• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2010

To develop effective training methods for strengthening a weakened quadriceps femoris muscle in hemiplegic patients, we examined the effects of maximal isometric contraction of the nonparalyzed knee joint on the electromyographic activities of the paralytic muscle. An electromyogram (EMG) was used to record the electromyographic activities of the paralytic quadriceps femoris muscle in 27 hemiplegic patients. The maximal isometric contraction was measured for each subject to normalize the electromyographic activities. The maximal isometric extension and flexion exercises were randomly conducted when the knee joint angles of the nonparalyzed knees were $0^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, and $90^{\circ}$. The patients were encouraged to maintain maximal isometric contractions in both knee joints during each measurement, and three measurements were taken. A one-minute rest interval was given between each measurement to minimize the effects of muscle fatigue. An average from the three values was taken as being the root mean square of the EMG and was recorded as being the maximal isometric contraction. The electromyographic activity obtained for each measurement was expressed as a percentage of the reference voluntary contraction, which was determined using the values obtained during the maximal isometric contraction. The results of this study are summarized as follows: First, when the knee joint angle of the nonparalyzed knee was $0^{\circ}$, the electromyographic activities of the paralytic medial aspect of rectus femoris were related to measurement by a maximal isometric flexion exercise than by an extension exercise (p<.05). Second, when the knee joint angle of the nonparalyzed knee was $90^{\circ}$, the electromyographic activities of the paralytic lateral aspect of rectus femoris were related to measurement by a maximal isometric flexion exercise than by an extension exercise (p<.05). The results show that myoelectrical activities of paralytic quardriceps were not related to measurement angles and exercise directions of the nonparalized knee joint. Studies on various indirect intervention to improve muscular strength of patients with nervous system disorders of the weakened muscle should be constantly conducted.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 1999

Background: Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome of musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. Lacking distinctive histological or laboratory abnormality in diagnosis, it has often been considered a form of "psychogenic rheumatism". Fibromyalgia causes much distress to the affected patients and often frustrates physicians, who are unable to start rational therapy on any logical disease pathology. Methods: Growth hormone is essential for muscular homeostasis. In the present study, the notion that the stage-4 sleep anomaly typically seen in the fibromyalgia syndrome may disrupt growth hormone secretion was tested. Because growth hormone has a very short half-life, serum levels of somatomedin C were measured; somatomedin C is the major mediator of growth hormone's anabolic actions and is a prerequisite for normal muscle homeostasis. Serum levels of somatomedin C using acid-extraction procedure and two-site immunoradiome-tric assay (IRMA) and number of tender points were measured in 27 female patients with fibromyalgia from 40 to 60 years old and 27 healthy controls. Results: There were no differences in the concentration of somatomedin C between fibromyalgia patients and controls ($mean{\pm}SD$: $178.3{\pm}75.5$ ng/ml versus $166.3{\pm}76.6$ ng/ml; p=0.55). And there were no correlations between number of tender point and serum somatomedin C level by linear regression analysis. Conclusions: These findings did not support that there is a distinctive disruption of the growth hormone-somatomedin C neuroendocrine axis in a fibromyalgia syndrome. But we can not discard the hypothesis that disturbed sleep predispose to muscle pain.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.72-78
• /
• 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate relations and effectiveness about mountain climbling exercise with different level of support surfaces by analyzing heart rate and EMG data. A total of 10 male college students with no musculoskeltal disorder were recruited for this study. Method: The biomechanical analysis was performed using heart rate monitor (Polar V800, Polar Electro Oy, Finland), step-box, exercise mat, and EMG device (QEMG8, Laxtha Inc. Korea, sampling frequency = 1,024 Hz, gain = 1,000, input impedance > 1012 Ω, CMRR > 100 dB). In this research, step-box were used to create different surface levels on the upper body (flat surface, 10% of subject's height, 20% of subject's height, and 30% of subject's hight). Based on these different conditions, data was collected by performing mountain climbing exercise during 30 seconds. Subjects were given 5 minutes of break to prevent muscular fatigue after each exercise. For each dependent variable, a one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was conducted to find significant differences and Bonferroni post-hoc test was performed. Results: The results of this study showed that exercise intensity was reduced statistically as increased surface level on the upper body. Muscle activity of the upper rectus abdominis and biceps femoris for 30% of surface level was significantly higher than the corresponding values for flat surface. However, the opposite was found in the rectus femoris. In general, muscle activity of the lower rectus abdominis, erector spinae, external oblique abdominis, and gluteus maximus increased when surface level increased, but the differences were not significant. Conclusion: As a result, the increase in surface level of the body would change muscle activity of the upper body, indicating that different surface level of the upper body may cause significant effect on particular muscles to be more active during mountain climbing exercise. Based on results of this study, it is suggested to set up an appropriate surface level to target particular muscle to expect an effective training. It is also important to set adequate surface levels to create an effective training condition for preventing exercise injuries.