held manual muscle tester were used to assess the ankle plantarflexor spasticity. Balance function under three conditions was measured by using force-plate and the amount of postural sway was assessed; in (1) the condition of standing with eyes opened, (2) with eyes closed and (3) the condition of standing on unstable surface with eyes opened. Both groups showed significant improvement in spasticity and balance function after treatment for 4 weeks(p<.05). Especially, TENS group showed a significant reduction of spasticity compared to placebo-TENS group(p<.05). These results suggested that additional stimulation of a long-term high-frequency TENS to standard rehabilitation induced an improved balance function and a spasticity reduction. The long-term application of high-frequency TENS will be an effective intervention for reducing spasticity and increasing balance ability in the chronic stroke patients.