• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

Background: Various methods are used for recovery of knee flexion range of motion (ROM) due to a tightened rectus femoris muscle (RFM) or limited inferior glide of the patella. Stretching methods are common interventions for restoring the tightened RFM length. Also patellar inferior gliding (PIG) technique can recover tightened RFM length too. However, effect of applying the PIG to passive knee flexion (PKF) has not been studied. Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of combining PIG with RFM stretching for improving knee flexion ROM in subjects with RFM tightness. Methods: Twenty-six subjects with RFM tightness were recruited. Two different methods of knee stretching were tested: 1) PKF during modified Thomas test (MTT) and 2) PKF with PIG during MTT. The passive stretching forces was controlled by hand-held dynamometer. The knee flexion ROM angle was measured by a MTT with ImageJ software. Differences between the conditions with and without PIG were identified with a paired t-test. Results: The knee flexion ROM was significantly greater for PKF with PIG ($114.44{\pm}9.33$) than for PKF alone ($108.97{\pm}9.42$) (p<.001). Conclusion: A combination of passive knee flexion exercise and PIG can be more effective than PKF in increasing knee flexion ROM in individuals with RFM tightness.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2009

Purpose: Cervical pain is caused mainly by a static position, lasting work, bad habits and stress, and is accompanied by pain in the upper trapezius. Traditionally, heat and traction, exercise, mobilization, manipulation have been used to treat cervical pain. This study examined the effect of stretching and manipulation (high-velocity low-amplitude: HVLA) on the pain and ROM in women with chronic cervical and upper shoulder pain. Methods: Fifty-two women diagnosed with chronic cervical and upper shoulder pain were enrolled in this study. Among them, 26 patients (experiment group) were managed by passive stretching and manipulation, and another 26 patients (control group) were treated with physical therapy intervention (hat pack: HP, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: TENS, ultra sound: US). Each group made use of a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the highly reliable (flextion: 0.92, extention: 0.99) cervical range of motion (CROM) to compare the possible changes in pain and ROM in the two groups after treatment. Results: In the experimental group, the pain decreased and the ROM has increased in all directions. In the control group, the pain decreased but the ROM was not changed in all directions. Conclusion: According to the results, passive stretching and manipulation is effective for increasing the ROM and decreasing the level of pain. Moreover, physical therapy intervention (HP, TENS, US) is effective for immediately decreasing the pain but has little effect on the ROM.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2019

Background: The purpose of present study was to examine the effect of ultrasound therapy and static stretching on hamstring length and balance. Design: Randomized Controlled Trial. Methods: A total of 30 adults in S college, Seongnam city, Gyeonggi-do, between the ages of 20-30 were randomly assigned to two groups. Group 1 (n=15) had ultrasound therapy, called US group. Group 2 (n=15) had static stretching, called SS group. Measurements were taken prior to starting the program and after completing the experiment using Finger to floor test and Active knee extension test to get the results of hamstring flexibility and the ability of static balance. Paired t-test was used to compare each group pre-test values to post-test values and to compare US post-test values to SS post-test values on PASW 18.0. Results: 1) Both hamstring SS group and US group had significant increase (p<.05) in Finger to floor test and Active knee extension test. 2) Dominant leg standing had significant change (p<.05) only in US group. 3) There was no significant difference between US group and SS group. Conclusion: Results showed that US group and SS group had an effect on changes in hamstring length (p<.05). However, they did not show a significant increase in static balance. Further effective studies on hamstring SS group and US group were needed based on this examination.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.11-20
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• 2009

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to find out which method is efficient to enhance the flexibility of lower back between PNF(Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation), static and dynamic stretching. Methods : Subjects were 30 young people between the ages 17 and 19. They were randomly divided into three groups; static group(n=10) performed a static stretching, dynamic group(n=10) performed a dynamic stretching, and PNF group(n=10) performed a PNF stretching. Intervention was provided 5 days per week for 4 weeks. For each case, Trunk flexion forward, trunk flexion backward, trunk left lateral bending, trunk right lateral bending, trunk flexion forward a measuring instrument and tapeline were performed to measured the flexibility of lower back at different times(before starting the exercise, after 4 weeks). Results : The results of the study reveal that the lower back flexibility was a statistically significant difference in all groups(p<.05). There was statistically significant difference between PNF group and static group, PNF group and dynamic group. Conclusion : The finding indicated that PNF may be preferred technique for improving flexibility, and that flexibility training results in an increased consistency of flexibility scores.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.57-66
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to determine the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility gained in young adults with calf muscle tightness, as measured by increases in ankle active and passive dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM) after three stretching interventions. Twenty subjects (5 men and 15 women) with calf muscle tightness received the following three stretching interventions in one leg (assigned at random): static stretching (SS), eccentric training on stable surface (ETS), and eccentric training on unstable surfaces (ETU). The subjects received all three interventions to the same leg, applied in a random order. Each intervention had a break of at least 24 h in-between, in order to minimize any carryover effect. Each intervention used two types of stretching: with the calf muscle stretched and both knees straight, and with the knee slightly bent in order to maximize the activation of the soleus muscle. All three interventions were performed for 200 seconds. We measured the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility through active and passive ankle DFROM before intervention, immediately after intervention (time 0), and then 3, 6, 9, 15, and 30 min after intervention. We found a difference in the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility between the three interventions. In the ETS and ETU interventions, a significant improvement in calf muscle flexibility, both ankle active and passive dorsiflexion ranges of motion (ADFROM and PDFROM), was maintained for 30 min. In the SS intervention, however, ADFROM before 9 min and PDFROM before 6 min were statistically different from the baseline. Our results suggest that ETS and ETU may be more effective than SS for maintaining calf muscle flexibility in young adults.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.139-150
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of stretching exercise on quality of life, depression, total cholesterol in the elderly. The one group pre-post test quasi-experimental design was used. 22 subjects were selected from elderly in G-city. The experimental group. The data were collected from April, 2002 to June, 19, 2002, and analyzed by frequency, t-test using SPSS/PC program. The results of this study were summarized as follows ; 1) The quality of life didn't show significant improvement by stretching exercise(t=-1.734, p=0.097). 2) The depression didn't show significant improvement by stretching exercise(t=-0.200, p=0.843). 3) The total cholesterol didn't show significant improvement by stretching exercise(t=-1.050, p=0.083).

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2008

The object of this study is to investigate the effects of intermittent cyclic stretching on the smooth muscle cells (SMCs) seeded onto aligned multi-layered fibrous scaffold. To make multi-layered fibrous scaffold, polyurethane (PU) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were electrospun alternatively, then were immersed into distilled water to extract PEO. Various types of scaffolds were fabricated depending on fiber directions, i.e., aligned or randomly oriented. The direction of stretching was either parallel or vertical to the fiber direction for the aligned scaffolds. The stretching was also applied to the randomly aligned scaffolds. The duration of stretching was 2 min with 15 min resting period. During the stretching, the maximum and minimum strain was adjusted to be 10 and 7%, respectively with the frequency of 1 Hz. The bioactivities of cells on the scaffolds were assessed by quantifying DNA, collagen, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) levels. And the cell morphology was observed by staining F-actin. SMCs under parallel stretching to the fiber direction responded more positively than those in other conditions. From the results, we could explain the morphological effect of a substrate on cellular activities. In addition the synergistic effects of substrate and mechanical stimuli effects were confirmed.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.203-212
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aims to confirm the effects of stretching and meditation intervention on mental health-related anxiety, depression, and quality of life in college students in their 20s with sequelae of COVID-19. Methods: 30 men and women were randomly assigned to the stretching and meditation intervention group (10 people), the stretching intervention group (10 people), and the meditation group (10 people), and the experiment was conducted for 4 weeks. As for the analysis method, a paired t-test was performed for intra-group changes after 4 weeks, and one-way analysis of variance was performed for between-group changes. In addition, the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Within-group changes in anxiety and depression were significantly different in all groups after 4 weeks (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference between SMG and SG and between SMG and MG in the change between groups after 4 weeks (p < 0.05). In the change in quality of life, there was a significant difference in all groups after 4 weeks (p < 0.05). There was also a significant difference between SMG and MG in the change between groups after 4 weeks. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the combined method of meditation and stretching intervention had a positive effect on the mental health of adults in their 20s and suggests the possibility of using it to improve mental health after recovering from COVID-19.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.79-88
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• 2024

Background: The abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM), a method of lumbar stabilization training, is an effective neuromuscular intervention for lumbar instability associated with low back pain (LBP). Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of a 2-week period of the ADIM and tensor fasciae latae-iliotibial band (TFL-ITB) self-stretching on lumbopelvic rotation angle, lumbopelvic rotation movement onset, TFL-ITB length, and pain intensity during active prone hip lateral rotation. Methods: Twenty-two subjects with lumbar extension rotation syndrome accompanying shortened TFL-ITB (16 males and 6 females) were recruited for this study. The subjects were instructed how to perform ADIM training or ADIM training plus TFL-ITB self-stretching program at home for a 2-week period. A 3-dimensional ultrasonic motion analysis system was used to measure the lumbopelvic rotation angle and lumbopelvic rotation movement onset. An independent t-test was used to determine between-group differences for each outcome measure (lumbopelvic rotation angle, lumbopelvic rotation movement onset, TFL-ITB length, and pain intensity). Results: The results showed that ADIM training plus TFL-ITB self-stretching decreased the lumbopelvic rotation angle, delayed the lumbopelvic rotation movement onset, and elongated the TFL-ITB significantly more than did ADIM training alone. Pain intensity was lower in the ADIM training plus TFL-ITB self-stretching group than the ADIM training alone group; however, the difference was not significant. Conclusion: ADIM training plus TFL-ITB self-stretching performed for a 2-week period at home may be an effective treatment for modifying lumbopelvic motion and reducing LBP.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.967-968
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• 2010