• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 1992

In urethane anesthetized cats, each vestibular semicircular canal nerve was electrically stimulated, and reflex responses of the cervical extensor and flexor (the splenius capitis and sternomastoid muscles) were recorded by means of electromyography. Stimulation of a unilateral (anterior, horizontal or posterior) canal nerve elicited excitation of the contralateral cervical muscles and inhibition of the ipsilateral ones; during the canal nerve stimulation, the two muscles in one side of the neck revealed synergistic responses. Based on these experimental results, we formulated a diagram showing the functional connections between the vestibular semicircular canals and the cervical muscles in the vestibulocollic reflex.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2017

Background: This study was carried out to compare the effects of shoulder stabilization exercise and thoracic extension exercise including deep neck flexor exercise on posture and pain targeting physical therapists and occupational therapists with forward head posture. Methods: A total of 30 physical therapists and occupational therapists (15 males, 15 females), who are working in the nursing hospital at Daejeon, were randomly divided into a shoulder stabilization group (n=10), a thoracic extension exercise (n=10), and a control group (n=10), and 3 times were carried out for 8 weeks. Results: In the results of all measurements, 2 groups except for the control group showed a significant change in the recovery of forward head posture, and the should stabilization exercise group showed a relatively superior effect compared to the thoracic extension exercise group. Conclusions: These results of a study will be a basic data for the development of the forward head posture exercise therapy program.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.186-190
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• 2018

Objective: Deep neck flexor muscle endurance (DNFET) is important to cervical pain patients. However, there is no normative data of the DNFET hold time of Korean university students. The purpose of this study was to provide normative data and the reliability of the DNFET times of Korean university students and to compare the DNFET hold times between male and female subjects. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The participants included 39 male and 39 female students with no cervical pain. Each DNFET was measured while the subjects kept their chin tucked in while in a supine (hook-lying) position and with the head lifted 2.5 cm off the bed. The DNFET was conducted on each subject twice and the mean values were obtained. After each measurement, the participants rested for 5 minutes. Inter-rater reliability was measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) by three separate evaluators. Results: The inter-rater reliability was good, showing an ICC (2,3) value = 0.785 (95% confidence interval, 0.370-0.942). The DNFET time scores for men and women were $25.14{\pm}9.96$ seconds and $15.23{\pm}6.10$ seconds, respectively, in which the time scores of the men were significantly longer compared to women (p<0.05). Conclusions: Asymptomatic men displayed higher DNFET scores than women. This study can help clinicians test cervical function of patients and set an interventional goal. These findings serve as a basis that insists Korean women to increase their amount of physical activity.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.41-49
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• 2022

Background: In patients with forward head posture (FHP), the head is positioned forward, causing increased tension in the muscles and structures of the head, neck, and shoulders. This can result in joint dysfunction that may lead to abnormal afferent information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on foot pressure through the isometric hip abduction (IHA) bridge exercise using elastic bands in patients with FHP. Methods: Twenty patients with FHP were randomly assigned to a study group that applied joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization, a deep neck flexor strengthening exercise, and the IHA bridge exercise using an elastic band. A control group was also constituted, and members were given joint mobilization, soft tissue mobilization therapies, and the deep neck flexor strengthening exercise. Ten patients were assigned to each group. The static foot pressure and dynamic foot pressure of each patient were measured before and after the intervention, and the interventions for each group were applied twice a week for 4 weeks. Results: Both the study group and the control group showed significant differences in static and dynamic foot pressure before and after the interventions (p<.05). There were no significant differences in foot pressure between the study and control groups. Conclusion: : The results of this study revealed that there were no significant differences between the group doing the IHA bridge exercise using the elastic band and the control group. However, the intervention methods applied to both the groups were effective in improving the body center control of FHP patients.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1990

The role of cervical proprioceptors in the control of body posture was studied in bilaterally labyrinth-ectomized, decerebrate cats. The animals were suspended on hip pins with the neck extended horizontally. With this placement the EMG activities of extensor and flexor muscles of the upper extremities were observed by means of sinusoidal head rotator. The rotator can induce two kinds of neck movement: The one is 'pitch' which describes a rotatory neck motion to transverse axis of the body and mainly occurs at skull-C1 (atlantooccipital) joint and the other is 'roll', side-to-side relation of the neck to longitudinal axis, whose center is C1-C2 (atlanto-axial) joint. The following results were obtained. 1) Responses of EMG activity were closely dependent on the rotatory range of the neck. And the EMG activity was not changed during sustained neck torsion, eliciting a typical tonic neck reflex. 2) On pitching movement, the head-up rotation produced the excitation of bilateral triceps muscles, whereas the head-down rotation produced the inhibition. And the response of bilateral biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 3) On rolling movement, the side-up rotation of the head produced the excitation of ipsilateral triceps muscles and the inhibition of contralateral ones. And the response of biceps muscles was the opposite to that of triceps. 4) The minimum requirement of motion to evoke EMG activities in the upper extremities was $3.2^{\circ}{\sim}12.5^{\circ}$. These results have shown that the cervical proprioceptors produce tonic discharge on the upper brachial muscles, regulate the EMG activities of those muscles, and are very sensitive to neck rotation. And it can be stated that the cervical proprioceptors may play an important role in the control of body posture and movement.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.44-52
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• 2018

Background: The deep cervical flexor (DCF) muscles have a crucial role in the management of neck pain. For preventing neck pain by activation of the DCF, craniocervical flexion (CCF) is an effective exercise. However, sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle is considered to affect negatively the activation of the DCF. SCM muscle which is an accessory muscle for respiration is activated differently depending on types of breathing patterns. It's not certain that breathing patterns affect the SCM and DCF muscles thickness during CCF exercise. Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of breathing patterns on the SCM and DCF muscles thickness during CCF exercise. Methods: Forty-five subjects participated in this study, and they were classified according to their breathing pattern, as follows: costodiaphragmatic breathing (CDB) and upper costal breathing (UCB) groups. Ultrasonographic imaging of the SCM and DCF muscles was performed during five incremental levels of CCF during tidal breathing and expiration. Results: There was a significant interaction between the breathing pattern and the phase of CCF for percentage of SCM muscle thickness changes (p<.05). In phase 1 CCF, a percentage of SCM muscle thickness changes was increased in the UCB group than in the CDB group (p<.05). There was an increase in DCF muscles thickness with each additional CCF phase (p<.05). Conclusion: Recruitment of SCM muscle was increased in the UCB group while performing CCF with a low intensity. There were no significant differences on DCF recruitment between the breathing pattern groups. Higher CCF exercise intensities elicited a higher DCF recruitment.

• The Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Ultrasound Society
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.102-105
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• 2012

Schwannoma is a common peripheral nerve tumor that mainly occur at head and neck, flexor muscle of upper, and lower extrimity. In posterior tibial nerve schwannoma, diagnosis is difficult, since physicians often consider achilles tendinitis, posterior impingement syndrome, retrocalcaneal bursitis, or injury of the flexor tendons, as the primary cause in patients with posterior ankle pain. Ultrasonogram may be a simple tool to differentiate such various diseases. The authors report a case of posterior tibial nerve schwannoma diagnosed with ultrasonogram, which was initially misunderstood as achilles tendinitis.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.135-144
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• 2009

Objective : The Meridian sinew is one of the meridian subsystems, which includes muscles distributed on the twelve meridian. This study was performed to understand which muscle is falling under 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew'. Methods : We have studied the literatures on meridian sinew theory and searched muscles which correspond to 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew' in anatomical muscular system. And we researched myofascial pain syndrome about the symptoms of the muscles falling under 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew'. Lastly we compared 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew' with 'Deep Frontal Line' - one of the anatomical trains. Results & Conclusion : 1. It is considered that 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew' includes flexor digitorum brevis muscle, abductor hallucis muscle, medial head of gastrocnemius muscle, flexor digitorum longus muscle, adductor muscle, iliopsoas muscle, erctor spinae muscle. 2. The symptoms of 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew' are similar to the myofascial pain syndrome with referred pain of the muscles falling under 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew'. 3. 'Deep frontal line' is similar to 'Foot lesser yin meridian sinew', but not exactly in neck & pelvic muscles.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.189-195
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• 2019

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of chin tuck exercise (CTE) on the craniovertebral angle (CVA), strength and endurance of deep cervical flexor (DCF) muscles in subjects with forward head posture(FHP). This study was performed on 30 subjects with FHP. Method : Thirty subjects were divided into two groups; modified CTE (n=15), conventional CTE (n=15). Both of the group performed the exercise 4 times a week for 6 weeks. The subjects performed CTE in two different methods; modified CTE, with device designed that help keep cervical lordois curve, and coventional CTE, without using device. The CVA was measured using Image software version. A pressure biofeedback unit was used to measure the strength and endurance of the DCF muscles. The data was analyzed by the paired t-test for comparing before and after changes of variables in each group and the independent t-test for comparing the between groups. Result : There was statistically significant difference of before and after strength and endurance of DCF muscles in modified CTE (p<0.05). There was statistically significant difference of before and after only endurance of DCF muscles in conventional CTE (p<0.05). There was statistically significant difference of between the two group in strength of DCF muscles (p<0.05). Conclusion : Muscle strength to stabilize the spine plays an important role in maintaining a good posture. Therefore, we suggest that the application of CTE with a device designed to maintain the lordotic curvature in the neck is likely to yield better outcomes in FHP subjects in future studies.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.326-334
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• 2011

The aim of the study was to investigate the thickness of deep neck muscles during neck endurance tests using ultrasonography images to assess muscle sizes in persons with or without neck pain experience. Sixty-five university students volunteered for the study. The thicknesses of longus colli, longus capitis, semispinalis and cervical multifidus were assessed bilaterally using diagnostic ultrasound equipment during each endurance test. Participants were divided into two groups based on their Neck Pain(NP) experience; 45 subjects of those had no experience of NP (Group1) whereas 20 subjects of those reported NP experience sometime in their lives (Group2). Endurance time of both neck flexion and extension tests in Group1 showed significantly longer than Group's (p<0.01). The thicknesses of deep neck flexors and extensors were observed smallest at the terminal of endurance tests in general. Only left longus colli was found to be significantly smaller at rest in subjects of Group2 than Group 1's (P=0.02). The size difference between at contraction and the terminal of right longus capitis was observed bigger in subjects of group1 than subjects in group2. Future studies are needed to conduct with clinical subjects to assess contraction patterns of neck muscles.