• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.304-310
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• 2022

Objective: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition in which cognitive and executive functions are reduced, and older adults with MCI are ten times more likely to develop dementia than healthy older adults. Expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through aerobic exercise is associated with increased cognitive and executive functions. in this review, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects of aerobic exercise on BDNF in individuals with mild cognitive impairment are summarized and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed to suggest the necessity of aerobic exercise. Design: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: RCTs were searched for changes in BDNF through aerobic exercise using four international databases. Quality assessment and quantitative analysis were performed using RevMan 5.4. Quantitative analysis was quantified with a standardized mean difference (SMD) and presented as a random effect model. Results: Three RCTs evaluated BDNF in 123 patients with MCI. There was a significant improvement in the experimental group that performed aerobic exercise compared to the control group. The results analyzed using the random effects model were SMD = 0.48. Conclusions: In this review, we reported the effects and mechanisms of aerobic exercise in individuals with MCI. As a result of synthesizing RCTs that performed aerobic exercise, a significant increase in BDNF was confirmed.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.350-355
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to find out whether people still have problems with breathing after being quarantined for a certain period after being infected with COVID-19. Design: Two-group pretest-posttest design. Methods: A total of 36 subjects were included in this study. Subjects who have been quarantined after being infected with COVID-19 (the after-quarantine group, n=18) and those who have never had COVID-19 (the healthy group, n=18). Respiratory function was evaluated by subjects in resting state and after treadmill exercise. Subjects performed treadmill exercise at moderate intensity for 20 minutes. To compare the differences in respiratory function between groups, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1), and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) were evaluated using a spirometer. Results: The result of the study, there was a significant difference in FVC in the after-quarantine group between resting and after treadmill exercise (p<0.05). In the healthy group, there was no significant difference in respiratory functions between resting and after treadmill exercise. Conclusions: The meaning of this result is that people who have been quarantined with COVID-19 have lower respiratory function than healthy people who are not infected with COVID-19.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.652-660
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• 2014

In the present study, to examine the effects of somatosensory stimulation of the hands on the hand functions and visuomotor coordination of children with developmental disabilities, a total of 24 sessions of experiments were conducted with three children with developmental disabilities for 60 minutes per session, three sessions per week from January 7, 2013 to March 11, 2013. To examine the effects of somatosensory stimulation of the hands on grasping and visuomotor coordination which are sub-areas of PDMS-2, the A-B study design was used which is a single case study method out of single-subject experimental research designs. Somatosensory stimulation of the hands was shown to be effective in improving the hand functions of children with developmental disabilities. Somatosensory stimulation of the hands showed positive effects on the raw scores and standardized scores of grasping and visuomotor coordination in all the three subject children. Visuomotor coordination functions showed higher scores in post-hoc tests in all three children. In particular, ring throws showed high scores at right $90^{\circ}$, right $45^{\circ}$, center, left $45^{\circ}$, and left $90^{\circ}$ among visual directions. In the present study conducted with children with developmental disabilities, ring throws were performed to examine visuomotor coordination. In particular, the numbers of successes of ring throws on the front, left, and right were shown to be high. Therefore, somatosensory stimulation of the hands was effective on the hand functions and visuomotor coordination functions of children with developmental disabilities.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.125-134
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• 2021

Purpose : This study applies inspiratory muscle resistance exercise with aerobic exercise to smokers and nonsmokers and then determines whether subjects' breathing functions (FVC, FEV1) are increased and how much effect smoking has on the difference in the increase of breathing functions between the two groups. Methods : For this experiment, 26 male adults were selected and randomly allocated to the smoker group (n=13) and nonsmoker group (n=13). The smokers and nonsmokers performed the inspiratory muscle resistance exercise with aerobic exercise three times a week for four weeks. Regarding the breathing functions, the forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were measured three times: week 0, week 2, and week 4. The aerobic exercise was performed using a stationary bicycle with 8 difficulty levels. The inspiratory muscle resistance exercise was performed using Power Breathe with 10 resistance levels. Results : The study found that the FVC and FEV1 values of the smoker group decreased slightly after four weeks of inspiratory muscle resistance exercise with aerobic exercise. In other words, the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, the FVC and FEV1 values of the nonsmoker group increased by a statistically significant amount. In addition, the intergroup comparison of the average increases in FVC and FEV1 values showed statistically significant differences. Conclusion : The results of this study show that when inspiratory muscle resistance exercise with aerobic exercise was performed, the increase in the breathing functions of nonsmokers was higher than that of smokers. This confirms that, within the parameters of the study, smoking had a negative effect on the increase of breathing functions. This suggests that quitting smoking must be considered as an essential factor when applying a breathing physiotherapy or a breathing function improvement program in clinical settings

• PNF and Movement
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.217-224
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the hand functions of elderly persons according to their cognitive status and age. Methods: A total of 65 persons voluntarily participated in the study. The subjects were divided into three groups: impairment cognitive group, normal cognitive group, adult group (persons in their twenties). Assessment of cognitive status was performed using a mini-mental state examination for Koreans (MMSE-K). Hand function was assessed using the Purdue pegboard test. The collected data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and Pearsonn Acorrelation. Results: There were significant differences in hand functions in the three groups. Post-hoc test results showed significant differences between each group. There were statistically significant differences in the correlation among hand functions, cognitive status, and age. The findings of this study suggest that hand functions have a positive correlation with cognitive status. However, a negative correlation was found between hand function and age. Conclusion: According to the study's results, hand functions are correlated with age and cognitive functions in elderly persons. This study suggests that hand rehabilitation with cognitive intervention increases hand functions in elderly persons.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.169-174
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to resolve, in an efficient manner, the mechanoreceptor problems of the part far from the paretic upper extremity in stroke patients, as well as to provide clinical basic data of an intervention program for efficient neurodynamic in stroke patients, by developing a rhythmic neurodynamic exercise program and verifying functional changes depending on the increase in the upper extremity nerve conduction velocity. Methods: Samples were extracted from 18 patients with hemiplegia, caused by stroke, and were randomly assigned to either the experimental group I for the general upper extremity neurodynamic (n=9) and the experimental group II for rhythmic upper extremity neurodynamic (n=9). An intervention program was applied ten times per set (three sets one time) and four times a week for two weeks (once a day). As a pre-test, changes in the upper extremity nerve conduction velocity and functions were assessed, and two weeks later, a post-test was conducted to re-measure them in the same manner. Results: The wrist and palm sections of the radial nerve and the wrist and elbow sections of the median nerve, as well as the wrist, lower elbow, upper elbow, and axilla sections of the ulnar nerve had significant differences with respect to the upper extremity nerve conduction velocity between the two groups (p<0.05)(p<0.01), and significant differences were also found in the upper extremity functions (p<0.05). Conclusion: Rhythmic neurodynamic accelerated the nerve conduction velocity more in broader neural sections than the general neurodynamic. In conclusion, rhythmic neurodynamic was proven to be effective for improving the functions of upper extremity.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study is to suggest an intervention method for clinical use in the future by analyzing the effect of breathing exercise on activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior muscle, which are respiratory synergist muscles, and pulmonary functions in patients with forward head posture. Methods: Prior to the experiment, 12 patients (experimental group) performed feedback exhalation exercise along with conventional deep neck exercise, and 11 subjects (control group) performed feedback deep neck exercise along with conventional deep neck exercise. The intervention programs were performed for 40 minutes once a day (three times a week for four weeks). Results: Before intervention, %RMS was measured for surface electromyography (sEMG), and FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC were measured using a spirometer. After four weeks, these items were re-measured under the same condition and analyzed. In within-group comparison of the experimental group, activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior muscle showed a significant decrease (p<0.05)(p<0.001), and forced vital capacity (FVC) showed a significant increase (p<0.05). In within-group comparison of the control group, activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and scalenus anterior muscle showed a significant decrease (p<0.05), and in between-group comparison, there were significant differences in activity of sternocleidomastoid muscle and FVC (p<0.05). Conclusion: Long-term forward head posture restrains exercise performance of the neck and leads to exercise avoidance of the neck during daily activities, thus restraint factors might be created even while breathing. To cut off this link, a constant effort is required and diversified research on the correlation between neck functions and breathing should be conducted.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2003

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of treadmill gait training on the functional characteristics and the temporal-distance parameters of gait in hemiplegic patients, as compared with conventional gait training. The subjects of this study were 32 hemiplegic patients who had been admitted or were visited out-patients at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University, from March 3 through April 25, 2003. These subjects were randomly divided into treadmill gait training group or conventional gait training group. We evaluated the gait ability, motor functions, muscle strength, spasticity, physiological cost index, and temporal-distance parameters. We analyzed the changes between pre and post training in each groups, and the difference between two groups. Temporal-distance parameters were obtained using the ink footprint method and then energy consumption using physiological cost index. The results were as follows: 1. After a six-week training, treadmill gait training group significantly improved, as. compared to pre-training, in gait ability, motor functions for the leg and trunk and gross function, muscle strength of the lower limb, gait speed, cadence, step length both on the affected and on the unaffected side, step length symmetry, and energy consumption(p<0.05). 2. After a six-week training, conventional gait training group significantly improved, as compared to pretraining, in gait ability, motor functions for the leg and trunk, muscle strength of the lower limb, spasticity the upper limb, gait speed, cadence, step length both on the affected and on the unaffected side, and energy consumption(p<0.05). 3. After a six-week training, the treadmill gait training group significantly improved, as compared to the conventional gait, training, in gait speed and step length on the unaffected side. These results show that treadmill gait training was improved gait speed and step length on the unaffected side of hemiplegic patients, as compared with conventional gait training. Further research is needed to confirm the generalization of these findings and to identify which hemiplegic patients might benefit from treadmill gait training.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.136-143
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of physical functions of elderly people on their clothing behavior and to provide basic information about manufacturing comfortable apparels for the elderly. A total of 219 people, with ages between 60s and 70s, participated in the survey and in the experiment to correlate their tendency of wearing clothes with the state of their physical functions. About 78.5% of the elderly showed eyesight deterioration in the subjective evaluation. Elders in their 60s raised their arms higher up in overhead reach, and showed shorter distance between middle fingertips in behind back stretch and in back scratch than elders in their 70s. Also, the former stretched farther to the floor in standing trunk flexion, and maintained more steady in one leg stand and in tandem stance than the latter. The narrower the movement range of the upper limb joints was, the more the elderly preferred upper garments with full front opening to those with half or no opening. The more inflexible the upper limbs and waist and the more unbalanced the body was, the more likely the elderly put on pants while sitting on the floor. The time taken to button up the shirt and to put on and take off pants showed a positive correlation with the overhead reach, the behind back stretch, the back scratch and the standing trunk flexion, whereas the former showed a negative correlation with the one leg stand and the tandem stance.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.7-12
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• 2011

Purpose: The cane is one of the most popular assistive devices for stroke patients. Clinical complaints of sensorimotor functions on the ipsilateral upper limb were appealed in stroke patients who had used a cane for a long period. Therefore, we investigated whether cane usage for a long-term period affected sensoriomotor dysfunctions on the non-affected upper limb, in terms of pain presence, shoulder joint sense, a nine-hole pegboard test, and a tracking task. Methods: We recruited 12 stroke patients, who were divided into the cane-using (CU) group or the non-cane using (NCU) group, according to cane usage experience. We evaluated joint position sense for the integrity of proprioceptive reposition sense in the shoulder joint, used a nine-hole pegboard test for upper limb dexterity evaluation, and a tracking task for visuomotor coordination. Results: Four patients in the CU group had complained of shoulder pain none did in the NCU group. In addition, the CU group showed more reposition errors on the shoulder joint than the NCU group did. In addition, the CU group had more difficulty in proprioceptive sense perception and in performance of the nine-hole pegboard teat and tracking task, compared with the NCU group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that cane usage for a long period in stroke patients could give rise to trigger joint pain and decrease proprioceptive sense. In addition, complex motor performance in the ipsilateral upper limb could deteriorate. In stroke patients who had used acane for long period, careful observation and proper intervention will be necessary.