• PNF and Movement
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2003

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to summarize the effect of stretch stimulus on muscle contraction facilitation. Methods : Some studies of the stretch reflex. ${\gamma}-motor$ system, and the effect of stretch stimulus on muscle activation were reviewed. Results : To facilitate muscle contraction, before the movement is started, the prime mover is in stretched position. The patient must be instructed to occur voluntary muscle contraction after quick stretching. It elicits the functional stretch reflex to produce a more powerful and functional contraction. The intensity of muscle contraction depends on two ways. One is firing rate of ${\alpha}-motor$ neuron by sensory information from the periphery induced in stretched position and stretch reflex. The other is excitation level of the cortical motor area and the corresponding motor neurons. Conclusions: To activate central nervous system and to increase firing rate of ${\alpha}-motor$ neuron. the therapist should apply quick stretch for the patient with stretched position and the patient should make voluntary muscle contraction.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.21-28
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three exercise programs on forward head posture. Methods: Ninety-five individuals were recruited to assess the of the pectoralis minor muscle. Of these, 36 individuals with pectoralis minor muscles were selected and randomly divided into three groups: a functional massage group, a stretching group, and a stretching and muscle strengthening group. The exercise program consisted of sessions four times per week for two weeks. The length of pectoralis minor and the activity of the trapezius muscles were measured using electromyography. Forward head posture was assessed using the craniovertebral angle (CVA) and the cranial rotation angle (CRA) pre-, during and post-treatment. Result: Significant improvements were observed in pectoralis minor length, CRA, and CVA post-treatment in all groups (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001). However, only the activity of the lower trapezius demonstrated a statistically significant difference post-treatment. There were no significant differences between the groups. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that all three exercise programs were effective in improving forward head posture and the length of pectoralis minor post-treatment.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 2013

Purpose : This research was carried out to find how neck exercise program combined with self stretching and muscle strengthening program influences on smart phone addicts with forward head posture. Methods : The subjects of this study were 20 smart phone-addicts with forward head posture and we divided them into 2 groups. The experimental group(10 people) participated in neck exercise program as a intervention for 3 months and the control group(the other 10 people) didn't participate in neck exercise program. Neck exercise program were composed of self stretching and muscle strengthening program. Then we measured cervical alignment with GPS(Global Posture System) and evaluated balance ability with Balance Master ver 7.0 systems. Results : The result were as follows. 1. After the intervention, experimental group were significantly more closed to normal cervical alignment than control group. 2. After the intervention, experimental group increased in dynamic balance ability a little more than control group. Conclusion : Neck exercise program seems to get cervical alignment better and improve balance ability.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review articles in order to establish optimal contraction intensity and duration in the performance of relaxation techniques for maximal increase in range of motion. Methods: The Cochrane, EBSCO, Embase, Medline, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases were used to search articles from 1990 to January 2016. The search terms were "contract relax," "hold relax," "muscle energy technique (MET)," and "proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching." Only experimental human studies (randomized controlled trials) that compared the effects of varying intensity and duration of isometric contraction were included. Non-English language and unpublished studies were excluded. Results: A total of 2,156 articles were initially identified, with only five eventually meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three studies compared the effects of varying intensity in isometric contraction and two studies compared the effects of varying duration in isometric contraction with regard to range of motion (ROM). Two articles suggested that submaximal voluntary isometric contraction was more effective than maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in the improvement of ROM. One article showed that a longer contraction time led to greater increases in ROM. Conclusion: Submaximal voluntary isometric contraction was recommended during contract-relax exercises in healthy people. Lack of evidence makes it difficult to suggest the optimal duration of isometric contraction during relaxation techniques. For future research, high-quality evidence will be needed to establish the optimal contraction intensity for maximum improvement of ROM.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2007

Purpose : The purpose of this study was investigated to find the approach in the PNF and TC for frail elder Method : This is a literature study with books, articles, seminal note and books for PNF and TC international course. Result : Neural mechanisms contribute significantly to the gains that occur in the range of motion about a joint with stretching exercises. The participation in a stretch-training program decreases tonic reflex activity and increases flexibility and decreases in force production and muscle activation. Also the stretching-induced decreases may be due to a central nervous system inhibitory mechanism. PNF stretch techniques can increase ROM in older adults. These results may differ from those of studies performed with younger populations because of age-related physiologic changes. TC exercise improves balance control and muscle strength and were associated with reorganized lower extremity neuromuscular patterns. Conclusions : The stretch training program of the PNF and TC contribute to increase the balance and coordination for frail elder. Therefore, The frail elder prevent falling. Further study, The PNF and TC be introduced as the new therapeutic intervention for frail elder.

• 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 Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.140-148
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of pelvic displacement when self-hamstring muscle stretches were applied to persons with low back pain. Design: Three-group pretest-posttest design. Methods: Forty persons with low back pain participated in this study. Pelvic tilt angle, hamstring flexibility, Quadruple Visual Analogue Scale (QVAS), Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), Korea version of the Oswestry Disability Index (KODI) and pelvic mobility were measured at pre-post. All participants were divided into either the pevic anterior tilt group (PAT group, n=12), pelvic midrange group (PMR group, n=18), or the pelvic posterior tilt group (PPT group, n=10). Self-stretching was performed using the pilates ring three times a week for a total of four weeks and the post-test was conducted and compared with the pre-test. Results: Hamstring flexibility, QVAS, KODI scores were significantly different compared to before the intervention (p<0.05). The changes in hamstring flexibility of the three groups were significantly different (p<0.05). Changes in KODI and FABQ results of the three groups were not significant. The pelvic posterior tilt range were significantly different in the PMR and PPT groups (p<0.05). The pelvic anterior tilt ranges showed significant differences after stretching in the PPT group (p<0.05). Conclusions: A large amount of change of hamstring flexibility, pelvic mobility of anterior and posterior tilt test in the PPT group was observed. Furthermore, therapists should consider pelvic displacement of the participant when applying intervention, which may, accordingly, have different effectiveness.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.32-41
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• 2019

Background: Limitations in hip flexion caused by tight hamstrings lead to excessive lumbar flexion and low back pain. Accordingly, many studies have examined how to stretch the hamstring muscle. However, no study has focused on the effect of hamstring eccentric exercise for tight hamstrings on trunk forward bending. Objects: We compared the short-term effect of hamstring eccentric exercise (HEE) and hamstring static stretching (HSS) on trunk forward bending in individuals with tight hamstrings. Methods: Thirty individuals with tight hamstrings participated in the study. The subjects were randomly allocated to either a HEE or HSS group. To determine whether the hamstrings were tight, the active knee extension (AKE) test was performed, and the degree of hip flexion was measured. To assess trunk forward bending, subjects performed the fingertip to floor (FTF) and modified modified Schober tests, and the degree of trunk forward bending was measured using an inclinometer. We used paired t-tests to compare the values before and after exercise in each group and independent t-tests to compare the two groups on various measures Results: The FTF test results were improved significantly after the exercise in both groups, and AKE for both legs increased significantly in both groups. There was no significant difference in the hip angles, mmS test results, or degree of trunk forward bending between groups after the exercise. No test results differed significantly between the two groups at baseline or after the exercise. Both groups increased hamstring flexibility and trunk forward bending. Conclusion: HSS and the HEE groups increased hamstring flexibility and trunk forward bending. However, HEE has additional benefits, such as injury prevention and muscle strengthening.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.275-281
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• 2010

The lateral pterygoid muscle is one of the masticatory muscles basic to jaw function. Because of its deep location in the masticatory system, digital palpation of the muscle is usually difficult to perform and unreliable. Therefore, diagnosis of the myalgic disorders involving the lateral pterygoid muscle is a perplexing problem for clinicians. Local anesthetic injection can be a more effective method to examine the lateral pterygoid muscle for the purpose of discriminating the source of pain. Furthermore, immediate elimination of muscle pain facilitates stretching of the muscle in the full range. We report two cases of lateral pterygoid myalgia that were diagnosed and managed successfully through the use of intramuscular local anesthetic injection.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.1296-1301
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• 2008

Ultrasonography constructs pictures of areas inside the body needs in diagnosis by bouncing high-enorgy sound waves(ultrasound) off internal tissues or organs. In constructing an ultrasonographic image, the weakness of bounding signals induces noises and detailed differences of brightness, so that having a difficulty in detecting and diagnosing with the naked eyes in the analysis of ultrasonogram. Especially, the difficulty is extended when diagnosing muscle areas by using ultrasonographic images in the musculoskeletal test. In this paper, we propose a novel image processing method that computationally extracts a muscle area from an ultrasonographic image to assist in diagnosis. An ultrasonographic image consists of areas corresponding to various tissues and internal organs. The proposed method, based on features of intensity distribution, morphology and size of each area, extracts areas of the fascia, the subcutaneous fat and other internal organs, and then extracts a muscle area enclosed by areas of the fascia. In the extraction of areas of the fascia, a series of image processing methods such as histogram stretching, multiple operation, binarization and area connection by labeling is applied. A muscle area is extracted by using features on relative position and morphology of areas for the fascia and muscle areas. The performance evaluation using real ultrasonographic images and specialists' analysis show that the proposed method is able to extract target areas being approximate to real muscle areas.