• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.222-229
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of treadmill exercise on the posture and walking speed of chronic stroke survivors with an ankle-foot orthosis. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Twenty-four chronic persons with chronic stroke admitted to Bobath Memorial Hospital in Seongnam city were divided into two groups by random blind method. Treadmill exercise with an elastic ankle-foot orthosis was performed in the experimental group and treadmill exercise was performed in the control group. The experiment was carried out for 6 weeks, and the experiment was carried out three times a week for 20 minutes per session. To measure the effect, static balance was measured using the MTD system before and after training, and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was used to measure functional balance. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in the BBS measurement results for confirming the functional balance (p<0.05). Also, there was a significant difference between the 2 groups in single limb support time, step time and step length (p<0.05). Conclusions: In this study, it was found that treadmill exercise with an elastic ankle-foot orthosis in persons with chronic stroke was effective in maintaining functional balance, walking ability, step length, and step time. Therefore, it is necessary to use a flexible ankle-foot orthosis with proper treadmill exercise as a method of improving balance and walking speed of chronic stroke survivors.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.61-70
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• 2019

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of the declination of the subtalar joint rotation axis and the structural features of the ankle joint complex such as rear-foot angle alignment and ligament laxity test between chronic ankle instability (CAI) patients and healthy control. Method: A total of 76 subjects and CAI group (N=38, age: $23.11{\pm}7.63yrs$, height: $165.67{\pm}9.54cm$, weight: $60.13{\pm}11.71kg$) and healthy control (N=38, age: $23.55{\pm}7.03yrs$, height: $167.92{\pm}9.22cm$, weight: $64.58{\pm}13.40kg$) participated in this study. Results: The declination of the subtalar joint rotation axis of the CAI group was statistically different from healthy control in both sagittal slope and transverse slope. The rear-foot angle of CAI group was different from a healthy control. Compared to healthy control, they had the structure of rear-foot varus that could have a high occurrence rate of ankle varus sprain. CAI group had loose ATFL and CFL compared to the healthy control. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the deviation of the subtalar joint rotation axis and the structural features of the ankle joint complex were different between the CAI group and the healthy control and this difference is a meaningful factor in the occurrence of lateral ankle sprains.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.56-61
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• 2019

Purpose: The spasticity of stroke patients decreases the ankle range of motion and increases the gastrocnemius muscle tone. This study examined the effects of stretching exercise and far infrared irradiation on the ankle function in stroke patients with spasticity. Methods: This study was conducted on 20 stroke patients admitted to Jesaeng General Hospital, who were divided into a study group (stretching exercise with far infrared) and control group (stretching exercise only). The dorsiflexion range of motion was measured using a smartphone and the medial gastrocnemius muscle tone and stiffness were measured using a Myoton pro. Results: With the exception of the non-paretic gastrocnemius muscle tone in the control group, the medial gastrocnemius muscle tone and stiffness decreased significantly in both groups. In both groups, the dorsiflexion range of motion increased significantly. In addition, the experimental group had a significantly higher dorsiflexion range of motion than the control group. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the medial gastrocnemius muscle tone and stiffness. Conclusion: For stroke patients with spasticity, stretching exercises increased the ankle's range of motion and decreased the gastrocnemius muscle tone. The addition of heat therapy further increased the ankle's range of motion. On the other hand, as the sample size was small, future studies should include more subjects.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2013

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the ankle movement and the balance when the elderly conducted self-exercise with ankle movement control device through visual feedback. Method : This case-study included pre-test and post-test. The elderly women aged 80 did self-exercise for 20 minutes both morning and afternoon every day. The pre-test and post-test was conducted tracking test for evaluating ankle control movement and running time measurement of standing on one foot and Timed up-And-Go test for balance. Result : The subject improved the ankle control movement on tracking test and improved the balance in running time measurement of standing on one foot. But, Timed up-And-Go test was no change. Conclusion : The self-exercise with device of ankle movement control through visual feedback improved the ankle control movement and the balance for elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.83-92
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the elastic band and stretching exercise program on ankle joint maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) and plantar pressure in high-heel wearing women in their 20s. METHODS: Twenty women in their twenties were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=10) and the control group (n=10). The experimental group (n=10) performed the elastic band exercise program, while the control group (n=10) performed the stretching exercise program. Both exercise programs were performed three times a week for a total of four weeks. The BTE Primus RS was used in order to measure the ankle joint MVIC during dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, and eversion. Maximum pressure ($N/cm^2$), average pressure ($N/cm^2$) were measured using the Pedoscan. SPSS v. 21.0 software was used for all statistical analyses in this study. RESULTS: The measurement of the ankle joint's MVIC revealed that in inversion, a significant change in both feet was seen in both the experimental and control groups. In eversion, there was a significant change in both feet only in the experimental group. In terms of the rest of the results, no significant changes were visible. With regard to the plantar pressure, no significant results were seen for either foot in the comparison between or within the groups. CONCLUSION: Exercise program using elastic band and exercise program using stretching were effective on MVIC of ankle joint muscles, although it had no effect on changes of plantar pressure.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2002

This study was conducted to determine the effects of deep breathing exercise and ankle exercise on blood flow velocity in the femoral vein. Sixteen healthy male students were recruited from Yonsei University, at Wonju. The blood flow velocities in the femoral vein were measured under three different conditions: resting, deep breathing, and ankle exercise. All subjects were given a 5-minute relaxing time in supine position prior to the study. Using a doppler ultrasound with a 8 MHz probe, the peak blood flow velocities were collected in a twenty-second-period at each condition. The subjects took a rest in between trials for the blood flow to return to its resting levels. The result showed a significant difference in peak blood flow velocities under those three conditions (p<.001). The peak blood flow velocity was highest in ankle exercise condition. The peak blood velocity was significantly higher in deep breathing condition compared with the resting condition. As a result, it is revealed that not only the muscular contractions but also the deep breathing exercises induced facilitating effects of venous return. Either of the exercise methods can be recommended to prevent blood stasis in patients with risk of deep vein thrombosis after cardiac or lower extremity surgery.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.78-83
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• 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the intrinsic foot muscle training method can improve the medial longitudinal arch in patients with chronic ankle injury and with pronated feet, as well as to investigate for the most effective exercise method for these patients. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty men and women with pronated feet had participated in this study and were allocated to either the short foot exercise group (SFEG) or the towel curl exercise group (TCEG) randomly. SFEG and TCEG underwent exercises three times a week for 8 weeks, with three sets per day, totalling up to 5 minutes per day. The navicular drop test (NDT) was used in order to assess for changes in the medial longitudinal arch and the Cumberland ankle instability tool (CAIT) was used to assess for ankle instability of the chronic ankle sprain patients. Results: There was a significant increase in CAIT scores in the SFEG (p<0.05) and a significant difference between groups was presented (p<0.05). The NDT scores were significantly decreased in both groups (p<0.05). In the SFEG, the NDT scores were more decreased than in the TCEG (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that short foot exercises are more effective in providing intrinsic foot muscle training for patients with pronated feet among chronic ankle sprain patients. Furthermore, short foot exercises may be used to provide ankle stability.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.292-296
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the exercise effect of two types of training with a recumbent cycle ergometer on ankle muscle strength (dorsiflexor strength, DFS; dorsiflexor strength/weight, DFS/kg; plantar flexor strength, PFS; and plantar flexor strength/weight, PFS/kg) in healthy male subjects. Methods: Twenty-three healthy males (27.91±8.66 yr) were randomly allocated into two groups (high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and aerobic exercise training (AET) after the first measurement. The subjects were trained for 24 sessions (40 min/rep, three times/week) and ankle strength was measured for a second time. Two-way mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify significant differences between changes in ankle muscle strength between before and after training (within factors) in the HIIT and AET groups (between factors). The statistical significance level was set at α=0.05. Results: In both HIIT and AET groups, all variables of ankle muscle strength were significantly increased after training compared to before training (p=0.001). However, there were no differences in all variables of ankle strength between the HIIT and AET group (p>0.05). Conclusion: Both types (HIIT and AET) of recumbent cycle exercise training could be effective training methods to increase ankle muscle strength in healthy individuals, and the HIIT type with high intensity and low frequency pedaling could be recommended more to strengthen ankle muscles.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.71-81
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• 2024

Purpose : In this study, we compared the effects of ankle, McKenzie, and cervical stabilization exercises in individuals with a forward head posture. Outcome measures investigated included the neck disability index, craniovertebral angle (CVA), cranial rotation angle (CRA), and thickness of the longus colli muscle (LC) and carotid artery (CA) post-intervention. Methods : The study included 20 individuals with a forward head posture, who were assigned to an experimental group (EG, individuals performed ankle exercises) or control group (CG, individuals performed McKenzie and cervical stabilization exercises). The EG intervention was specifically designed to enhance proprioception in the ankle joint and strengthen the ankle muscles to improve overall stability and function. In contrast, CG interventions aimed to improve neck muscle balance and cervical spine alignment. Paired t-tests were used to analyze intragroup changes and independent t-tests to determine intergroup differences pre-and post-intervention. The significance level for all statistical tests was set at α=.05. Results : We observed significant post-intervention improvements in both groups, specifically, in the CVA, CRA, and LC and CA thickness (p<.05). These results indicate that ankle, McKenzie, and cervical stabilization exercises were useful for neck posture correction, improved muscle balance, and enhanced blood flow to the neck. Conclusion : This study underscores the positive effects of ankle, McKenzie, and cervical stabilization exercises in individuals with a forward head posture. Our study highlights the benefits of these exercises for posture correction and overall neck health and the clinical effectiveness and usefulness of ankle exercises as an important intervention to improve forward head posture.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was to identify the effects of the application of ankle pumping exercise versus elastic compression stockings for the women lower leg edema and pain due to continuous standing work. Methods: The participants were 20 women with leg edema and pain, divided into two group, 10 ankle exercise group and elastic compression stockings group. Low leg circumference were measured before and after work. Ankle pumping exercise group, elastic compression stockings were divided into groups, individual working one week during the arbitration to arbitration and work around the legs before and after retesting were compared before and after arbitration. Arbitration to stop and keep the information a week after the re-measurement of intervention before and after the arbitration and the degree of intervention were maintained. Statistical methods before and after working around the average value of each the legs was repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The participants had edema and leg problems because of their work. The ankle pumping exercise gorup and elastic compression stockings group showed statistically decrease in leg circumference value. there was no statistically value about the lasting effect of intervention after 1 week. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that the application of elastic compression stockings and ankle pumping exercises during the hours of work is effective the relief of edema of lower extremity.