• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2015

This research was to develop the cycling system of lower limbs for rehabilitation during cycle exercise in supine position. Also we analyzed the muscular activity of lower-limbs at various exercise conditions according to exercise mode, load, velocity. 42 healthy subjects(ages 20-60 years) were participated. We measured the muscular activities of right lower limb muscle in rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, soleus. Results, medial gastrocnemius shows high value on load 10 stage than load 1 and 5 stage. And all muscular activity except medial gastrocnemius was decreased as increase of velocity. We have found that there is a difference of lower limbs activity depending on exercise mode and method. This study could be applied to reference data to develop cycle system of lower limbs for rehabilitation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.11-17
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• 2016

PURPOSE: There are several standard interventions for managing Achilles tendinitis, including eccentric exercise and calf muscle stretches, orthoses, electrotherapy, and taping. However, no study has determined the effect of non-elastic taping on deloading the Achilles tendon while vertical jumping. Therefore, this study determined the effect of non-elastic taping on ankle dorsiflexion and the triceps surae muscle activity while vertical jumping in healthy subjects. METHODS: The study recruited 17 participants. A motion analysis system was used to measure the angle of ankle dorsiflexion and wireless surface electromyography was used to measure the soleus and gastrocnemius activities while vertical jumping. Non-elastic taping was applied on randomized leg side. All subjects performed maximal effort vertical jumps without and with non-elastic taping, with three trials for each condition. The mean peak dorsiflexion and muscle activities during the three trials were calculated and paired t-tests were used to compare the mean values without and with non-elastic taping. Significance was defined as (p<.05). RESULTS: The maximum angle of ankle dorsiflexion and activity of the gastrocnemius muscle decreased significantly when non-elastic tape was applied (p<.05), while there was no significant difference in the soleus activity between no-taping and taping (p>.05). CONCLUSION: We introduce non-elastic taping as a method to decrease maximum ankle dorsiflexion and gastrocnemius activity while vertical jumping.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.311-321
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• 2016

Chronic or acute alcohol abuse often leads to liver injury associated with alcoholic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. In addition to the liver, alcohol abuse also induces a variety of other tissue injuries including pancreatitis, cardiomyopathy, neurotoxicity and muscle loss. Chronic skeletal muscle myopathy, independent of peripheral neuropathy, is well recognised in alcoholic patients. Several mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of alcoholic myopathy. Ethanol is a potent inhibitor of muscle protein synthesis. Gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles are Type II fiber-predominant and usually considered representative of the musculature as a whole. Whereas, soleus muscle is Type I fiber predominant. Shihosogan-san is a traditional Korean medicine that is widely employed to treat indigestion and liver diseases. Muscle diseases are often related to liver diseases and conditions. We therefore tested the hypothesis that treatment with Shihosogan-san could ameliorate the ethanol-induced changes in muscle protein synthesis. Young male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally given 25% ethanol (5ml/kg, body weight) daily with Ethanol for 28 days. Normal group was similarly administrated with saline. In Shihosogan-san treated group, rats were orally administrated Shihosogan-san extract, and rats of EtOH group were given with the vehicle only. After 4 week, the morphology of gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. For comparative purposes, liver function was also investigated. The muscles from rats of EtOH group displayed a significant reduction in average cross section area compared to Normal group. Shihosogan-san treated group had increased fiber compared to the EtOH group. Moreover, Shihosogan-san treated group compared with EtOH group showed significantly decreased pro-apoptotic BAX expression and increased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression. In conclusion, Shihosogan-san extract showed ameliorating effects on chronic alcohol toxicity in skeletal muscle.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.287-293
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Hoehn-Yahr scale on the activation of lower-extremity muscles during walking. Electromyography (EMG) analysis was carried out on 36 patients with Parkinson's disease in the off phase of the medication cycle. We recorded EMG signals of the tibialis anterior (TA), medial gastrocnemius (MG), lateral gastrocnemius (LG), soleus (SOL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), semitendinosus (ST) and biceps femoris (BF) using Noraxon 16 channels EMG system during walking at preferred speed. Rectified EMG signals were normalized to reference voluntary contractions (RVC) over a gait cycle at the preferred speed, allowing for an assessment of how the activity was distributed over the gait cycle. Compared to the H & Y Scale 1, H & Y Scale 3 exhibited greater activation of the vastus lateralis during mid-stance and greater activation of the medial gastrocnemius during terminal swing. Compared to the H & Y Scale 1, H & Y Scale 2 and 3 exhibited less activation of the tibialis anterior during initial swing. We conclude that the more Hoen & Yahr Scale increase, the more abnormal lower-extremity muscles activation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was investigate the changes of gastrocnemius (GCM) muscle activity by applying different hot and cold therapeutic modalities. METHODS: A total of 20 healthy subjects were enrolled into the study. We selected transfer modalities that are frequently used in clinical settings: conduction, radiation, and convection. We performed hot pack, ice pack, and infrared therapy for 10, 20, and 30 minutes. After each application, a break was taken between each day. In addition, we performed cryotherapy for 3 min (airflow rate = $-6{\sim}-20^{\circ}C$). We measured muscle activity changes in the GCM muscle. RESULTS: For the conduction method, muscle activity significantly increased after ice pack therapy for 10 min and 20 min but decreased after hot pack therapy for 10 min and 20 min. For the radiation method, muscle activity significantly decreased after infrared therapy for 10 min and 20 min. For the convection method, muscle activity significantly increased after cryotherapy for 3 min and 10 min. There were no differences in the change of muscle activity in the conduction and radiation transfer method using heat. However, there were differences in the change of muscle activity in the conduction and convection transfer method with cold application. CONCLUSION: For a reduction in muscle activity, regardless of the transfer type, thermal application for 20 min would be effective. For an increase in muscle activity, cold pack application or cryotherapy for 20 min would be effective. This study could contribute toward therapeutic modality application in changing muscle activity.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2016

Chronic alcoholic myopathy is one of the most common skeletal muscle disorders. It is characterized by a reduction in the entire skeletal musculature, skeletal muscle weakness, and difficulties in gait. Patients with alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis have severe muscle loss that contributes to worsening outcome. Although the myopathy selectively affects Type II (fast twitch, glycolytic, anaerobic) skeletal muscle fibers, total skeletal musculature is reduced. The severity of the muscle atrophy is proportional to the duration and amount of alcohol consumed and leads to decreased muscle strength. The mechanisms for the myopathy are generally unknown but it is not due to overt nutritional deficiency, nor due to either neuropathy or severe liver disease. Skeletal muscle mass and protein content are maintained by a balance between protein synthesis and breakdown and in vivo animal models studies have shown that ethanol inhibits skeletal muscle protein synthesis. Daekumeumja is a traditional Korean medicine that is widely employed to treat various alcohol-induced diseases. Muscle diseases are often related to liver diseases and conditions. The main objective of this study was to assess that Daekumeumja extract could have protective effect against alcoholic myopathy in a Sprague-Dawley rat model. Rats were orally given 25% ethanol (5ml/kg, body weight) for 8 weeks. After 30 minutes, rats were administrated with Daekumeumja extract. Controls were similarly administrated with the vehicle alone. The weights of gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris muscles were assessed and the morphologic changes of gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles were also assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. In results, The muscles from ethanol treated rats displayed a significant reduction in muscle weight and average cross section area compared to Normal group. Daekumeumja extract treated group showed increased muscle weight and muscle fiber compared to the ethanol treated group. It was concluded that Daekumeumja extract showed ameliorating effects on chronic alcohol myopathy in skeletal muscle.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.13-18
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• 2010

Purpose : This study investigates the effects on balanced ability and ankle joint muscle following balance pad and trampoline training periods in order to report a clinical directing about this matter. Methods : A total of nine members participated in a balance training program that put a balance pad and trampoline to use. Participants trained three times a week for thirty minutes in groups of six. Resting time was set for two minutes. EMG (median frequency and root mean square) was used to measure muscle activity at 3 weeks and 6 weeks, respectively. The tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles were measured. Participants were measured with eyes open and closed. Results : The median frequency showed a significant difference according to the change in time in both muscles. Also, results showed a significant interaction between eyes open and closed in the gastrocnemius muscle. The root mean square only showed a significant difference according to the change in time in the gastrocnemius muscle. Conclusion : We suggest that the balance pad and trampoline training influence a decrease in the recruitment rate of slow twitch muscles through an improvement in balance ability; however, the training did not show a statistically significant difference with regards to eyes open and closed.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2002

This study was designed to identify the effects of walking conditions (normal walking vs. toe-walking) on electromyographic (EMG) activity of gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, and soleus muscle. Seven healthy adult males participated in this study. The exclusion criteria were orthopedic or neurologic disease, congenital anomaly or acquired deformity, or pain in low back or lower extremities. The maximal voluntary isometric contraction for each muscle was used for the reference contraction, and EMG activity of each muscle during normal walking and toe-walking was expressed as a percentage of reference contraction. The gait cycle was determined with two foot switches, and gait was normalized as 100% gait cycle for each condition. The maximal values of EMG activity in terminal stance (30~50% of gait cycle) of each condition were compared for data analysis. No significant differences were found in EMG activity of the tibialis anterior and soleus (p>.05), whereas significant decrement was found in EMG activity of gastrocnemius during toe-walking compared to normal walking (p<.05). There is a limitation to generalize the results of this study, because small number of subjects participated for this study and only EMG was used for data collection. The treatment methods should be developed to improve gait efficiency by substituting the weakened muscles secondary to upper motor neuron, or by strengthening the distal muscles in lower extremity.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2007

Background: It is generally accepted that skeletal muscle contraction is triggered by nerve impulse and intracellular $Ca^{2+}\;([Ca^{2+}]_i)$ released from intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ stores such as sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Specifically, this process, called excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling, takes place at intracellular junctions between the plasma membrane, the transverse (T) tubule L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channel (dihydropyridine-sensitive L-rype $Ca^{2+}$ channel, DHPR, also called tetrads), and the SR $Ca^{2+}$ release channel (ryanodine-sensitive $Ca^{2+}$ release channel, RyR, also called feet) of internal $Ca^{2+}$ stores in skeletal muscle cells. Furthermore, it has been reported that the $Ca^{2+-}$ dependent and -independent contraction determine the expression of skeletal muscle genes, thus providing a mechanism for tightly coupling the extent of muscle contraction to regulation of muscle plasticity-related excitation-transcription (E-T) coupling. Purpose: Expression and activity of plasticity-associated enzymes in gastrocnemius muscle strips have not been well studied, however. Methods: Therefore, in this study the expression and phosphorylation of E-C and E-T coupling-related mediators such as protein kinases, ROS(reactive oxygen species)- and apoptosis-related substances, and others in gastrocnemius muscles from rats was examined. Results: I found that expression and activity of MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases, ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and SAPK/JNK), apoptotic proteins (cleaved caspase-3, cytochrome c, Ref-1, Bad), small GTP-binding proteins (RhoA and Cdc42), actin-binding protein (cofilin), PKC (protein kinase C) and $Ca^{2+}$ channel (transient receptor potential channel 6, TRPC6) was observed in rat gastrocnemius muscle strips. Conclusion: These results suggest that MAPKs, ROS- and apoptosis-related enzymes, cytoskeleton-regulated proteins, and $Ca^{2+}$ channel may in part functionally import in E-C and E-T coupling from rat skeletal muscles.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.127-133
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• 2019

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to obtain detailed and quantified data concerning the effects of plantarflexor fatigue induced to the non-paretic side on muscle activities of the bilateral lower extremities during walking in chronic stroke patients. METHODS: In this study, chronic stroke patients were evaluated for six months after the onset of stroke. To induce the non-paretic plantarflexor fatigue, 20 chronic stroke patients were asked to perform their given fatigue affecting assignments, which were presented in a forced contraction fatigue test method, until the range of motion of the plantarflexor was reduced to less than 50%. The muscle activities of the rectus femoris, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius in the paretic and non-paretic lower extremities were measured using a wireless surface EMG before and after muscle fatigue induction. RESULTS: The findings showed that after plantarflexor fatigue was induced on the non-paretic side, a significant decrease in muscle activities of the rectus femoris on the paretic side was noted (p<.05). The muscle activities of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius were also observed to decrease, but, these results were not statistically significant (p>.05). In the non-paretic side, there was a significantly decrease in the muscle activities of the rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius (p<.05). CONCLUSION: These finding suggest that the muscle fatigue of the non-paretic plantarflexor affects not only the muscle activity of the ipsilateral lower extremity but also the muscles activity of the contralateral lower extremity. This highlights the necessity of performing exercise or training programs that do not cause muscle fatigue in clinical aspects.