• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.209-218
• /
• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a practical and simple method for the identification of the joint mechanical properties and to apply it to human knee joints. The passive moment at a joint was modeled by three mechanical parts, that is, a gravity term, a linear damper term and a nonlinear spring term. Passive pendulum tests were performed in 5 fat and 5 thin men. The data of pendulum test were used to identify the mechanical properties of joints through sequential quadratic programming (SQP) with random initial values. The identification was successful where the normalized root-mean-squared (RMS) errors between the simulated and experimental joint angle trajectories were less than 10％. The parameter values of mechanical properties obtained in this study agreed with literature. The inertia, gravity and the damping constant were greater at fat men, which indicates more resistance to body movement and more energy consumption fer fat men. The suggested method is noninvasive and requires simple setup and short measurement time. It is expected to be useful in the evaluation of joint pathologies.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.13-17
• /
• 2021

A normal range of motion is essential for performing activities of daily living. The capsular pattern is the proportional motion restriction in range of motion during passive exercises due to tightness of the joint capsule. Although the capsular pattern is widely referred to in clinical practice, there is no scientific evidence to support the concept. In this review, the appropriateness of the capsular pattern for evaluation of joint pathology was assessed. In the Textbook of Orthopaedic Medicine written by Cyriax, the capsular pattern did not specify how much reduction in angular motion is considered motion restriction. As the definition proposed initially was unclear, different methods have been used in previous studies investigating capsular pattern. In addition, the capsular pattern described all the major joints of the human body, but only the hip joint, knee joint, and shoulder joint were studied in experimental studies. Sensitivity and specificity were reported in one study and were meaningful in specific pathologies (loss of extension to loss of flexion). There was no consensus on the reliability and validity. In summary, the capsular pattern suggested by Cyriax or Kaltenborn is not supported or applies only to certain conditions. Various components around a joint complement each other and provide stability to the joint. It is recommended that the therapist perform multiple assessments rather than rely on a single assessment when evaluating joints.

• Clinical Pain
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2021

Ultrasonography (US) of the elbow is an increasingly utilized modality for a variety of diagnoses. In this brief review, US findings for the pathologic conditions of forearm and elbow are described. The most common pathologies discussed here include distal biceps tendon and triceps tendon lesions, medial and lateral epicondylopathies, ulnar collateral ligament tears, ulnar nerve subluxation, joint effusions, and intra-articular bodies.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.127-133
• /
• 2018

Background: This study was undertaken to evaluate the outcome of the arthroscopic capsular release for adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. Methods: This study retrospectively investigated thirty shoulders in 29 patients who presented with recalcitrant adhesive capsulitis and underwent arthroscopic treatments. Other than typical findings of adhesive capsulitis, combined pathologies in the glenohumeral joint and subacromial space were evaluated by arthroscopy. Clinical evaluations were performed using the Constant's score and ranges of motion (ROM) at preoperative, 6 months postoperatively and at the final follow-up. Results: Our study included 17 women and 12 men with a mean age of 53.8 years (range, 34-74). Mean follow-up duration was 24 months (range, 12-40 months). Assessment of combined pathologies revealed that partial rotator cuff tear of less than 25% thickness, was most common (overall 83.3%; with bursal 57% and articular 23%). Subacromial synovitis and adhesion were also frequent (53.3%). The Constant score and ranges of motion significantly improved at the final follow-up, compared with preoperative levels. However, clinical results at 6 months postoperatively were found to be significantly inferior to those observed at the final follow-up ($p{\leq}0.001$ for all factors). Functional impairment was the major complaint in 59.3% patients at the 6 months follow-up. Conclusions: Although arthroscopic capsular release yielded favorable outcome at the mean 24 months follow-up, pain and motion limitations at 6-month postoperatively persisted in more than 50% of our patients. While combined pathologies were commonly encountered during arthroscopy, although their effects on surgical outcome in adhesive capsulitis remains unclear in this study.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 2021

A weak or dysfunctional gluteus medius (Gmed) is related to several pathologies, and individuals with hip abductor weakness have Gmed weakness. This study aimed to systematically review the literature associated with the anatomy and function of the Gmed, and the prevalence, pathology, and exercise of Gmed weakness. Papers published between 2010 and 2020 were retrieved from MEDLINE, Google Academic Search, and Research Information Sharing Service. The database search used the following terms: (glut* OR medius OR hip abduct*) AND weak*. The Gmed plays an important role in several functional activities as a primary hip abductor by providing pelvic stabilization and controlling hip adduction and internal rotation. Weakness of the Gmed is associated with many disorders including balance deficit, gait and running disorders, femoroacetabular impingement, snapping hip, gluteal tendinopathy, patellofemoral pain syndrome, osteoarthritis, iliotibial band syndrome, anterior cruciate ligament injury, ankle joint injuries, low back pain, stroke, and nocturia. Overuse of the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) as a hip abductor due to Gmed weakness can also cause several pathologies such as pain in the lower back and hip and degenerative hip joint pathology, which are associated with dominant TFL. Similarly, lateral instability and impaired movements such as lumbar spine lateral flexion or lateral tilt of the pelvis can occur due to compensatory activation of the quadratus lumborum for a weakened Gmed while exercising. Therefore, the related activation of synergistic muscles or compensatory movement should be considered when prescribing Gmed strengthening exercises.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2009

Recently, importance of the rehabilitation of hand pathologies as well as the development of high-technology hand robot has been increased. The biomechanical model of hand is indispensable due to the difficulty of direct measurement of muscle forces and joint forces in hands. In this study, a three-dimensional biomechanical model of four fingers including three joints and ten muscles in each finger was developed and a mathematical relationship between neural commands and finger forces which represents the enslaving effect and the force deficit effect was proposed. When pressing a plate under the flexed posture, the muscle forces and the joint forces were predicted by the optimization technique. The results showed that the major activated muscles were flexion muscles (flexor digitorum profundus, radial interosseous, and ulnar interosseous). In addition, it was found that the antagonistic muscles were also activated rather than the previous models, which is more realistic phenomenon. The present model has considered the interaction among fingers, thus can be more powerful while developing a robot hand that can totally control the multiple fingers like human.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.19-24
• /
• 2004

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the possibility of identifying joint damping property through commercially available isokinetic ergometer (BIODEX). The proposed method is to estimate the damping torque of the knee joint from the difference between the external joint torque for maintaining isokinetic movement and the gravity torque of the lower leg. The damping torque was estimated at various joint angular velocities, from which the damping property would be derived. Measurement setup was composed of the BIODEX system with an external force sensor and Labview system. Matlab was used in the analysis of the damping property. The experimental result showed that the small variation in angular velocity due to acceleration and deceleration of the crank arm resulted in greater change of inertial torque than the damping torque. Therefore, the estimation of damping property from the isokinetic movement is difficult.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.65-69
• /
• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short-term clinical outcome of the capsulolabral repair using absorbable suture anchor in traumatic anterior instability of shoulder. Materials and Methods: From June 2000 to September 2001, 15 shoulders with recurrent anterior instability were operated with arthroscopic Bankart repair using absorbable suture-anchor 'PANALOK' (Mitek, westwood, MA), and were followed up over 1 year (average; 13 months). The mean age was 23-years. There were fourteen males and one female. The mean duration from the initial symptoms to the operation was 24 months. Associated pathologies were Hill-Sachs defect in 12 cases, SLAP in 6 cases, and partial rotator cuff tear in 2 cases. The results were evaluated by patien's satisfaction, Modified Rowe Score in regard to joint stability, mobility, pain and function in comparison with the preoperative ones, and other complications. Results: At the last follow-up, the total Rowe Score increased from 38 points to 92 points. There were no recurrence and 14 patients among 15 patients gained pre-operative level of sports activity and no other complications. Conclusion: Effective capsulolabral repair could be obtained by the absorbable anchoring without any untoward complications. This procedure is simple and safe one and this system can be a good substitute for the metallic anchor.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.269-275
• /
• 2008

Although MR imaging is generally applicable to depict knee joint deterioration it, is sometimes occurred to mis-read and mis-diagnose the common knee joint diseases. In this study, we employed magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) method to improve the diagnosis of the various knee joint diseases. Spin-echo (SE) T2-weighted images (TR/TE 3,400-3,500/90-100 ms) were obtained in seven cases of knee joint deterioration, FSE T2-weighted images (TR/TE 4,500-5,000/100-108 ms) were obtained in seven cases of knee joint deterioration, gradient-echo (GRE) T2-weighted images (TR/TE 9/4.56/$50^{\circ}$ flip angle, NEX 1) were obtained in 3 cases of knee joint deterioration, In six cases of knee joint deterioration, fat suppression was performed using a T2-weighted short T1/tau inverse recovery (STIR) sequence (TR/TE =2,894-3,215 ms/70 ms, NEX 3, ETL 9). Calculation of MTR for individual pixels was performed on registration of unsaturated and saturated images. After processing to make MTR images, the images were displayed in gray color. For improving diagnosis, three-dimensional isotropic volume images, the MR tristimulus color mapping and the MTR map was employed. MTR images showed diagnostic images quality to assess the patients' pathologies. The intensity difference between MTR images and conventional MRI was seen on the color bar. The profile graph on MTR imaging effect showed a quantitative measure of the relative decrease in signal intensity due to the MT pulse. To diagnose the pathologies of the knee joint, the profile graph data was shown on the image as a small cross. The present study indicated that MTR images in the knee joint were feasible. Investigation of physical change on MTR imaging enables to provide us more insight in the physical and technical basis of MTR imaging. MTR images could be useful for rapid assessment of diseases that we examine unambiguous contrast in MT images of knee disorder patients.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.55-61
• /
• 2018

Chronic lateral ankle instability is a major complication of acute ankle sprains, which can cause discomfort in both daily and sports activity. In addition, it may result in degenerative changes to the ankle joint in the long term. An accurate diagnostic approach and successful treatment plan can be established based on a comprehensive understanding of the concept of functional and mechanical instability. The patients' history and correct physical examination would be the first and most important step. The hindfoot alignment, competence of the lateral ligaments, and proprioceptive function should be evaluated. Additional information can be gathered using standard and stress radiographs. In addition, concomitant pathologic conditions can be investigated by magnetic resonance imaging. Conservative rehabilitation composed of the range of motion, muscle strengthening, and proprioceptive exercise is the main treatment for functional instability and mechanical instability. Regarding the mechanical instability, surgical treatment can be considered for irresponsible patients after a sufficient period of rehabilitation. Anatomic repair (modified $Brostr{\ddot{o}}m$ operation) is regarded as the gold standard procedure. In cases with poor prognostic factors, an anatomical reconstruction or additional procedures can be chosen. For combined intra-articular pathologies, arthroscopic procedures should be conducted, and arthroscopic lateral ligament repair has recently been introduced. Regarding the postoperative management, early functional rehabilitation with short term immobilization is recommended.