• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.124-127
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• 2015

Purpose: The emphasis on gait rehabilitation after stroke depends on training support through the lower limbs, balance of body mass over the changing base of support. However, muscle weakness, lack of control of lower limb, and poor balance can interfere with training after stroke. For this case study report, a wearable robot orthosis was applied to stroke patients in order to verify its actual applicability on balance and gait ability in the clinical field. Methods: Two stroke patients participated in the training using the wearable robot orthosis. Wearable robot orthosis provides patient-initiated active assistance contraction during training. Training includes weight shift training, standing up and sitting down, ground walking, and stair up and down Training was applied a total of 20 times, five times a week for 4 weeks, for 30 minutes a day. Gait ability was determined by Stance phase symmetry profile, Swing phase symmetry profile, and velocity using the GAITRite system. Balance ability was measured using the Biodex balance system. Results: Subjects 1, 2 showed improved gait and balance ability with mean individual improvement of 72.4% for velocity, 19.4% for stance phase symmetry profile, 9.6% for swing phase symmetry profile, and 13.6% for balance ability. Conclusion: Training utilizing a wearable robot orthosis can be useful for improvement of the gait and balance ability of stroke patients.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.187-193
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the effects of virtual reality combined with balance training on upper limb function, balance, and activities of daily living (ADL) in persons with acute stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Fourteen acute stroke survivors were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group (n=7) and the control group (n=7). Both groups performed the conventional rehabilitation therapy for 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week, for 4 weeks. Additionally, the experimental group conducted the virtual reality training for 30 minutes on an unstable surface during each session, whereas the control group performed balance training for 30 minutes on a stable surface. All measurements were performed before and one day after intervention. Upper limb function, balance, and ADL were assessed using the Manual Function Test (MFT), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), respectively. Results: Both groups showed significant improvements in MFT, BBS, K-MBI after intervention (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups with respect to MFT, BBS, and K-MBI after intervention. The experimental group showed a greater decrease in fall risk (BBS<45) after intervention than the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that virtual reality combined with balance training has a better effect on balance improvement than virtual reality training alone in persons with acute stroke.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.134-139
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• 2017

Objective: Dual-task interference is defined as decrements in performance observed when people attempt to perform two tasks concurrently, such as a verbal task and walking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of gait ability according to the dual task interference in chronic stroke survivors. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Ten chronic stroke survivors (9 male, 1 female; mean age, 55.30 years; mini mental state examination, 19.60; onset duration, 56.90 months) recruited from the local community participated in this study. Gait ability (velocity, paretic side step, and stride time and length) under the single- and dual-task conditions at a self-selected comfortable walking speed was measured using the motion analysis system. In the dual task conditions, subjects performed three types of cognitive tasks (controlled oral word association test, auditory clock test, and counting backwards) while walking on the track. Results: For velocity, step and stride length, there was a significant decrease in the dual-task walking condition compared to the single walking condition (p<0.05). In particular, higher reduction of walking ability was observed when applying the counting backward task. Conclusions: Our results revealed that the addition of cognitive tasks while walking may lead to decrements of gait ability in stroke survivors. In particular, the difficulty level was the highest for the calculating task. We believe that these results provide basic information for improvements in gait ability and may be useful in gait training to prevent falls after a stroke incident.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.27-34
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• 2022

In this study, we aimed to determine which medical conditions of the stroke patients admitted for rehabilitation more than four weeks after onset affect caregiver burden. Participants diagnosed with stroke and their respective primary caregivers were enrolled and assessed after an 8-week follow-up period. The areas of evaluation for stroke patients included neurologic state, cognition, performance in daily life movements, gait, and balance, and caregivers were evaluated in the area of burden. The evaluation was conducted at the start of the rehabilitation course and eight weeks later. Patient caregivers were found to be under mild to moderate burden while providing care throughout the hospitalization period. The patient's neurologic state and cognition were correlated with caregiver burden. In the all patient and the subacute stroke patient group, multiple regression analysis confirmed that the neurologic state and balance stability were factors that influenced caregiver burden. Hence, we suggest that improvement in the patient's balance stability be emphasized during the course of rehabilitation to mitigate caregiver burden.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.471-477
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• 2022

Objective: The greatest motor impairment after stroke is a decreased ability to walk. Most stroke patients achieve independent gait, but approximately 70% do not reach normal speed, making it difficult to reach a standard of daily living. Therefore, a wearable exoskeleton is recommended for optimal independent gait because different residual disorders hinder motor function after stroke. This review synthesized the effect on gait speed in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which gait training using a wearable exoskeleton was performed on post-stroke patients for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis of a randomized controlled trials Methods: RCTs using wearable exoskeletons in robotic rehabilitation of post-stroke patients were extracted from an international electronic database. For quality assessment and quantitative analysis, RevMan 5.4 was used. Quantitative analysis was calculated as the standardized mean difference (SMD) and presented as a random effect model. Results: Five studies involving 197 post-stroke patients were included in this review. As a result of the analysis using a random effect model, gait training using a wearable exoskeleton in post-stroke patients showed a significant improvement in gait speed compared to the non-wearing exoskeleton (SMD=1.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.52 to 1.78). Conclusions: This study concluded that a wearable exoskeleton was more effective than conventional gait training in improving the gait speed in post-stroke patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.101-109
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• 2020

PURPOSE: This study investigates the therapeutic effect of a prototype of a hand rehabilitation device based on magnetic forces. METHODS: Using an electromagnet and permanent magnets, we developed an end effector type device that induces various movements of the finger in accordance with the magnetic field direction. A total of 26 subacute stroke patients were enrolled and assigned to two groups in this randomized controlled trial. The intervention group received 30 minutes hand rehabilitation therapy per day for 4 weeks, using the device developed by us. Conventional physical therapies were conducted equally twice a day, 30 minutes per session, during the same period in both groups. RESULTS: After 4 weeks, rate of the Wolf Motor Function Test as a primary outcome measure showed significant improvement in the intervention group as compared to control group(p = .036). Scores of the Manual Function Test and Fugl-Meyer Assessment of upper limb were also significantly increased in the intervention group as compared to control group(p = .038 and p = .042, respectively). Moreover, the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index tended to improve after subjecting to physical therapy in both groups. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the novel hand rehabilitation device developed using a magnetic force, improves the hand motor functions and activities of daily life in subacute stroke patients.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2012

Objective: Falls are defined as contact of the body with the floor after losing balance during activities of daily living. Falls commonly occur among the elderly, and stroke patients in particular are at a high risk of falling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of temporal and spatial gait parameters and gait symmetry according to experience falls in post-stroke patients. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifty three patients with stroke were recruited on a voluntary basis from the rehabilitation unit, who currently undergoing physical therapy. All participants were asked to answer questions regarding the frequency of falls in the past 1 year. Fifty-three patients with stroke were allocated 2 groups according to experienced falls: stroke with falls (n=26) during past 1 year and stroke without falls (n=27). The spatial and temporal gait parameters and gait symmetry ratio were measured using GAITRite system. Results: The spatial gait parameters and the temporal gait parameters were significantly different between the stroke with falls group and the stroke without falls group (p<0.05). Furthermore, step length was the only significantly different among symmetry ratio (p<0.05). Conclusions: Experience of falls can lead to impairment of gait ability in stroke patients. This result is expected to be used as a basic data for rehabilitation program development to prevent a fall of post-stroke patients.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.105-123
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• 2020

Objectives This study was conducted to verify the effectiveness of east-west integrative rehabilitation therapy on activity of daily living and cognitive functional recovery in stroke patients by comparing with integrative rehabilitation therapy group and conventional rehabilitation therapy group in a single institution. Methods The medical records of 106 stroke patients hospitalized in Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Dongguk University Bundang Oriental Hospital from January 1, 2017 to February 28, 2019 were reviewed. After screening and dividing it into conventional rehabilitation (CR) group and integrative rehabilitation (IR) group, Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), functional independence measure (FIM), clinical dementia rating-sum of boxes (CDR-SB) were statistically analyzed. Results IR group showed significant improvement in K-MBI, FIM, and CDR-SB after treatment (p<0.001) and there was a statistically significant difference in K-MBI and CDR-SB score changes than CR group (p<0.05). And chronic patient of IR group showed significant improvement in K-MBI, FIM, and CDR-SB after treatment (p<0.01) and there was a statistically significant difference in CDR-SB score changes than CR group (p<0.05). In particular, the earlier the treatment initiation time, the more the improvement in function and when the treatment started within 2 years from the onset and patients took acupuncture and pulsed electromagnetic therapy, all scales significantly improved (p<0.001). Conclusions IR showed more improvement on activities of daily life and cognitive functional recovery than CR in this study.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2024

Background: Promoting patients' safe return home at discharge and reducing length of stay in hospital is key for Restorative Rehabilitation Institution (RMI). Objects: This study was designed to identify the factors influencing the return to home and length of stay among various factors. Methods: A total of 120 stroke patients (76 males and 44 females) who were hospitalized in an adult inpatient unit of a RMI for more than 2 months were retrospectively analyzed for this study (multivariate logistic regression analyses, p < 0.001). As predictor variables for assessing the return to home and length of stay, demographic data (sex, age, duration between onset and admission, length of stay, caregiver after discharge, occupation after discharge, reason for discharge, and household type after discharge) were collected. Additionally, following measurements were selectively collected from patient's medical records: scores of Mini-Mental State Examination Korean version (K-MMSE), modified Barthel Index Korean version (K-MBI), Berg Balance Scale and Functional Ambulation Category were obtained at admission and discharge. Results: The K-MMSE at admission and K-MBI at discharge were found to be the predictors of return to home. Additionally, K-MBI at admission influenced the length of stay. Conclusion: This study suggests cognitive functioning at admission and the level of activities of daily living at discharge predicted the return to home and length of stay.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.20-31
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• 2021

This study aimed to pilot test a newly developed bilateral upper limb rehabilitation training program for improving the upper limb function of individuals with chronic stroke using a visual feedback method. The double-group pretest-posttest design pilot study included 10 individuals with chronic stroke (age >50 years). The intervention (four weekly meetings) consisted of five upper limb training protocols (wrist extension; forearm supination and pronation; elbow extension and shoulder flexion; weight-bearing shift; and shoulder, elbow, and wrist complex movements). Upper limb movement function recovery was assessed with the FuglMeyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity, the Wolf Motor Function Test, the Trunk Control Test, the modified Ashworth Scale, and the visual analog scale at baseline, immediately after, and four weeks after the intervention. The Fatigue Severity Scale was also employed. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity and Wolf Motor Function Test showed significant improvement in upper limb motor function. The Trunk Control Test results increased slightly, and the modified Ashworth Scale decreased slightly, without statistical significance. The visual analog scale scores showed a significant decrease and the Fatigue Severity Scale scores were moderate or low. The bilateral upper limb training program using the visual feedback method could result in slight upper limb function improvements in individuals with chronic stroke.