• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2020

Background: The flexion-relaxation phenomenon (FRP) refers to a sudden onset of activity in the erector spinae muscles that recedes or fades during full forward flexion of the trunk. Lumbar spine and hip flexion are associated with many daily physical activities that also impact trunk flexion. Shorter hamstring muscles result in a reduction of pelvic mobility that eventually culminates in low back pain (LBP). Many studies have explored the FRP in relation to LBP. However, few studies have investigated the influence of hamstring muscle length on the FRP in relation to the erector spinae muscles during trunk flexion. Objects: This study aimed to investigate the influence of hamstring muscle length on the FRP in relation to the erector spinae muscles during trunk flexion. Methods: Thirty subjects were divided into three groups according to hamstring length measured through an active knee extension test. The 30 participants consisted of 10 subjects who had a popliteal angle of 20° or less (Group 1), 10 subjects who had a popliteal angle of 21°-39° (Group 2), and 10 subjects who had a popliteal angle of 40° or more (Group 3). A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the difference in muscle activity of the erector spinae muscles during trunk flexion. Results: The subjects with a shorter hamstring length had significantly higher muscle activity in their erector spinae muscles during trunk flexion and full trunk flexion (p < 0.05). The subjects with a shorter hamstring length also had a significantly higher flexion-relaxation ratio (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that differences in hamstring muscle length can influence the FRP in relation to the erector spinae muscles. This finding suggests that the shortening of the hamstring might be associated with LBP.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2013

Objectives : The focus of the analysis was laid on changes in research pertaining to bee venom in regards to time progression. Methods : We collected 365 articles on Bee venom study result from OASIS system using the Keyword 'bee venom, apitoxin, apitherapy, bee sting'. We figured out number and percentage of theses according to year, study method, journal, subject. Results : Bee venom papers published in the journal of korean medicine from 1976. The classification of papers associated with bee venom, clinical studies outnumbered the other study types by a ratio of 1.3 to 1, followed by 138 for experimental papers, and 22 for literature studies. Proportion of Experimental Papers Classified According to the Theme, 16 for pain-killing, 14 papers concentrated on apoptosis anticancer, 13 for anti inflammatory, 11 for arthritis, and other disorders were followed. Type analysis of papers associated with bee venom in clinical trials, lumbar disorders comprised 38 out of 205 papers, 35 papers concentrated on upper limb disorders, 34 papers concentrated on systemic disease, followed by the effect on body. Conclusions : Bee venom is a treatment method based on the unique theory of Korean traditional medicine. Its effort and academical approach on bee venom are expected to receive positive evaluation through numerous research works.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.250-264
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• 2000

A retrospective study has been carried out for 47 cases of traffic accident victims which was entered to the Dongguk Bundang O. M. Hosp. from Jan 1, 1999 to May 4, 2000. This study was focused on finding out the distribution, pattern of the traffic accidents, clinical characteristics of the patients, motives of their choosing oriental medical treatments, the kinds of oriental medical treatment. This results were as follows : 1. The highest incidence was shown in the age of twenties to thirties as much as 59.6% and the ratio of male to female was 17:30. 2. 80.9% of all patients was injured by car accidents. 68.2% of all patients was injured as drivers and passengers and 19.2% was injured as pedestrians. The highest type in the collision between cars, was rear impact. 3. The number of patient(61.7%) via other hosp. was more than that of the first visitor(38.3%) to our hosp. 4. In admission motives, The patients who had been treated by western medical treatment, expressed the dissatisfaction of that treatment, so hoped to be treated by oriental medical styles. Also The others wanted to be treated by oriental medical methods in the reason of no deep surgical, orthopaedical lesions 5. C-spine sprain(80.9%) was the most frequent out of all patients's diagnosis and then L-spine sprain(51.1%), contusion(46.8%), etc. 6. Head Cervix(80.9%) was the commonest pain region of all patients. and then shoulder back(70.2%), lumbar region(61.7%), etc. 7. In general, the pedestrian injuries were more serious than those sustained in the car as passengers. 8. After discharge, Duration of OPD treatment was long as much as that of admission treatment. 9. At first stage of admission period, Herb medication was frequently prescribed for hwalhyultonglakgige(活血通絡之劑). but As going to end stage, was frequently used for bogi(補氣) bohyul(補血), gudam(祛痰), ansin(安神).

• Journal of Oriental Medical Thermology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2011

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to report the comparison of X-ray and Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging (DITI) of a patient with idiopathic scoliosis. Method: The patient in this case was a 25-year-old female. Her chief complaint was a pain in lumbar, scapular and shoulder regions. We examined her with DITI and X-ray. And then We compared DITI and X-ray. Results: Cobb's angle of thoracic spine was $24.78^{\circ}$ as a primary curve. Cobb's angle of thoracolumbar spine was $17.63^{\circ}$. Temperature on convex side of the thoracic spine was $0.3^{\circ}C$ higher than the other side. Temperature on convex side of cervical spine was $1.4^{\circ}C$ higher than the other side. There was no correlation curvature degree with temperature difference. Conclusion : There was a tendency that the temperature on convex side of the spine is higher than the other side of the spine. DITI is a useful assessment tool when it is used with X-ray as a diagnostic tool of idiopathic scoliosis. Further studies are needed.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2020

Objective: Many caregivers often carry infants using baby carriers until they are approximately 36 months old. The purpose of this study was to compare the muscular activity of the trunk and lower leg muscles during trunk flexion-extension movements in correspondence to various wearing methods of a baby carrier blanket. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Sixteen healthy adult women were to wear baby carrier blankets in five different ways in terms of direction and height, followed by flexion-extension of the trunk. Erector spinae (ES), rectus abdominis, rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF) muscle activities and triaxial acceleration of trunk were investigated. Results: The front-wearing method of the baby carrier blanket increased the muscular activity of the ES muscle, and wearing the baby carrier blanket at waist height in the same direction was significantly higher than wearing it at pelvic height (p<0.05). As the angle of flexion increased during trunk flexion-extension, the muscle activity of the ES, BF, and the RF increased. There was a greater increase in muscle activity of the ES and the BF during extension compared to flexion (p<0.05). Conclusions: If it is difficult to wear a baby carrier blanket due to lumbar pain, it is recommended to lower the wearing height of the baby carrier to the pelvic level so that the external load can be transferred to the lower extremity. In addition, it appears to be necessary to hold the baby and distribute the load onto the waist through proper body control when performing flexion-extension movements of the trunk. More objective and scientific research that includes various daily tasks and evaluation methods are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.511-515
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• 2002

Paeoniae radix has been considered as one of the most important crude drugs used in traditional oriental medicine and has been employed as a circulatory tonic in care of weakness, night sweats, and lumbar pain, etc. Platelet activation plays an important role in thrombosis and haemostasis. Active compounds for the inhibition of platelet activation from Paeoniae radix were extracted and fractionated into five fractions. Its fraction two and three of ethyl acetate extract inhibited the aggregation of washed rabbit platelets induced by collagen. Two active compounds, bezoyloxypaeoniflorin and paeoniflorin, were isolated from fraction two and three by silica gel column and high performance liquid chromatography. The chemical structures were determined by comparison of their proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Benzoyloxypaeoniflorin showed strong inhibition at the concentration of 100 ug/mL against collagen-induced washed rabbit platelets aggregation. It is suggested that Paeoniae radix has become food material to prevent a cardiovascular disease.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2016

Background: Prolonged sitting leads to low back discomfort and lumbopelvic muscle fatigue. This study examined the characteristics of body perceived discomfort and trunk muscle fatigue during 1 hour of sitting in three postures in office workers. Methods: Thirty workers sat for 1 hour in one of three sitting postures (i.e., upright, slumped, and forward leaning postures). Body discomfort was assessed using the Body Perceived Discomfort scale at the beginning and after 1 hour of sitting. Electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from superficial lumbar multifidus, iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis, internal oblique (IO)/transversus abdominis (TrA), and rectus abdominis muscles during 1 hour of sitting. The median frequency (MDF) of the EMG power spectrum was calculated. Results: Regardless of the sitting posture, the Body Perceived Discomfort scores in the neck, shoulder, upper back, low back, and buttock significantly increased after 1 hour of sitting compared with baseline values ($t_{(9)}=-11.97$ to -2.69, p < 0.05). The MDF value of the EMG signal of rectus abdominis, iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis, and multifidus muscles was unchanged over time in all three sitting postures. Only the right and left IO/TrA in the slumped sitting posture was significantly associated with decreased MDF over time (p = 0.019 to 0.041). Conclusion: Prolonged sitting led to increased body discomfort in the neck, shoulder, upper back, low back, and buttock. No sign of trunk muscle fatigue was detected over 1 hour of sitting in the upright and forward leaning postures. Prolonged slumped sitting may relate to IO/TrA muscle fatigue, which may compromise the stability of the spine, making it susceptible to injury.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.287-291
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• 2017

Purpose: This paper provides basic clinical data on the treatment of scoliosis patients by analyzing the effects of the type and position of scoliosis on the static balance using Tetrax on adolescents who have balance disorders as a consequence of structural changes, such as scoliosis. Methods: A total of 110 adolescents were divided into 6 groups according to the radiographs and 60 adolescents were sampled, 10 each for each group. The static balance was measured and analyzed on the existence of sight using Tetrax. Results: The changes followed by existence of sight in static balance group showed a significant difference statistically in Stability index in all groups (p<0.001). The changes in the static balance in each group in terms of the stability index were significant in all groups, where the experiments were performed under the eyes opened and eyes-closed condition (p<0.01)(p<0.001). The post-hoc comparison revealed the stability index to be the highest in the eyes-opened condition in group III, but not in group IV. In the eyes-closed condition, group III showed the highest stability index of all the groups. Conclusion: Adolescents with lumbar scoliosis had a lower static balance in single scoliosis with the eyes-closed condition or had little movement compensation. In addition, unlike the other normal scoliosis, back scoliosis has negative effects on the posture because it causes an increase in the disturbance of posture. Therefore, future studied will be needed to examine the imbalance of posture in people suffering from back pain.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.1027-1034
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effects of Korean medical treatment on a patient with compression fractures. Methods: The patient was treated with herbal medicine and acupuncture for 51 days. Symptom changes were measured using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Range of Motion (ROM), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and European Quality of Life Five Dimensions (EQ-5D) Scale. Results: The NRS score for lower back pain decreased from 7 to 3, and the ODI score decreased from 51.11 to 22.22. Range of motion (ROM) increased meaningfully in flexion(from 30 to 60), Left/Right lateral bending(from 10/30 to 30/45), Left/Right rotation (from 10/30 to 30/45), and the EQ-5D score also increased from 0.506 to 0.677. Conclusion: The results indicate that Korean medical treatment may be effective for managing patients' acute compression fractures.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.67-74
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• 2019

Background: Uncontrolled lumbopelvic movement leads to asymmetric symptoms and causes pain in the lumbar and pelvic regions. So many patients have uncontrolled lumbopelvic movement. Passive support devices are used for unstable lumbopelvic patient. So, we need to understand that influence of passive support on lumbopelvic stability. It is important to examine that using the pelvic belt on abdominal muscle activity, pelvic rotation and pelvic tilt. Objects: This study observed abdominal muscle activity, pelvic rotation and tilt angles were compared during active straight leg raise (ASLR) with and without pelvic compression belt. Methods: Sixteen healthy women were participated in this study. ASRL with and without pelvic compression belt was performed for 5 sec, until their leg touched the target bar that was set 20 cm above the base. Surface electromyography was recorded from rectus abdominis (RA), internal oblique abdominis (IO), and external oblique abdominis (EO) bilaterally. And pelvic rotation and tilt angles were measured by motion capture system. Results: There were significantly less activities of left EO (p=.042), right EO (p=.031), left IO (p=.039), right IO (p=.019), left RA (p=.044), and right RA (p=.042) and a greater right pelvic rotation angle (p=.008) and anterior pelvic tilt angle (p<.001) during ASLR with pelvic compression belt. Conclusion: These results showed that abdominal activity was reduced while the right pelvic rotation angle and anterior pelvic tilt angle were increased during ASLR with a pelvic compression belt. In other words, although pelvic compression belt could support abdominal muscle activity, it would be difficult to control pelvic movement. So pelvic belt would not be useful for controlled ASLR.