Earticle

This study aimed to identify the effect of a sit-to-standing exercise using mirror on the strength of lower extremity, balance and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with stroke. fourteen subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects of experimental group underwent the sit-to-standing exercise using mirror for averaging 30 minutes daily for 4 weeks (total of 20 sessions). The subjects of control group underwent the common rehabilitation exercise for averaging 30 minutes daily for 4 weeks (totla 20 sessions). Assessment tools were made with stregnth of lower extremity, Berg balance scale (BBS) and modified Barthel index (MBI) before and after the 4-week training period. Strength of lower extremtiy and BBS showed significant improvement after sit-to-standing exercise using mirror than control group (p<.05). This study demonstrates that a sit-to-standing exercise using mirror may be favorable for enhancing strength of lower extremity, balance and ADL of patients with stroke. This study provides valuable information for future studies in this field. Further studies with wider range of subjects and longer experiment span are required to strengthen the results of this study.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the dual task training on cognitive function and performance in dementia. This study used a single-subject multiple baseline design. Three patients with dementia participated in this study. Measurement sessions of subject 1, 2, and 3 were 4 times, 7 times, and 9 times in the baseline phase, and 15 times, 12 times, and 10 times in the intervention phase, respectively. Outcome measures included mini-mental state examination (MMSE), grip strength, 10-m walk test (10MWT), timed up and go test (TUG), 6-min walk test (6MWT), Berg balance scale (BBS), and modified Barthel index (MBI). For all subjects, cognitive function, grip strength, balance and walking functions, and activities of daily living was remarkably increased after the intervention. This results support that the dual-task training may be helpful to improve cognitive function and physical performance for patients with dementia. Further studies need to warrant our findings.

Although there is much research on the action observation training (AOT) to facilitate the learning process of motor skills, research efforts have commonly focused on the improvement of an upper limb’s function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the AOT regarding the motor function of lower limbs, identifying muscle activity and performance level during vertical jumping activity. Forty young females volunteered to participate in this study. They were randomly assigned to two groups: the experimental group (EG) performed the AOT and the control group observed landscape pictures. Subjects of the EG were asked to observe video clips containing the vertical jumps, while subjects of the CG just watched video clips showing natural scenery. It took five minutes to observe each of the two video showings. Outcome measures included maximum jump height, and activities of lower limb muscles (rectus femoris, medial and lateral gastrocnemius, and gluteus maximus) while jumping. Measurements were performed before and after the intervention. The EG showed a significant increase of jump height from 20.77±4.1 cm to 23.1±4.02 cm. While jumping, the muscle activities of rectus femoris and gluteus maximus significantly increased in the EG (RF: 0.866±0.066 %MVIC [maximal voluntary isometric contraction] to 0.919±0.056 %MVIC, GM: 0.842±0.07 %MVIC to 0.904±0.048 %MVIC). These findings suggest that the AOT increases motor performance and muscle activities of lower limbs. Further studies are needed to warrant our findings.

Muscle fatigue and dual-task walking were associated with risk of falls in young adults. The objectives of this study was to examine the effects of muscle fatigue on gait parameters under single and dual-task walking conditions in young adults and to determine the impact of dual-task on walking. Forty young adults participated in this study and they were randomly divided into 20 dual-task walking group and 20 single-task walking group. Gait parameters and cognitive function were measured in the single- and dual-task walking conditions. Participants are performed the fatigue task in lower limbs. The changes between before and after fatigue task in each group were analyzed with paired t-test and the changes between single- and dual-task walking groups were analyzed by using independent t-test. After fatigue task, subjects of the single-task walking group showed significant decrease in all gait parameters (p<.05), except cadence and single limb support, whereas subjects of the dual-task walking group showed significant decrease in step length and double limb support (p<.05). Furthermore, change between before and after the task showed significant differences in stride length, step length, and double limb support between the groups (p<.05). The findings suggest that muscular fatigue deteriorated gait parameters under the single- and dual-task walking conditions. Further studies are needed.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of auditory feedback in virtual reality (VR) walking training on balance and gait functions in chronic stroke patients. Ten chronic stroke hemiplegic patients (age:625, height:167.5, weight:59.7). All subjects underwent three interventions in randomized order: (1) treadmill walking, (2) treadmill walking with virtual reality, (3) treadmill walking with virtual reality and auditory feedback. Outcome measures were he Berg balance scale (BBS), time up-and-go test (TUG), 10-m walk test (10MWT), gait velocity, and paretic side-to-nonparetic side ratio, and measurements were performed before and after the intervention. There was no significant difference in balance and gait (10MWT, TUG, BBS, walking speed, paretic/non-paretic symmetric walking ratio) among the interventions (p>.05). These findings suggest that virtual reality and auditory feedback may not be beneficial for balance and walking in clinical setting. It needs to perform further trials with more robust design.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the task-oriented sling exercise based on rhythm affects patients with chronic stroke. We used a study with a single-subject design (A-B-A'). Two patients with chronic stroke participated in this study. Stretching/strengthening and task-oriented function exercises based on music using the sling were performed one hours per day for 8 times during intervention phase(B). Outcome measure included grip strength, range of motion(ROM), modified bathel index(MBI), berg balance scale(BBS), 10meter walk test(10MWT) and 6minute walk test(6MWT). After the intervention, the strength of grip strength, ROM, activities of daily living, balance and walking function of all patients was remarkably increased after the training, and these gains were positively maintained at 2-weeks follow-up phase. This result have shown that the task-oriented sling exercise basced on music might improve muscle performance, activities of daily living and gait function for patients with chronic stroke.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of robot-assisted gait training using visual feedback on gait function in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Subjects were three female patients who are suffering from hemiparesis after stroke. Outcome measure was a dynamic gait index (DGI) before and after the intervention. The robot-assisted walking training was conducted by three subjects before the intervention, and the robot-assisted walking training was conducted four times daily per week. Our finding showed that the DGI was improved after the intervention in comparison with that assessed before the intervention. Robot-assisted gait training using visual feedback was clinically beneficial to facilitate the recovery of gait function in chronic stroke patients. In this study, it is necessary to improve the gait function after intervention.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the individualized exercise program on the body composition, balance, and cognitive function of the elderly. Twenty-one elderly subjects who were participated. Body composition, balance ability, and cognitive function evaluation was performed for establishing baseline. Under the supervision of exercise expert, 20 students in physical therapy departments prescribed each individualized home exercise program (consisted of three parts: warm-up exercise, main exercise, and cool-down exercise) to the subject as their physical fitness level, health status, and cognitive function. Therefore, there were differences in perceived exercise time, intensity, and number of sets were determined by volunteer students. The prescribed home exercise program to each subjects was instructed to be performed 2 to 3 times a week depending on the patient's condition. After 5 weeks, post-test was performed. Paired-t test was used to compare the differences in significance level of p<.05. In our results, onlybody fat showed statistically significant difference between the average values of body composition values before and after exercise. And there was no significant difference in BBS and MMSE-K (p>.05). Consequently, 5-week individualized home exercise can lead to changes in the body composition of the elderly. However, the 5 week of individualized home exercise was not enough to improve balance and cognitive function. Therefore, instructor should consider applying the exercise inlonger period.