• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.72-89
• /
• 2004

The purposes of this study were to test the effect of balance training and environmental enrichment on motor performance after traumatic cerebellar injury in the rat. Traumatic cerebellar injury was induced by weight drop model and after operation they were housed in individual standard cages for 24 hours. Twenty two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. The control group was housed in standard cage for 7 days. The experimental group I was housed in standard cage after balance training for 7 days. The experimental group II was housed in environmental enrichment cage after balance training for 7 days. Vestibular drop test and tilting plane test was examined at preoperation, on 1st day after operation and 7th day after operation to the rats. The results of this experiment were as follows: 1. In motor behavioral test, at preoperation and on 1 day after operation, the outcomes were not different among the groups. But on 7th day after operation, the outcomes of group I were better than that in control group, and group II were better than group I. These results suggest that behavioral motor outcome by simultaneously application of balance training and environmental enrichment in traumatic cerebellar injured rats were more improve than that by just balance training.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.590-600
• /
• 2007

We performed experimental studies on the muscle activities in the lower limbs for the different movement patterns on an unstable platform. A training system for postural control using an unstable platform that we previously developed was applied for the experiments. This unstable platform provides 360 degrees of movement allowing for training of posture in various directions and provides simultaneous excitations to visual sensory, somatic sensation and vestibular organs. Compare with the stable platform, keeping body balance on the unstable platform requests more effective sensation from vision, vestibular sense and somatic sense. Especially, the somatosensory inputs from the muscle proprioceptors and muscle force are crucial. To study the muscle activities for the different movement patterns and find the best training method for improving the ability of postural control through training and improving the lower extremity muscular strength, fifteen young healthy participants went through trainings and experiments. The participants were instructed to move the center of pressure following the appointed movement pattern while standing on the unstable platform. The electromyographies of the muscles in the lower limbs were recorded and analyzed in the time and the frequency domain. Our experimental results showed the significant differences in muscle activities for the different movement patterns. Especially, the spectral energy of electromyography signals in muscle for the movement pattern in anterior-posterior direction was significantly higher than those occurred in the other patterns. The muscles in the lower leg, especially tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius were more activated compared to the others for controlling the balance of body on the unstable platform. The experimental results suggest that, through the choice of different movement pattern, the training for lower extremity strength could be performed on specific muscles in different intensity. And, the ability of postural control could be improved by the training for lower extremity strength.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.57-66
• /
• 2005

In this paper, a new rehabilitation training system was developed to improve equilibrium sense by combining virtual reality technology with a fixed exercise bicycle. The subjects consisted of two groups. A group of young people, was compared against a group of elderly. We measured three different running modes of virtual bicycle system with two successive sets. The parameters measured were running time, velocity, the weight movement, the degree of the deviation from the road, and the variables about the center of pressure. The repeated training, our results showed that the running capability of the elderly improve compared. In addition, it was found out that the ability of postural control and the equilibrium sense was improved with the presentation of the visual feedback information of the distribution of weight. From the results of this experiment, we showed that our newly developed system might be useful in the diagnosis of equilibrium sense or in the improvement of the sense of sight and, somatic, and vestibular sense of the elderly in the field of rehabilitation training.

• 재활복지
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.225-256
• /
• 2010

This study aims to provide the basic data of the rehabilitation program for the schoolchild with intellectual disability by designing new framework of the features of postural control for the schoolchild with intellectual disability. For this, the study investigated what sensations the schoolchild are using to maintain posture by selectively or synthetically applying vision, vestibular sensation and somato-sensation, and how the coordinative sensory system of the schoolchild is responding to any sway referenced sensory stimulus. The study intended to prove the limitation of motor system in estimating the postural stability by providing the cognitive motor task, and provided the features of postural control of the schoolchild with intellectual disability by measuring the onset times and orders of muscle contraction of neuron-muscle when there is a postural control taking place due to the exterior disturbance. Furthermore, by comparatively analyzing the difference between the normal schoolchild and the intellectually disabled schoolchild, this study provided an optimal direction for treatment planning when the rehabilitation program is applied in the postural control ability training program for the schoolchild with intellectual disability. Taking gender and age into consideration, 52 schoolchild including 26 normal schoolchild and 26 intellectually disabled schoolchild were selected. To measure the features of postural control, CTSIB test, and postural control strategy test were conducted. The result of experiment is as followed. First, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed different feature in using sensory system to control posture. The normal schoolchild tended to depend on somato-sensory or vision, and showed a stable postural control toward a sway referenced stimulus on somato-sensory system. The schoolchild with intellectual disability tended to use somato-sensory or vision, and showed a very instable postural control toward a sway referenced vision or a sway referenced stimulus on somato-sensory system. In sensory analysis, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed lower level of proficiency in somato-sensation percentile, vision percentile and vestibular sensation percentile compare to the normal schoolchild. Second, as for the onset times and orders of muscle contraction for strategies of postural control when there is an exterior physical stimulus, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed a relatively delayed onset time of muscle control, and it was specially greater when the perturbation is from backward. As for the onset orders of muscle contraction, it started from muscles near coax then moved to the muscles near ankle joint, and the numbers and kinds of muscles involved were greater than the normal schoolchild. The normal schoolchild showed a fast muscle contracting reaction from every direction after the perturbation stimulus, and the contraction started from the muscles near the ankle joint and expanded to the muscles near coax. From the results of the experiments, the special feature of the postural control of the schoolchild with intellectual disability is that they have a higher dependence on vision in sensory system, and there was no appropriate integration of swayed sensation observed in upper level of central nerve system. In the motor system, the onset time of muscle contraction for postural control was delayed, and it proceeded in reversed order of the normal schoolchild. Therefore, when use the clinical physical therapy to improve the postural control ability, various sensations should be provided and should train the schoolchild to efficiently use the provided sensations and use the sensory experience recorded in upper level of central nerve system to improve postural control ability. At the same time, a treatment program that can improve the processing ability of central nerve system through meaningful activities with organizing and planning adapting reaction should be provided. Also, a proprioceptive motor control training program that can induce faster muscle contraction reaction and more efficient onset orders from muscularskeletal system is need to be provided as well.