• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.92-97
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• 1994

It is well known that visual cues can improve the motor performance of Parkinsonian patients. Previous laboratory studies have examined the effects of visual cueing to the floor. This case study examined the effects of using a visual cue above eye level on the gait of a Parkinsonian man. It was found that cueing the patient to a target above eye level while waking not only improved the kinematic parameters of the gait cycle but also facilitated a more functional gait pattern with re-intergration of arm swing, rhythm, heel strike and a more erect posture. Visual targeting above eye level may serve as an important clinical tool for physiotherapists treating Parkinsonian patients.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.15-21
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• 2012

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to compare the rehabilitation effects of hydrotherapy and Bobath therapy. Methods : The study was performed with patients of hemiparesis caused by cerebral stroke. The participants were divided into two groups based on random sampling method. One group received hydrotherapy while the other received Bobath therapy. Each rehabilitation program lasted 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. Pertinent indicators-Berg's balance scale (BBS), gait parameter, and static balance analysis-were recorded before andafter the programs, as well as every 2 weeks during the rehabilitation programs Results : There was showed a significantly increase of BBS score. Static open and close showed statistically significant in interaction by time and groups. There was significant differences of gait velocity. Conclusion : These findings in this study that the hydrotherapy was effective therapy in improving balance and gait velocity.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.77-88
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• 2019

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to show the effectiveness of Chuna Manual Therapy applied to a osteoporosis patient with gait disturbance due to lower limb fracture surgery. Method : We focused on Chuna therapy accompanied with acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion, cupping treatment and rehabilitation exercise. This case was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Pain Free Walking Distance (PFWD), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Modified Barthel Index (MBI). Result : This patient showed improvement on the VAS from 6 to 3, PFWD from 0 m to 2000 m using a walker and 50 m by self-walking, BBS from 2 to 28, and MBI from 56 to 89. Moreover the walking state improved from gait disturbance to self-walking. Conclusion : This study suggests that Chuna therapy could be used to improve gait disturbance in patients with osteoporosis and lower limb fracture surgery.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.155-164
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• 2020

Objective: This study aimed to compare muscle structure, balance, and gait parameters between healthy adults and persons with stroke and to analyze the correlation among these variables. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Twenty persons with stroke (11 male, 9 female) and twenty healthy participants (9 male, 11 female) were included. Ultrasound images of the triceps surae and the tibialis anterior were acquired in sitting resting, sitting co-contraction, and standing resting positions and also during the functional reach test (FRT) and single leg anterior reaching test (SLART). Muscle thickness and fascicle length were measured. Spatiotemporal parameters of gait were measured using a pressure walkway. Gait speed, cadence, step length, stride length, stance time, and swing time were measured. Results: Changes in percent fascicle length were significantly greater in the gastrocnemius and soleus (SOL) muscles of healthy adults in the sitting co-contraction position (p<0.05). The percent fascicle length of the SOL in FRT and SLART were significantly greater in healthy adults (p<0.05). The mid-stance phase of stroke patients was shorter than healthy adults (p<0.05). A negative correlation was observed between percent fascicle length of the SOL in the sitting co-contraction position and the proportion of the mid-stance phase (p<0.05). Conclusions: The function of the triceps surae is affected in persons with stroke when compared with healthy adults. This can lead to difficulty in performing tasks that involve forward transfer of weight. If the triceps surae is not sufficiently secured, the possibility of compensation in the stance phase increases during gait.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2006

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of electromechanical gait trainer therapy in stroke patients. The gait trainer was designed to provide nonambulatory subjects the repetitive practice of a gait-like movement without overstraining therapist. To simulate normal gait, discrete stance and swing phase, lasting 60% and 40% of the gait cycle respectively, and the control of the movement of the centre of mass were required. Methods : This preliminary study investigated during 8 weeks therapy on the gait trainer could improve gait ability in 5 subacute and chronic hemiparetic stroke patients. Gait ability(time up & go [TUG], comfortable and maximal gait speed and functional ambulation category[FAC]), functional movement of lower extremity(Fugl-Meyer Assessment [FMA] and composite spasticity score [CSS]) and sensory of lower extremity(Fugl-Meyer Assessment sensory [FMA-s])were the measured. Results : TUG, comfortable and maximal gait speed and FMA were improved significantly. Although FAC, FMA-s and CSS were improved, there were not statistically significant. Conclusion : Therefore, the gait trainer enabled affected patients the repetitive practice of a gait-like movement, which is important for the restoration of walking ability.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.44-53
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• 2004

Treadmill training is a new promising therapy in gait rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of treadmill training on walking speed and gait endurance in patients with chronic hemiplegia. The subject of this includes twenty patients, who had suffered from chronic hemiplegia and were in the K rehabilitation center; each ten patients were randomly assigned to experimental or control group. Among twenty patients, one group of ten for experiment was treated with progressive speed increase treadmill ambulation traing besides conventional physical therapy(SITAT) while the rest ten for the controlled group was treated with conventional physical therapy(CPT) only, for 8 weeks alike. Before and after the foregoing 8 weeks training, walking velocity and gait endurance were measured to both groups. The data were analyzed by paired t-test. The results of this study are as follows; The SITAT and CPT showed the significant difference in walking velocity and gait endurance. As compared the rehabilitation of dependent varibles between the SITAT and CPT, SITAT showed the significant difference in walking velocity and gait endurance. The outcome suggest that patient with chronic hemiplegia can improve their walking velocity and gait endurance throught treadmill training.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to analyze the effects of carrying weight on the gait of elderly women using a walking-assistant vehicle (WAV) as the weight increased. METHODS: A total of 30 elderly women living in the local community were included as subjects and instructed to walk 50 m using a WAV loaded with sandbags corresponding to 0%, 5%, 10%, or 15% of their mean weight. The subjects' gait was analyzed using a gait analyzer to measure stride length, step length, step width, and gait time. RESULTS: Stride and step lengths were longest when carrying 5% of their weight and shortest when carrying 15% of their mean body weight. Step width and gait time were lowest when carrying weights corresponding to 5% and highest for 15% of their mean body weight. When observing gait with a WAV, the gait time was greatly affected by weights, with carrying weight equivalent to 5% of the body weight positively affected the gait with a WAV, whereas carrying weights of >15% resulted in slower gait speed. CONCLUSION: When walking with a WAV, an appropriate carrying weight of approximately 5% of the body weight stabilizes gait, while a weight of 15% leads decreased gait efficiency. Therefore, when using a WAV during outdoor activities, elderly women should add some weight to the WAV; however, the carrying weight should be <15% of the body weight.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2022

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a real-time pressure feedback provided during gait training on the weight weight distribution of the inner part of mid-foot in paralyzed side and gait function in stroke patients. METHODS: A total of 24 patients with hemiplegic stroke in a rehabilitation hospital were randomly assigned to the experimental and control group. All participants (n = 24) performed 15 min of comprehensive rehabilitation therapy 5 times a week for a period of 4 weeks. Additionally, the experimental group and control group underwent gait training with a real time feedback and general gait training, respectively, for 15 min five times a week for 4 weeks. Weight distribution and gait function were measured before and after the 4-week training. RESULTS: Significant increases in the weight distribution (WD), stance time (ST) and step length (SL) of the paralyzed side, and a significant decrease in the 10 m walking test (10 MWT) observed after training in the two groups (p < .05). The experimental group showed larger changes in the all variables than the control group (WD, +10.5 kg vs. +8.8 kg, p < .05; ST, 12.8 s vs. 4.9 s, p < .05; SL, 4.9 cm vs. 1.7 cm, p < .05; 10 MWT, -3.5 s vs. -1.0 s, p < .05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Gait training with a real-time feedback might be effective in improving the normalization of weight bearing of the paralyzed lower extremity and gait function of stroke patients, and be considered to be a more effective gait training for improving the abilities than the general gait training.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2009

Background: To investigate the differences of locomotor dynamics between Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with tremor dominant symptom and patients with postural instability dominant symptom. Methods: 66 subjects with PD were classified into two subgroups, tremor-dominant group and postural instability and gait disorder group by Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS). The spatial, temporal and electrodynamic gait parameters were recorded automatically using computerized 3-D motion analysis system with electrogoniometer. Results: There was no significant difference in cadence, pelvic tilt range, hip flexion range, knee flexion range and ankle dorsiflexion range. Postural instability and gait disorder group showed decreased gait velocity, short stride length, decreased range of motion in pelvic obliquity, pelvic rotation and ankle plantar flexion. Conclusions: There was meaningful difference in locomotor dynamics between Parkinson's disease(PD) patients with tremor dominant symptom and patients with postural instability dominant symptom.