• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.297-302
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to investigate the kinematic gait parameter of lower extremities with different gait conditions (level walking, stair, ramp) in hemiplegic patients. Methods: Ten hemiplegic patients participated in this study and kinematic data were measured using a 3D motion analysis system (LUKOtronic AS202, Lutz-kovacs-Electronics, Innsbruk, Austria). Statistical analysis was performed using one-way repeated measure of ANOVA in order to determine the difference of lower extremity angle at each gait phase with different gait conditions. Results: Affected degree of ankle joint in the heel strike phase showed significant difference between level walking and climbing stairs, and toe off phase showed significant difference between level walking and climbing stairs, ramps, and climbing stairs. Affected degree of knee joint showed no significant difference in all attempts. Affected degree of hip joint in the toe off phase showed significant difference between level walking, ramps and stairs, and climbing ramps. Swing phase showed significant difference between sides for level walking and stairs, climbing ramps. Affected ankle joint of heel strike and toe off, and affected hip joint of toe off and the maximum angle of swing phase in the angle was increased. Unaffected side of the ankle joint, knee joint, and hip joint showed a significant increase in walking phase. Conclusion: These findings indicate that compared with level walking, different results were obtained for joint angle of lower extremity when climbing stairs and ramps. In hemiplegia patient's climbing ramps, stairs, more movement was observed not only for the non-affected side but also the ankle joint of the affected side and hip joint. According to these findings of hemiplegic patients when climbing stairs or ramps, more joint motion was observed not only on the unaffected side but also on the affected side compared with flat walking.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.132-137
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• 2016

Objective: Eversion of the foot is created with internal rotation of the shank, and inversion of the foot is created with external rotation of the shank. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of continuous changes in the angle of the subtalar joint on lower extremity alignments. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Seventeen healthy young adult subjects recruited. The subjects were asked to stand up in a natural standing position on a footplate with eye open and equal weight on each foot for 10s in two different conditions: The right subtalar joint was everted continuously $0^{\circ}-20^{\circ}$ and in separate segments of $0^{\circ}$, $5^{\circ}$, $10^{\circ}$, $15^{\circ}$, $20^{\circ}$. The averages of three trials were used. The observation of the changes in the lower extremity was performed with the use of 3-dimensional motion analysis. For data analysis, the SPSS 18.0 software using paired t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied. Results: The angle was significantly increased at the horizontal rotation angle of the shank, thigh, and ankle without anterior rotation of the pelvis (p<0.05). The maximum horizontal rotation angle at the thigh on $20^{\circ}$ was $-4.52^{\circ}$ in static, and $-3.10^{\circ}$ in the dynamic conditions compared to $0^{\circ}$. Conclusions: Increased unilateral foot pronation, thigh, shank, ankle horizontal rotation variance was significantly effective. The observation of the changes in foot abduction with the use of a 3-dimensional motion analysis augmented in predicting the angle values of each segment of the lower extremity. In further studies, a comparison of the right and left subtalar joints need to be investigated.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.111-119
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activity and gait pattern in lower limb depending on the outsole of heel rockers. Fifteen healthy men volunteered for this experiment. Each subject performed totally three trails with two pairs of different heel rocker shoes and a pair of normal running shoes at speed of 1.33m/s for 1 minute during walking on a treadmill. Kinematic data gathered in 100Hz was recorded and analyzed by using the 3D motion capture system to measure the trunk tilt and joint angle of the right lower limb. And the lower extremity muscle activities were simultaneously recorded in 1000Hz and assessed by using EMG. The statistical analysis was the one-way ANOVA with the repeated measures to compare among the three kinds of shoes. The level of statistical significance for all tests was 0.05. Joint angle of lower limb was showed statistically significant different in MST(hip joint), LHS(ankle joint), and RTO(knee and ankle joint). Muscle activity of rectus femoris and biceps femoris was statistically increased in both heel rocker shoes during gait cycle on treadmill. The maximum peak time of tibialis anterior in the negative heel rocker showed the delay of approximately 23.8%time than normal shoes. Gait pattern variability of the negative heel rocker was increased in the first half of the stance phase and the variability of the positive heel rocker was increased in the terminal stance phase. In Conclusion, stability was decreased in between joints of lower limb on positive heel rocker than negative heel rocker. This study found that there were different joint angle, muscle activity, gait pattern and coordinate system of the lower limb in each kind of shoes. These unstability affected the lower extremity and the whole body. A further study has to be continued with study of rehabilitation and exercise for a long-term.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.23 no.60
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• pp.37-46
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• 2000

A biomechanical model of lower extremity in seated postures was developed to assess muscular activities of lower extremity involved in a variety of foot pedal operations. The model incorporated four rigid body segments with the twenty-four muscles to represent lower extremity This study deals with quasi-static movement to investigate dynamic movement effect in seated foot operation. It is found that optimization method which has been used for modeling the articulated body segments does not predict the forces generated from biarticular muscles and antagonistic muscles reasonably. So, the revised nonlinear optimization scheme was employed to consider the synergistic effects of biarticular muscles and the antagonistic muscle effects from the stabilization of the joint. For the model validation, three male subjects performed the experiments in which EMG activities of the nine lower extremity muscles were measured. Predicted muscle forces were compared with the corresponding EMG amplitudes and it showed no statistical difference. For the selection of optimal seated posture, a physiological meaningful criterion was developed for muscular load sharing developed. For exertion levels, the transition point of type F motor unit of each muscle is inferred by analyzing the electromyogram at the seated postures. Also, for predetermined seated foot operations exertion levels, the recruitment pattern is identified in the continuous exertion, by analyzing the electromyogram changes due to the accumulated muscle fatigue.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was to compare pain, upper extremity function, and anxiety among disease characteristics in the breast cancer survivors and to clarify the relationship among these variables. Methods: One hundred twenty two participants with breast cancer survivors over the age of 30 were recruited from a general hospital. Data were collected from November 1 to December 25, 2006 using a structured questionnaire. Results: The mean age was 51.17 and their mean survival period was 38.08 months. The breast cancer survivors who had received radiation therapy reported lower levels of pain and upper extremity function, and higher levels of anxiety than those who had other treatments. Pain and anxiety were positively related, and upper extremity function was negatively related to pain and anxiety. Conclusion: The breast cancer survivors experienced pain, upper extremity function disorder and anxiety. This study indicates that nursing interventions for the breast cancer survivors may be needed to improve upper extremity function, and to reduce pain and anxiety.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.325-332
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• 2012

This study aimed to analyze the effects of external load between male and female on angular velocity, moment, and absorbed energy of the lower-extremity joints during drop landing. The study subjects were 9 male($mass=70.82{\pm}4.64kg$, $height=1.71{\pm}0.04m$, $age=24.5{\pm}1.84years$), 9 female($mass=50.14{\pm}4.09kg$, $height=1.61{\pm}0.03m$, $age=23.6{\pm}2.62years$), without any serious musculoskeletal, coordination, balance, or joint/ligament problems for 1 year before the study. The angular velocity, flexion/extension and abduction/adduction moments, and absorbed energy of the lower-extremity joints were compared between the men and women during drop landing under 4 different conditions of external load(0%, 8%, 16%, and 24%) by using two-way repeated ANOVA(p < .05). The women landed with a greater peak angular velocity of the ankle joint, greater peak inversion moment, and lower peak hip-extension moment than the men did, under all 4 conditions. Additionally, the landing characteristics of the women were distinct from those of the men; the women showed a greater peak knee-adduction moment and greater absorbed energy of the knee joint. These differences indicate that anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) strain was greater in the women than in the men and therefore, women may be at a higher potential risk for noncontact injuries of the ACL with an increase in external load.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.109-114
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• 2015

In this study, joint angles of the lower extremity and tibial acceleration and angular velocity were measured during a snowboard simulator exercises in order to evaluate the skill of snowboarders. Ten unskilled and ten expert snowboarders were recruited for the study. A three-dimensional motion capture system and two inertial sensor modules were used to acquire joint movements, acceleration and angular velocity of the lower extremities during snowboard simulator exercises. Pattern variations were calculated to assess variations in the snowboard simulator motion of unskilled and expert snowboarders. Results showed that expert snowboarders showed greater range of motion in joint angles and greater peak to peak amplitude in acceleration and angular velocity for tibia than unskilled snowboarders. The unskilled snowboarders did not show symmetrical shape(same magnitude but opposite direction) in tibial angular velocity during two edge turns in snowboard simulator exercises. The expert snowboarders showed smaller pattern variations for joint angle of lower extremity, tibial acceleration and tibial angular velocity than unskilled snowboarders. Inertial sensor data and pattern variations during the snowboard simulator exercises could be useful to evaluate the skill of snowboarders.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2015

Background : The purpose of this study was find out more effective method for improving muscle strengthening in lower extremities according squatting exercise method among knee joint angle 45, 60, 90 degree and between gym ball behind back and wall. Methods : Participants were 21 university students(males 10, females 11) who didn't have any problem with orthopedic surgery. We divided participants to two groups with gym ball group and wall group. Gym ball group were performance squatting exercise with gym ball behind back. Each group had performance squatting exercise according knee joint angle 45, 60, 90 degree. We collected data from E.M.G of Biceps femoris, Gastrocnemius, Vastus medialis and lateralis, Tibialis anterior in lower extremity according knee joint angle 45, 60, 90 degree of each groups. We analyzed data using by ANOVA and ANCOVA of SPSS PC ver. 12.0 in order to determine more effective method according various squatting exercise. Results : Each groups show significantly difference value of biceps femoris, vastus lateralis and medialis, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius lateralis and medialis among knee joint angle 45, 60, 90 degree. But there was no significantly difference value between gym ball group and wall group according knee joint angle. Conclusions : We suggested that squatting exercise with gym ball was more effective method improving lower extremity muscle strengthening, and changing knee joint angle was more effective compared than continued knee joint angle.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.107-118
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• 2008

In this study, lower extremity joint kinematics and kinetics and lumbar lordosis were investigated for two different symmetrical lifting techniques(squat and stoop) using the three-dimensional motion analysis. Twenty-six male volunteers lifted boxes weighing 5, 10 and 15kg by both squat and stoop lifting techniques. There were not significant differences in maximum lumbar joint moments between the two techniques. The hip and ankle contributed the most part of the support moments during squat lifting, and the knee flexion moment played an important role in stoop lifting. The hip, ankle and lumbar joints generated power and only the khee joint absorbed power in the squat lifting. The knee and ankle joints absorbed power, the hip and lumbar joints generated power in the stoop lifting. The bi-articular antagonist muscles' co-contraction around the knee joint during the squat lifting and the eccentric co-contraction of the gastrocnemius and semitendinosus were found to be important for straightening up during the stoop lifting. At the time of lordotic curvature appearance in the squat lifting, there were significant correlations in all three lower extremity joint moments with the lumbar joint. Differently, only the hip moment had significant correlation with the lumbar joint in the stoop lifting. In conclusion, the knee extension which is prominent kinematics during the squat tilling was produced by the contributions of the kinetic factors from the hip and ankle joints(extensor moment and power generation) and the lumbar extension which is prominent kinematics during the stoop lifting could be produced by the contributions of the knee joint kinetic factors(flexor moment, power absorption, bi-articular muscle function).

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to verify the effects of a community-based fall prevention exercise program for older adults on lower extremity muscle strength, balance ability, and fall efficacy. Methods: This study recruited 30 participants, and the program was conducted for 10 weeks. The program included sessions on strength and balance exercises, conducted for 50 minutes a day and at least three times a week. The collected data were analyzed using non-parametric (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, generalized estimated equation) and parametric statistics (paired t-test, rmANOVA). Results: After 12 weeks of exercise program, lower extremity muscle strength and static-dynamic balance ability significantly increased. The fall efficacy increased from an average score of 2.48 points before the test to an average score of 2.91 points after the test. Regarding general characteristics, there were no significant differences in effect before and after the program, except for fall efficacy. Conclusion: The above results showed that the intervention of a community-based fall prevention exercise program for older adults was effective. Therefore, it is suggested that this exercise program be organized regularly within the center to provide periodic and long-term services.