• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.133-139
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• 2016

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of balance training on a three-dimensional balance trainer that provides the up-and-down vertical movement of the knee joint and left-and-right horizontal movement, along with visual feedback on the functional ability of children with spastic cerebral palsy (CPs). METHODS: 8 CPs participated in this study. The experiment was implemented for 40 minutes, three times a week for a total of six weeks. The subjects received general physiotherapy for 15 minutes in each session focused on balance and walking, as based on the neuro-developmental treatment theory. Balance training was performed for 20 minutes on a three-dimensional balance trainer where knee joint movement providing visual feedback is applied. The evaluations were conducted before and after the test, and posture sway was measured using 10 Meter Walking Test (10MWT), Timed Up & Go Test (TUG), and the Good Balance System to evaluate the functional ability and balance of the subjects RESULTS: 10MWT was not statistically significant (p>.05). On the contrary, TUG and postural sway indicate static balance showed a statistically significant decrease (p<.05). In a static balance test using the Good Balance System, the average moving speed statistically significantly decreased in the AP and ML directions (p<.05), and the mean velocity moment also significantly decreased (p<.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that balance training using the three-dimensional balance trainer, with the features of visual feedback and up-and-down knee joint movement effects on increasing dynamic and static balance.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.227-235
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of passive-acute temperature therapy of the femoral muscle and dynamic warm-up on the countermovement jump performance. Method: Twenty male track and field athletes from national team underwent three treatments applied on the femoral muscles; cold temperature treatment, thermal treatment and dynamic warm-up. The variables extracted at 2 time points (pre-measurement and post measurement) were the temperature of the left and right femoral muscle, displacement & velocity of centre of mass, peak power out, range of motion and moment & power of the knee joint. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in the temperature of the femoral muscle according to measurement time which was high in the order of thermal treatment, dynamic treatment and cold treatment. The jump height was the highest in the dynamic warm-up with no statistically significant difference for the range of motion of the knee joint. The peak power out at dynamic warm-up and the power of the knee joint were statistically significant according to the treatment and measurement time. Conclusion: Local cold and thermal treatment of femoral muscles at ambient temperature did not improve jump performance, while dynamic warm-up was considered to be effective for maintaining the performance of the activities that require strong muscular power.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.161-169
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate kinetic variables of the lower extremity during walking on three different stair widths in healthy adults. Ten healthy college-aged adults($23.5{\pm}3.5$) recruited for this study. Each stairs with the same height and length(l8cm and 90cm) under the Korean Constructional Law but three different widths(26cm, 31cm and 36cm) were conducted for this study. One force plate(9286AA, Kistler Co.) was put on third stairs. One-way ANOVA was performed to find the stair width effects during stair walking and the following findings ware obtained. There was significantly decreased in ankle resultant joint moment at Pull-Up phase(p<.05) and, significantly increased in knee extension moment during mid-stance phase as stair width increase(p<.05), but there was no significance in ankle resultant joint moment was found at Forward Continuance Phase in Ascending Stair Walking and There was significantly increased in ankle resultant joint moment as stair width increase during mid-stance phase(p<.05) and no significance in knee and hip resultant moments among the stair width in descending stair walking.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.209-218
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a practical and simple method for the identification of the joint mechanical properties and to apply it to human knee joints. The passive moment at a joint was modeled by three mechanical parts, that is, a gravity term, a linear damper term and a nonlinear spring term. Passive pendulum tests were performed in 5 fat and 5 thin men. The data of pendulum test were used to identify the mechanical properties of joints through sequential quadratic programming (SQP) with random initial values. The identification was successful where the normalized root-mean-squared (RMS) errors between the simulated and experimental joint angle trajectories were less than 10％. The parameter values of mechanical properties obtained in this study agreed with literature. The inertia, gravity and the damping constant were greater at fat men, which indicates more resistance to body movement and more energy consumption fer fat men. The suggested method is noninvasive and requires simple setup and short measurement time. It is expected to be useful in the evaluation of joint pathologies.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.39-52
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• 2016

Objective: This paper investigates gait changes according to different heel heights and speeds, and the interaction between the effects of the heel height and the speed during walking on stride parameters and joint angles. Furthermore, the relationship among heel height, speed and gait variables is investigated using linear regression. Background: Gait changes by heel height or speed have been studied respectively, but has not been reported whether there is an interaction effect between heel height and speed. It would be necessary to understand how gait changes when a person wears heels in different heights at various speeds, for example, high-heeled walking at fast speed, since it may cause unusual gait patterns and musculoskeletal disorders. Method: Ten females were asked to walk at five fixed cadences (94, 106, 118, 130 and 142 steps/min.) wearing three shoes with different heel heights (1, 5.4 and 9.8cm). Nineteen gait variables were analyzed for stride parameters and joint angles using two-way repeated measure analysis of variance and regression analysis. Results: Both heel height and speed affect movement of ankle, knee, spine and elbow joint, as well as stride length and Double/Single support time ratio. However, there is no significant interaction effect between heel height and speed. The regression result shows linear relationships of gait variables with heel height and speed. Conclusion: Heel height and speed independently affect stride parameters and joint angles without a significant interaction, so the gait variables are linearly amplified or diminished by the two factors. Application: Walking in high heels at fast speed should be careful for musculoskeletal disorders, since the amplified movement of knee and spine joint can lead to increased moment. Also, the result might give insight for animators or engineers to generate walking motion with high heels at various speeds.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical properties of shock absorption strategy and postural stability during the drop landing for each types. Methods : The motions were captured with Vicon Motion Capture System, with the fourteen infra-red cameras (100Hz) and synchronized with GRF(ground reaction force) data(1000Hz). Ten male soccer players performed a drop landing with single-leg and bi-legs on the 30cm height box. Dependent variables were the CoM trajectory and the Joint Moment. Statistical computations were performed using the paired t-test and ANOVA with Turkey HSD as post-hoc. Results : The dominant leg was confirmed to show a significant difference between the left leg and right leg as the inverted pendulum model during Drop Landing(Phase 1 & Phase 2). One-leg drop landing type had the higher CoM displacement, the peak of joint moment with the shock absorption than Bi-leg landing type. As a lower extremity joint kinetics analysis, the knee joint showed a function of shock absorption in the anterior-posterior, and the hip joint showed a function of the stability and shock absorption in the medial-lateral directions. Conclusion : These findings indicate that the instant equilibrium of posture balance(phase 1) was assessed by the passive phase as Class 1 leverage on the effect of the stability of shock absorption(phase 2) assessed by the active phase on the effect of Class 2 leverage. Application : This study shows that the cause of musculo-skeletal injuries estimated to be focused on the passive phase of landing and this findings could help the prevention of lower damage from loads involving landing related to the game of sports.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.257-263
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of genu valgum on the body mass index, movement of lower limb joints, and ground reaction force. Methods : Gait patterns of 30 college students with genu valgum were analyzed and the static Q angle of the femur was measured for selecting genu valgum of the subjects. To analyze the kinetic changes during walking, the six-camera Vicon MX motion analysis system was used. The subjects were asked to walk 12 meters using the more comfortable walking method for walking. After they walked 12 meters more than 10 times, their most natural walking patterns were chosen three times and analyzed. Results : As a result of measuring a relationship between genu valgum and Q-angle, as the Q-angle increases, it showed a genu valgum also increased. Body Mass Index showed a significant difference between the groups was higher in the genu valgum group.(p<.001). The analysis result showed that genu valgum had a significant effect on the internal rotation moment in the hip joint(p<.05). Also, genu valgum had a significant effect on the internal rotation moment of the knee joint(p<.05). The comparative analysis of the Medial-Lateral ground reaction force in the genu valgum group showed a tendency to increase the medial ground reaction force(p<.05). The vertical ground reaction forces of the middle of the stance phase(Fz0) showed a significant increase in genu valgum group(p<.05), in particular the results showed a decrease in the early stance phase(p<.001). Conclusion : In conclusion, the change in body mass is considered to be made by proactive regular exercise for improvement of the genu valgum. In addition, the prevention of the deformation caused by secondary of the genu valgum in this study may be used as an indicator of the position alignment rehabilitation for structural and functional improvements. Applying a therapeutic exercise program for the next lap will require changes in posture alignment.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.205-215
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to investigate alterations of pregnant gait by means of 3 different treads of stairs. 9 subjects(body masses; $59.41{\pm}7.49$, $64.03{\pm}6.65$, $67.26{\pm}7.58$, heights; $160.50{\pm}6.35$ ages; $31.22{\pm}2.99$; parity; $1.67{\pm}0.71$) participated in three experiments that were divided by physiological symptoms(the early(0-15 weeks), middle(16-27 weeks) and last(18-39 weeks), and walked at self-selected pace on 4 staircases 3 trials. As extending the pregnancy period, cadence was shorter but cycle time was longer more and more and the difference of maximum and minmum moments between right and left knee joint moment was smaller. With the treads of stair decent lengthening, speed and stride lengths were increased. As extending the treads of stair decent, joint moments of both feet were particular traits, hip joint was asymmetric but joint moments of knee and ankle were symmetric. These findings may account for relation between the treads of stair and moments and suggest that women may adapt their gait to maximize stability and to control gait motion for themselves in pregnant women.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.53-67
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• 2004

This simulation study investigated the characteristics of normal gait, $30^{\circ}$ crouch gait, $30^{\circ}$ crouch/equinus gait, $45^{\circ}$ crouch gait, $45^{\circ}$ crouch/equinus gait. The knee flexion angles were restricted using a specially designed orthosis. This study was carried out in a motion analysis laboratory of the National Rehabilitation Center. Fifteen healthy male subjects were recruited for the study. The purposes of this study were (1) to compare spatiotemporal parameters, kinematics, and kinetic variables in the sagittal plane among the different gait, (2) to investigate the secondary compensatory strategy, and (3) to suggest biomechanical physical therapy treatment methods. The pattern and magnitude observed in each condition were similar to those of normal gait, except the peak knee extension moment of the unrestricted ankle motion-crouch gait. However, the speed of the $45^{\circ}$ crouch gait was half that of a normal gait. The ankle joint moment in the crouch/equinus gait showed the double-bump pattern commonly observed in children with spastic cerebral palsy, and there was no significant difference in gait speed as compared with normal gait. The peak ankle plantar-flexor moment and ankle power generated during the terminal stance in the crouch/equinus conditions were reduced as compared with normal and $45^{\circ}$ crouch gaits (p<.05). The crouch/equinus gait at the ankle joint was an effective compensatory mechanism. Since ankle plantarflexion contracture can be exacerbated secondary to the ankle compensatory strategy in the crouch/equinus gait, it is necessary to increase the range of ankle dorsiflexion and the strength of plantarflexion simultaneously to decrease the abnormal biomechanical advantages of the ankle joint.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.315-324
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• 2012

The purpose of current study was to investigate the effects of the heights on the lower extremities, torso and neck segments for energy dissipation during single-leg drop landing from different heights. Twenty eight young healthy male subjects(age: $23.21{\pm}1.66yr$, height: $176.03{\pm}4.22cm$, weight: $68.93{\pm}5.36kg$) were participated in this study. The subjects performed the single-leg drop landing from the various height(30, 45 & 60 cm). Force plates and motion-capture system were used to capture ground reaction force and kinematics data, respectively. The results were as follows. First, the ROM at the ankle, knee, hip and trunk was increased with the increased heights but the ROM at the neck was increased in the 60cm. Second, the angular velocity, moment and eccentric work at the ankle, knee, hip, trunk, and neck was increased with the increased heights. Third, the contribution to total work at the knee joint was not significantly different, while the ankle joint rate was decreased and hip and neck rate was increased in the 60cm, and trunk rate was increased with the increased heights. Lastly, the increase in landing height was able to augment the level of energy dissipation not only at the lower extremities but also at the trunk and neck. The findings showed that drop landing affect trunk and neck with lower extremity joints. Therefore, we need to consider that trunk and neck strengthening including stability should be added to reduce sports injury during prevention training.