• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.130-135
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impairments of body structures, activity limitation, and participation restriction. In addition, we wanted to provide basic data on correlation between impairments of body structures, activity, and participation in Disabled Persons Living at Home. Methods: After selection of 128 people with physical disabilities more than the third level and brain damage disabilities living at home, we conducted testing for impairments of body structures, activity, and participation, according to the ICF checklist. Results: Impairments of body structures was highest in the upper and lower extremity. 2) Mobility, domestic life, and self care were more limited. 3) Also, the structure related to movement showed correlation with mobility, domestic life, and self care. Conclusion: We observed differences in participation and activities of persons with disabilities Living at Home depending on the impairments of body structures. After thorough review of the status of Disabled Persons Living at Home, we decided to appropriate support and social services.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.125-135
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• 2002

In most of the medical literature that discusses the common problem of movement in patients with cerebral lesions. This critical problem is ascribed to a mechanism involving uninhibited neural activity. The goals of neurological physical therapy are focus on reduce of muscle hypertonicity, facilitates muscle activities, and improve of performance in living environment. A variety of studies suggest that spasticity is a distinct problem and separate from the muscle weakness. It has become increasingly recognized that the major functional deficits following brain damage are largely due to negative features such as muscle weakness and loss of performance rather than spasticity. Adequate recruitment of prime mover, not release was able to carry out the movement tasks well. The strengthening exercise of spastic limbs on changes in muscle properties and performance skill, the repeated motor practice has been identified as crucial for motor recovery. This article support the concept that strengthening is an appropriate intervention to improve the quality of physical function in patients with central nervous system lesions. Further studies and therapeutic approaches should be efforts at improving motor neuron recruitment in agonist rather than reducing activity in antagonists while retraining muscle strengthening.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of muscle fatigue on proprioception in the type of taekwondo training, causing injury to taekwondo athletes. METHODS: The subjects were divided into Taekwondo Kyorugi athletes (n = 14) and Taekwondo Poomsae athletes (n = 14). After inducing muscle fatigue to the subjects, the joint position sense (JPS) and the force reproduction sense (FRS) were measured before and immediately after the induction of muscle fatigue. RESULTS: Studies have shown no significant impact on the JPS and FRS caused by muscle fatigue induced by Poomsae and Kyorugi (p > .05). The JPS, however, showed a significant difference before and after Kyorugi (p < .05). The FRS showed significant differences before and after Poomsae (p < .05). Through this study, the injuries to taekwondo athletes appear to be influenced by the joint position and force reproduction. Moreover, the injury appears to affect the joint position sense in Kyorugi athletes and the force reproduction sense in Poomsae athletes. CONCLUSION: The results will contribute to injury prevention and athlete protection. In addition, the information can be used as basic data for the development of sports injuries prevention and rehabilitation programs for Taekwondo athletes. Research is needed on the customized management of sports methods and self-care to prevent sports damage, considering the athletic characteristics of the taekwondo athletes in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.421-428
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• 2005

The tenn 'Brain plasticity' has been identified that our central nervous system is continuously being adapted and modulated according to environmental needs and demands, and has been used to encompass the multifarious mechanisms related to learning, development, and recovery from damage to the nervous system. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate cortical reorganization in a 26-year-old right-handed hemiparetic patient with traumatic primary motor cortex (M1) injury, using functional MRI (fMRI). The unaffected (left) primary sensori-motor cortex centered on the precentral knob was activated during unaffected (right) hand movements. However, the medial area of the injured M1 was activated during affected (left) hand movements. It seems that the motor function of the affected hand in this patient was reorganized into the medial area of the injured precentral knob. These investigations provide a great useful information and clinical evidences with the specialized clinician in stroke physical therapy about patient's prognosis and therapeutic guidelines.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.41-49
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• 2009

This study was designed to investigate the effects of treadmill exercise of low-intensity and moderate- intensity on the functional recovery and histological change in spinal cord injury (SCI) rats. SCI was induced by the spinal cord impactor dropped after laminectomy. Experimental groups were divided into the Group I (normal control), Group II (non-treatment after SCI induction), Group III (low-intensity treadmill exercise after SCI induction), Group IV (moderate-intensity treadmill exercise after SCI induction). After operation, rats were tested at modified Tarlov scale at 2 days with divided into 4 groups, and motor behavior test (BBB locomotor rating scale, Grid walk test) was examined at 3, 7, 14, and 21 days. For the observation of damage change and size of the organized surface in spinal cord, histopathological studies were performed at 21 days by H & E, and BDNF(brain-derived neutrophic factor) & Trk-b immunohistochemistry studies were performed at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 days. According to the results, treadmill exercise can play a role in facilitating recovery of locomotion following spinal cord injury. Specially, moderate-intensity treadmill exercise after SCI induction was most improvement in functional recovery and histological change.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1413-1419
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hemispheric damage in body composition of male adults with stroke experiences. The Fourth and Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) with body composition results obtained from the DXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) assessments were used for this study. Survey data of 18 post-stroke men and 28 healthy controls were obtained. Both the lean and fat masses of the upper and lower limbs were utilized to compare for the compositions between the limbs in post-stroke subjects. In addition, the effect of exercise habit was also observed for the influence of physical activity in body composition. Mixed results in left and right limb compositions were shown between the groups. When the subjects were further divided based on walking days per week, sedentary (walk ${\leq}2d/wk$) post-stroke group showed significantly greater fat mass and less lean mass than the physically active people (walk ${\geq}3d/wk$). In comparison to the healthy sedentary and physically active controls, two post-stroke groups showed greater variations. The results indicate that physical activity maintains or improve the quality of both the upper and lower limb composition in patients with post-stroke men.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.212-215
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined whether there is a difference in motor learning through short-term repetitive movement practice in stroke survivors with a unilateral brain injury compared to normal elderly participants. Methods: Twenty-six subjects who were divided into a stroke group (n=13) or sex-aged matched normal elder group (n=13) participated in this study. To evaluate the effects of motor learning, the participants conducted a tracking task for visuomotor coordination. The accuracy index was calculated for each trial. Both groups received repetitive tracking task training of metacarpophalangeal joint for 50 trials. The stroke group performed a tracking task in the upper extremity insi-lesional to the damaged hemisphere, and the normal elder group performed the upper extremity matched for the same side. Results: Two-way repetitive ANOVA revealed a significant difference in the interactions ($time{\times}group$) and time effects. These results indicated that the motor skill improved in both the stroke and normal elder group with a tracking task. On the other hand, the stroke group showed lesser motor learning skill than the normal elder group, in comparison with the amount of motor learning improvement. Conclusion: These results provide novel evidence that stroke survivors with unilateral brain damage might have difficulty in performing ipsilateral movement as well as in motor learning with the ipsilateral upper limb, compared to normal elderly participants.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.161-168
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• 2019

Most athletes with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures undergo a surgical ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and rehabilitation. On the other hand, controversy still exists because neither a reconstruction nor rehabilitation have been proven to be superior in the management of ACL injury. This study reviewed the success rates of interventions to provide recommendations for the optimal management after an ACL injury. One of the most important considerations after an ACL injury is the timing and type of intervention. At the early stages, which involve the loss of volume and strength of quadriceps femoral muscle, weight bearing (closed kinetic chain) exercises with pain management followed by high velocity resistance exercises in an open kinetic chain environment are recommended to improve the quadriceps function. After that, it is important to apply intensive isokinetic exercise with a lower extension rate. In this case, it is important to apply overload to the muscles and to simultaneously lead the co-contraction of the hamstrings. Standards are essential because the timing and type of interventions are crucial to prevent re-injury and complications, such as osteoarthritis, as well as to confirm the successful outcome of the treatment. Different interventions recommended for ACL damage have yet to reach consensus. Further studies will be needed to observe the effects of the intervention through multidisciplinary approaches.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2019

Purpose: In chronic stroke patients, muscle tone and stiffness increase due to ankle spasticity. Electrotherapy may control the spasticity of patients with central nerve system damage via neurophysiological mechanisms. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the immediate effects of interferential current therapy on gastrocnemius (GCM) muscle. Methods: This study was a one-group pretest-posttest design and 20 stroke patients participated. The experimental group underwent interferential current therapy for GCM for 30 minutes. Muscle tone (MT) and stiffness were assessed using MYOTONE(R) PRO. After 30 minutes of interferential current therapy, MT and stiffness of the affected side and unaffected side by GCM were measured. Results: After interferential current therapy, the medial GCM MT (Hz) was significantly reduced in stroke patients. There was a significant difference in MT between affected GCM muscles and unaffected side medial GCM muscles before intervention, but there was no significant difference after interferential current therapy. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that interferential current therapy had a positive effect, producing an immediate decrease in the medial GCM muscles tone of stroke patients. However, this study employed a one-group pretest-posttest design. Future studies will show differences in muscle tone compared to a control group or other electrical stimulation treatments.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.98-103
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• 2022

Purpose: New therapeutic approaches have emerged to improve gait ability in patients with brain damage, such as action observation learning (AOT), auditory cueing, motor imagery etc. We attempted to investigate the effects of AOT with auditory cueing (AOTAC) on gait function in patients with stroke. Methods: The eighteen stroke patients with a unilateral hemiparesis were randomly divided into three groups; the AOTAC, AOT, and control groups. The AOTAC group (n=8) received training via observing a video that showed normal gait with sound of footsteps as an auditory cue; the AOT group (n=6) receive action observation without auditory stimulation; the control group (n=5) observed the landscape video image. Intervention time of three groups was 30 minutes per day, five times a week, for four weeks. Gait parameters, such as cadence, velocity, stride length, stance phase, and swing phase were collected in all patients before and after each training session. Results: Significant differences were observed among the three groups with respect to the parameters, such as cadence, velocity, stride length, and stance/swing phase. Post-hoc analysis indicated that the AOTAC group had a greater significant change in all of parameters, compared with the AOT and control groups. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that AOTAC may be an effective therapeutic approach to improve gait symmetry and function in patients with stroke. We believe that this effect is attributable to the change of cortical excitability on motor related to cortical areas.