• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.105-108
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• 1996

Localized or radiating pain in the arm and shoulder joint may result after faulty alignment causing compression or tension on nerves, blood vessels, or supporting soft tissues. The critical site of faulty alignment is the quadrangular space in the axilla bounded by the teres major, teres minor, long head of triceps, and humerus. The axillary nerve emerges through this space to supply the deltoid and teres minor. The activity of the trigger point on teres minor compressing the axillary nerve causes pain to develop through the area of sensory distribution of cutaneous branch of the axillary nerve. Relieving compression on the axillary nerve and suprascapular nerve is the key point to relieving the pain. Spasm of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus compressing the suprascapular nerve caused pain to develop in the shoulder joint and scapular area. We treated those patients experiencing such pain with local anesthetic infiltration or I-R laser stimulation on the identified trigger points.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.39-48
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• 2020

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of integrating transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation into treadmill gait training by applying functional electrical stimulation on the spasticity, balance, and gait ability of chronic stroke patients METHODS: Twenty participants were assigned randomly to two groups: the treadmill gait training group with applied functional electrical stimulation (FES) with integrated transcutaneous electricalstimulation (TENS) (experimental group, EG, n = 10) and the treadmill gait training group with FES (control group, CG, n = 10). Both groups received treadmill gait training with FES for 30 minutes a time, four times a week, during five weeks. The experimental group received additional TENS on their L3, L5, and S2 dermatome for 30 minutes before the interventions. The spasticity, balance, and gait ability were evaluated before and after the training to compare the intergroup and intragroup changes. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvements in the static, dynamic balance, and gait ability (p < .05), but did not show any significant changes in the muscle tone. The EG showed significant improvements in the static balance ability and gait cycle compared to the CG (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Treadmill gait training combined with FES with integrated TENS is an effective method for improving the static balance and gait cycle. On the other hand, the effects of treadmill gait training with FES on spasticity need to be studied further.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.222-230
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• 1994

Acupuncture-like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(ALTENS) on acupuncture site(dorsal and ventral side of finger) were compared with a placebo site(forearm) by infrared thermal imaging. Six disease-free volunteers underwent, on different days, an ALTENS treatment and a placebo treatment in a cross-over sequences of stimulation control and inhibition control in excess of 50 treatments. ALTENS treatments were given at 30Hz at an intensity just below pain threshold delivered to acupuncture points on fingers. Placebo stimulations were administered in similar manner. After every thirty minutes of ALTENS and placebo treatment with stimulation, inhibition control sequence and vice versa, we examined whole body infrared thermal imaging and checked changed skin temperature on frontal, anterior chest, upper and lower abdomen, dorsal and ventral aspect of hand, thoracic and lumbar area, anterior and posterior aspect of lower leg. There were significant skin temperature elevations with ALTENS treatment, especially finger control gate corresponding organ area. Placebo treatment revealed no skin temperature change. We concluded that ALTENS on finger control gate influence physiologic state as opposed to conventional electric stimulation.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 1989

Pain is a common and important clinical symptom, and treatments aimed at relieving pain have a central position in medical practice. Recently Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) has been effectively used to control acute and chronic conditions that produce pain. But the mechanism of analgesia resulting from TENS remains obscure. In order to investigate the analgesic effect of TENS and it's action mechanism, TENS was applied in 40 rabbits with different frequencies, low frequency (2Hz) and high frequency (100Hz), for 20 minutes. And the pain threshold was measured by the temperature before and after stimulation, and an attempt was made to antagonize the stimulation effect with naloxone pretreatment (0.4 mg/kg) The results are as follows: 1) Both low frequency and high frequency TENS resulted in increasing the pain threshold significantly (Both p<0.01). 2) Naloxone pretreatment could antagonize the effect of increasing the pain threshold with low frequency TENS significantly (p<0.01), but not with high frequency TENS. Plasma beta-endorphin was measured by radioimmunoassay using an Beta-Endorphin Kit (Immunonuclear Corporation, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA) and Automatic Gamma Scintillation Counter (Micromedic System 4/2000) before and after stimulation. An attempt was made to reverse the stimulation effect with naloxone pretreatment (0.4 mg/kg). The results are as follows: 1) Low frequency TENS resulted in increasing the level of plasma beta.endorphin significantly (p<0.01), but high frequency TENS did not. 2) Naloxone pretreatment could reverse the effect of increasing the plasma beta-endorphin level with low frequency TENS significantly (p<0.01).

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.76-84
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• 2004

1. Objectives This paper is intended to find out Sasang Constitutional difference on Autonomous Function after Acupuncture stimulation in healthy subjects. 2. Methods of Research Nineteen healthy volunteers(Soyangin 6, Taeumin 7, Soeumin 6) had acupunctured perpendicularly into the Hapkok point(LI4) and the Taechung point(Liv3). Heart Rate Variability, Mean Heart Rate and Blood Pressure were checked 4 times(before and after Acupuncture stimulation) to evaluate Autonomous Function. 3. Results & Conclusions The conclusions were as follows 1. There was no statistically significant Sasang Constitutional difference on sympathetic activity and parasympathetic activity before Acupuncture stimulation. 2. Acupuncture stimulation caused a statistically significant increase in the parasympathetic activity in the whole subject. 3. After Acupuncture stimulation, there was a statistically significant increase in the parasympathetic activity in Soeumin and a tendency of increase in the parasympathetic activity in Soyangin. But there was a tendency of increase in the Sympathetic activity in Taeumin.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.1005-1013
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• 2001

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of low power GaAlAs laser on spinal Fos expression related to the anti-nociceptive effect of laser stimulation. Low power GaAlAs laser was applied to either acupoint or non-acupoint for 2 hour under light inhalation anesthesia. Spinal Fos expression in the dorsal horn was compared to that obtained in inhalation anesthesia control group. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of the local treatment of lidocaine on the spinal Fos expression evoked by low power GaAlAs laser stimulation. The results were summarized as follows: 1. In the normal animals, only a few Fos like immunoreactive(Fos-IR) neurons were evident in the lumbar spinal cord dorsal horn. Similarly, following prolonged inhalation anesthesia, Fos-IR neurons were absent in the dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord. In animals treated with laser stimulation, Fos immunoreactive neurons were increased mainly in the medial half of ipsilateral laminae I-III at lumbar segments L3-5. These findings directly indicated that prolonged anesthesia used in this study did not affect the Fos expression in the spinal cord dorsal horn of intact animals and low power laser stimulation dramatically produced Fos expression in the spinal cord laminae that are related to the anti-nociceptive effect of laser stimulation. 2. In acupoint stimulated animals, 10mW of laser stimulation, not 3mW and 6mW intensity, significantly increased the number of Fos immunoreactive neurons in the spinal dorsal horn(p<0.05). However, laser stimulation on acupoint more dramatically increased the number of Fos immunoreactive neurons in the spinal cord rather than laser stimulatin on non acupoint. These result suggested that laser stimulatin on acupoint was more effective treatment to activate the spinal neuron than non acupoint stimulation. 3. The local treatment of lidocaine totally suppressed the activity of spinal neurons that were induced by lower power 1aser stimulation. These data indicated that the anti-nociceptive effect of laser stimulation was absolutely dependent upon the peripheral nerve activity in the stimulated location. In conclusion, these data indicate that 10mW of low power laser stimulation into acupoint is capable of inducing the spinal Fos expression in the dorsal horn related to the anti-nociceptive effect of laser stimulation, Furthermore, the induction of spinal Fos expression was totally related to the peripheral nerve activity in the laser stimulated area.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 1992

The present study was designed to evaluate effects of intermittent electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve on the atrophic response of antigravity muscles, such as the soleus (slow m.) and medial gastrocnemius (fast m.) muscles. Rats (Sprague-Dawley, 245-255g) were subjected to a hindlimb suspension and divided into three groups : one was with hindlimb suspension (MS) and another with hindlimb suspension plus intermittent electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve (HS ES). Control group (CONT) was kept free without strain of the hindlimb. After 7 days of hindlimb suspension, the soleus and medial gastrocnemius muscles were cut at their insertion sites, and were then connected to the force transducer to observe their mechanical properties. Optimal pulse width and frequency of electrical stimulation were 0.2ms, 20Hz for the soleus muscle and 0.3ms, 40Hz for the medial gastrocnemius muscle under supramaximal stimulation. Body weight and circumference of the hindlimb were significantly decreased in HS and HS-ES groups compared with the control group. In HS-ES group, however, the weight of the soleus muscle was not different from that in the control group while the weight of the medial gastrocnemius muscle was lower than that in the control group. In HS group, mechanical properties of muscle contraction including contraction time, half relaxation time, twitch tension, tetanic tension, and fatigue index of both muscles were significantly decreased compared with the control group except for twitch tension and tetanic tension of medial gastrocnemius muscle. The degree of atrophy of the soleus muscle in HS group was more prominent than that of the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Twitch tension and fatigue index of the soleus muscle and fatigue index of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in HS-ES group were not different from those of the control group. While mechanical properties of the soleus muscle examined were all significantly increased in HS-ES group compared with HS group, only contraction time and fatigue index of the medial gastrocnemius muscle were significantly increased in HS-ES group. These data indicate that intermittent electrical stimulation may be useful in prevention of muscle atrophy.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1992 no.05
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• pp.209-212
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• 1992

A major technical problem in encountered in nerve stimulation technique is the control of stimulus artifact and the convenience of nerve stimulator. The artifacts remained must be removed by processing the contaminated signal. This paper discusses about the artifact cancellation algorithms in constant voltage type nerve stimulator(CVS) and constant current type nerve stimulator(CCS).

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2003

Although painful conditions of varying degrees of severity involving the soft tissues (i .e., muscles, tendons, ligaments, periosteum and peripheral nerves) occur frequently, their underlying pathogenesis is poorly understood. The term peripheral neuropathic pain has recently been suggested to embrace the combination of positive and negative symptoms in patients whose pain is due to pathological changes or dysfunction in peripheral nerves or nerve root. The spinal nerve root, because of its vulnerable position, is very easily prone to injury from pressure, stretch, angulation, and friction. Therefore, not a few of musculoskeletal chronic pains are result of nerve root dysfunction. Neuropathic changes due to nerve root dysfunction are primarily in soft tissue especially muscle, tendon and joint. It shows tenderness over muscle motor points and palpable muscle contracture bands and restricted Joint range. Careful palpation and physical examination is the important tool that, be abne to detect all of these phenomena.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.907-918
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• 1996

Evoked potentials(EP) are defined as electric responses of the nerves system to sensory stimulation. EPs are used mainly to test conduction in the visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems, especially in the central parts of these systems. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) are the potentials elicited by stimulation of peripheral nerves and recorded at various sites along the sensory pathway. SEPs types consist mainly of SEPs to electric stimulation of arm or leg nerves. SEPs to arm stimulation are usually recorded simultaneously from clavicular, cervical, and scalp electrodes; SEPs to leg stimulation are recorded from lumbar, low thoracic, and scalp electrodes. Subject variables that have practical impotance are age, limb length, body height, and temperature. General clinical interpretation of abnormal SEPs wave decreases of peripheral conduction time, and abolition of SEPs recorded from different levels to identify lesions of peripheral nerves, plexus, nerve root, spinal cord, cauda equina, hemispheric brainstem, and cerebral parts of the somatosensory pathway.