• PNF and Movement
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.279-285
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to develop new digital navicular drop test (ND-NDT) equipment and to determine its validity and reliability. Methods: A total of 24 healthy male and female adults, who fully understood the purpose of the study and gave consent to participate in the study, were selected as participants. The NDT and ND-NDT were conducted in the dominant foot of the participants in a random order. For the NDT, the position of the navicular bone was marked with a pen first; then, the height of the navicular bone from the ground was measured in both sitting and standing positions. For the ND-NDT, after the sticker-type reflection markers were attached to the position of the navicular bone, the height of the navicular bone from the ground was measured in both sitting and standing positions. To assess the validity of the diagnostic tests, the same examiner measured the height of the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) three times in both the sitting and standing positions. To assess the inter-rater reliability of the ND-NDT, three examiners, in a random order, attached the sticker-type reflection markers to the position of the navicular bone and then measured the height of the MLA in both positions. Results: In the sitting position, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the two diagnostic tests was very high (r = 0.97) and statistically significant. In the standing position, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the two tests was 0.95, which was also statistically significant. The ICC_2,1 values in the sitting and standing positions were 0.93 and 0.95, respectively, indicating significantly high inter-rater reliability. Conclusion: The ND-NDT equipment showed very high diagnostic validity, as well as excellent inter-rater reliability, indicating the clinical usefulness of the equipment as a diagnostic system for confirming pes planus.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.19-22
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• 2013

Background: Excessive pronation of the feet can cause excessive inner rotation of the femur, followed by increased stress in the gluteus maximum, increased front slope of the pelvis, and lumbar lordosis, which leads to lumbar pain. The aim of the present study was to use the navicular drop test to examine foot pronation that can cause lumbar lordosis and to determine whether the navicular drop is lower in patients diagnosed with lumbar disc than in patients without this diagnosis. Methods: The Navicular Drop score was set by subtracting the navicular height at a standing position from the navicular height in a sitting position. The Navicular Drop measurements for college student with and without Lumbar Herniated Intervertebral Disc were compared using an independent t-test. Results: The control group were measured right $7.44{\pm}2.96$ and left $8.04{\pm}3.23$. The experimental group were measured right $2.12{\pm}1.33$ and left $2.80{\pm}1.29$. Therefore significant difference was found between the two groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: The navicular drop affected lumbar herniated intervertebral disc.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.489-496
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• 2011

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of an arch support taping on navicular drop height and plantar pressure in the subjects with excessive pronated foot for 6 weeks. Methods : The fifteen subjects with the pronated foot group and the fifteen subjects with the normal foot group volunteered for this study. Both groups were applied arch support taping at 3 times a week during 6 weeks. Subjects were assessed navicular drop test to evaluate pronation of subtalar joint and plantar pressure on treadmill for pressure measuring system during walking with a bare foot state at pre- taping, after 3 weeks, and after 6 weeks. A two-way repeated analysis of variance design was used to examine the difference of navicular drop height and plantar pressure in the pronation foot group and the normal foot group. Results : The pronated foot group had significantly decreased both the navicular drop height and the plantar pressure under the medial midfoot than the normal foot group after 6 weeks(p<.01). Conclusions : This study proposed that an arch support taping can be support to lift navicular bone as well as to transfer the foot pressure from medial midfoot to lateral midfoot in individuals with excessive pronated foot.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.69-74
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• 2018

PURPOSE: Stroke patients may develop an over-pronated foot, resulting in a lower medial longitudinal arch. This can lead to a structural change of the foot due to deformation of the musculoskeletal system. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of modified low-dye taping on stroke patients with an excessively pronated foot. The effect of the taping on the foot after light daily activity was also examined. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 21 stroke patients with an excessively pronated foot, as measured by the navicular drop test. First, their navicular heights were measured at a relaxed standing position (measure 1) and while standing in the subtalar neutral position (measure 2). Modified low-dye taping was applied to each subject's affected foot and the navicular height was then measured for the standing posture (measure 3). Finally, each subject walked around for 10 minutes and the navicular height was measured again (measure 4). RESULTS: Statistical analyses showed that the navicular height value at the relaxed standing position (measure 1) was significantly lower than for the other 3 measurements. That is, the modified low-dye taping was effective in maintaining a subtalar neutral position, even after a 10-minute walk, for stroke patients with an excessively pronated foot. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that modified low-dye taping applied to stroke patients with an excessively pronated foot could be an effective way to place the subtalar joint in a neutral position, and that its effect can be sustained for light daily activities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.133-139
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• 2018

PURPOSE: Despite the abundant literature available regarding the activity of intrinsic muscles, few studies have investigated the muscle activity of extrinsic muscles. Therefore, the present study compared the muscle activity of the peroneus longus, tibialis anterior, and abductor hallucis during short foot exercise in subjects with and without flat feet. METHODS: Twelve subjects with and without pes planus participated in this study. During the short foot exercises, muscular activity of the tibialis anterior, fibularis longus, and abductor hallucis longus were measured in both groups. To identify the effects of short foot exercises, navicular drop height was also investigated in pre and post short foot exercises. RESULTS: In a symptomatic group, the navicular drop height was significantly reduced at post measurement compared with pre-measurement. During the short foot exercise, the pes planus group showed significantly lower activities of the fibularis longus than the control group (p<.05). CONCLUSION: Similar to previous studies and clinical literature, short foot exercise was effective for alleviating navicular drop for a population with pes planus. In addition, subjects with pes planus showed decreased muscular activities of the fibularis longus, which suggests that considering extrinsic muscles such as fibularis longus is also important for rehabilitation of pes planus patients.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.269-279
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• 2023

Purpose : The most effective intervention for flat foot is strengthening exercises for the intrinsic and extrinsic of the foot. Additionally, visual feedback is necessary for movement accuracy. However, the effectiveness of the intervention when combined with visual feedback was not revealed. To confirm this, the research was to investigate the effect of visual feedback and a complex exercise program on navicular bone height, plantar pressure, and lower extremity alignment. Methods : The twenty eight adult men and women with flat foot were randomly assigned to group 1 (n=14) and group2 (n=14), group1 performed complex exercises with visual feedback, and group 2 performed only complex exercises. Both groups performed a 40 minute compound exercise program three times a week. Navicular drop test, plantar pressure test, and lower extremity alignment test were performed equally in both group. Results : As a result of comparing the change in navicular height within the group according to the intervention, both groups showed a significant difference before and after the exercise (p>.05). There was not significant difference comparing the difference between the groups in the navicular height (p>.05). Comparing the change in plantar pressure within groups, there was not significant difference in the change in plantar pressure in both groups (p>.05). Coparing the difference before and after exercise between groups, there was not significant plantar pressure (p>.05). Comparing the change in leg alignment within the group, there was a significant difference in the change in ankle before and after exercise in group 1 (p<.05), but there was not significant difference in group 2. There was not significant difference in pelvic tilt and knee tilt before and after exercise in both groups (p>.05). Comparing the before and after exercise difference between groups, there were not significant in all variables of leg alignment (p>.05). Conclusion : The results of this study showed that complex exercise applied to patients with flat foot were effective in increasing the height of the navicular bone and ankle angle, but there was no effect due to visual feedback.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.115-123
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• 2012

It is important to assess foot posture when investigating the relationship between lower extremity dysfunctions and foot types. Although several measurements of static foot posture have been used, there is no consensus regarding clinical measurements for foot posture. The aim of this study is to explore the differences among navicular drift (NDt), foot posture index (FPI), arch index (AI), dorsal arch height ratio (DAHR), normal navicular height truncated (NNHt) and to discover the most effective measurement. After foot types were classified by navicular drop test (NDp), clinical measurements of NDt, FPI, AI, DAHR, and NNHt were performed on 64 subjects' feet. ANOVA analysis was used for the variance of the difference between the NDp and the five kinds of clinical measurements, and the level of significance was set at ${\alpha}$=.05. The results showed that all five clinical measurements demonstrated significant differences with navicular drop. In post-hoc, FPI and NNHt showed significant differences in all foot types. The five clinical measurements are suitable the classification of foot types through the NDp. Therefore, it could be possible to assess correct and objective foot posture by using FPI and NNHt.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.355-361
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• 2014

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effect of low-dye taping on balance performance in subjects with flexible flatfoot. METHODS: Fifteen asymptomatic volunteers who had flexible flatfoot (age, $21.7{\pm}1.81$years; height, $164.80{\pm}7.57cm$; weight, $56.47{\pm}10.48kg$) were participated for this study. Navicular drop test was used to evaluate pronation of foot in three different conditions; non-weight bearing position without low-dye taping, weight bearing position without low-dye taping, weight bearing position with low-dye taping. And balance performance (anterio/ posterior, medial/lateral, and overall) was evaluated using the Biodex Balance System in three different conditions; one-leg standing without low-dye taping, one-leg standing with low-dye taping, and one-leg standing with low-dye taping in one week later. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess navicular height and balance performance across the three testing conditions. RESULTS: Significant and clinically meaningful improvement in navicular height was found after application of the low-dye taping. However, there was no statistically significant change in balance performance. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide evidence to suggest that low-dye taping does not affect balance performance.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.250-257
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• 2019

Objectives: Flatfoot, or low medial longitudinal arch, contributes to back and lower extremity injuries and is caused by weak abductor hallucis (AbdH) muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of short foot exercise (SFE) alone or with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on navicular height, the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the AbdH muscle, and AbdH muscle activity in flexible flatfoot. Methods: Thirty-six otherwise healthy people with flexible flatfoot were randomly assigned to a group that received SFE with placebo NMES treatment (the control group) or a group that received both SFE and NMES treatment (the experimental group). Each group received 4 weeks of treatment (SFE alone or SFE with NMES). Navicular height, the CSA of the AbdH muscle, and AbdH muscle activity were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: No significant differences were found in navicular height or the CSA of the AbdH muscle between the control and experimental groups, while AbdH muscle activity showed a statistically significant difference between the groups ($SFE=73.9{\pm}11.0%$ of maximal voluntary isometric contraction [MVIC]; SFE with $NMES=81.4{\pm}8.3%$ of MVIC; p<0.05). Moreover, the CSA of the AbdH muscle showed a statistically significant increase after treatment in the SFE with NMES group ($pre-treatment=218.6{\pm}53.2mm^2$ ; $post-treatment=256.9{\pm}70.5mm^2$ ; p<0.05). Conclusions: SFE with NMES was more effective than SFE alone in increasing AbdH muscle activity. Therefore, SFE with NMES should be recommended to correct or prevent abnormalities in people with flexible flatfoot by a physiotherapist or medical care team.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

Purpose : This study aimed to examine the relationships among five clinical measures for functional alignment of the lower extremity. Methods : Thirty healthy subjects (15 males and 15 females) were recruited for the study. The five clinical measures of functional alignment of the lower extremity included navicular drop, quadriceps angle, internal rotation of hip, and anterior and lateral pelvic tilt angles. The level of navicular drop was calculated by the difference between the height of the navicular bone in the sitting (non-weight bearing) and standing (weight bearing) positions. The quadriceps angle and internal rotation of hip were measured using a standard goniometer with photographic markers while the subjects were lying in a prone position on a table with their knee at $90^{\circ}$ flexion. Anterior and lateral pelvic tilt angles were determined using a inclinometer. Results : Correlation and a simple linear regression analysis were used to assess relationships between the clinical measures. There were significant correlations between navicular drop and quadriceps angle (p<.05), between navicular drop and internal rotation of hip (p<.05), and between quadriceps angle and internal rotation of hip (p<.01). In simple linear regression analysis, the navicular drop appeared to be a factor affecting the quadriceps angle and internal rotation of hip (p<.05). The findings suggest that navicular drop has a great impact on lower extremity alignment. Conclusion : This study might help us to examine lower extremity function and clarify its role as a potential injury risk factor.