Effects of 4-week downhill treadmill walking on the vertebral angle and postural muscle activity in participants with thoracic kyphosis and forward head posture: A comparative longitudinal study.

Background: Maintaining correct posture and optimal spine function has become an important issue due to the increased use of computers and smartphones.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a 4-week downhill treadmill exercise (DTWE) program on participants with thoracic kyphosis and forward head posture (FHP).

Methods: Twenty-eight male participants were randomly assigned to the DTWE (n= 14) or standard treadmill walking exercise (STWE) (n= 14) group.

Respiratory Parameters as Predictors of Balance and Gait Ability in Patients with Stroke at Discharge.

Pulmonary complications are frequent in stroke, contributing to both mortality and morbidity rates. Respiratory parameters in such patients encompass both pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength. Identifying respiratory function variables that influence the balance and gait ability of patients with stroke is crucial for enhancing their recovery in these aspects.

Effectiveness of non-immersive virtual reality exercises for balance and gait improvement in older adults: A meta-analysis.

Background: Virtual reality (VR)-based physical exercise is an innovative and effective intervention strategy for healthcare in older adults.

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to clarify the effects of VR-based balance exercise programs on various balancing abilities of older adults. In addition, the effect size of each variable was computed by total exercise time, sensor type, avatar presence, and feedback type to determine influencing factors that lead to the success of VR-based rehabilitation programs.

Altered muscle recruitment patterns during isometric shoulder abduction in individuals with chronic upper trapezius pain: a cross sectional study.

Background: Upper trapezius (UT) pain with myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) can affect movement at the glenohumeral joint as well as at the scapulothoracic joint. The investigation of muscle recruitment patterns can discern motor control strategies. The purpose of this study was to compare shoulder muscle recruitment patterns and muscle activity according to various loads between individuals with and without chronic UT pain.

Effect of the manual stretching maneuver for hallux valgus.

Background: Hallux valgus (HV), which is one of the most common musculoskeletal abnormalities of the foot, is defined as the medial deviation of the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint and the lateral deviation of the great toe.

Objects: This study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of a manual stretching maneuver (MSM) in subjects with HV.

Methods: Twenty-five subjects with a total of 25 feet with mild HV participated in the study.

Immediate effect of insoles on balance in older adults.

Background: In recent years, fall prevention in older adults has received considerable attention in healthcare. Among many interventions, insoles are considered cost-effective and easily adopted tools to improve balance in older people. Numerous studies have verified the immediate effects of insoles on balance in older adults.

Block and Random Practice: A Wii Fit Dynamic Balance Training in Older Adults.

: To compare the effectiveness of blocked and random practice schedules of balance training in dynamic balance abilities of older adults using Wii Fit balance game tasks. : Forty-one participants who were not receiving hospice care or living in a nursing home participated. Three Wii Fit balance tasks (tasks A, B, and C) were selected for training, and one task (task D) was selected as the transfer test among the nine tasks in the Wii Fit balance game software.

Predictors of dysfunction and health-related quality of life in the flexion pattern subgroup of patients with chronic lower back pain: The STROBE study.

Findings about predictors of chronic lower-back pain (CLBP) were inconsistent and inconclusive in previous studies because patients with CLBP are heterogeneous. Subgrouping patients with CLBP, according to a CLBP classification system, might thus clarify the research findings. CLBP in the direction of lumbar flexion movement, that is, the flexion pattern, is common in clinical situations.

Effects of 4-week self-cross body stretching with scapular stabilization on shoulder motions and horizontal adductor strength in subjects with limited shoulder horizontal adduction: cross body stretching with stabilization.

Background: Posterior shoulder tightness is related to shoulder conditions such as shoulder impingement and limited shoulder horizontal adduction (SHA). The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of self-cross body stretching (CBS) with and without scapular stabilization (SS) on SHA and shoulder internal rotation (SIR) range of motion (ROM) and shoulder horizontal adductor strength (SHAS) in subjects with limited SHA.

Methods: Twenty-six subjects (14 males, 12 females) with limited SHA was participated in this study.

Effects of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization on diaphragm movement, postural control, balance and gait performance in cerebral palsy.

Purpose: To determine the effects of a novel dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) technique on gross motor function, diaphragm movement, and activation of the external oblique (EO) and internal oblique (IO)/transversus abdominal (TrA) muscles in participants with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: Fifteen participants with CP (7 females) underwent DNS intervention for 30 minutes/day, 3 days a week for 4 weeks. Gross motor function, diaphragm movement, and muscle activation were determined using a gross motor function measure (GMFM-88), ultrasound, and electromyography measurements, respectively, before and after the DNS core stabilization intervention.

Effects of the Schroth exercise on idiopathic scoliosis: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Schroth exercise on idiopathic scoliosis. The overall effect size was analyzed in 15 primary studies and a subgroup analysis of the standardized mean differences of effect sizes from 15 primary studies was also conducted.

Evidence Acquisition: We used PUBMED, MEDLINE, NDSL, EMBASE, and Web of Science.

Event-related Desynchronization of Mu Rhythms During Concentric and Eccentric Contractions.

The purpose of this study was to compare the electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns and reaction times (RTs) of muscle activation between concentric and eccentric biceps brachii contractions under the RT paradigm and to evaluate how the EEG patterns and RTs changed with practice. Sixteen subjects performed 3 sets of 30 repetitions of submaximal voluntary concentric and eccentric biceps contractions. RT, event-related desynchronization (ERD) patterns of mu rhythm onset, and ERD amplitudes were selectively analyzed.

Abdominal draw-in maneuver combined with simulated weight bearing increases transversus abdominis and internal oblique thickness.

The abdominal draw-in maneuver (ADIM) is a method commonly used to reestablish neuromuscular control of the deep spine muscles among individuals with musculoskeletal problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of ADIM combined with simulated weight-bearing (SWB) activities in the facilitation of the deep spine muscles. The subjects were 30 young healthy individuals.

Predictors of upper trapezius pain with myofascial trigger points in food service workers: The STROBE study.

Shoulder pain occurs commonly in food service workers (FSWs) who repetitively perform motions of the upper limbs. Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) on the upper trapezius (UT) are among the most common musculoskeletal shoulder pain syndromes. This study determined the psychological, posture, mobility, and strength factors associated with pain severity in FSWs with UT pain due to MTrPs.

The effects of smart phone gaming duration on muscle activation and spinal posture: Pilot study.

This study investigates changes in the posture angles of the neck and trunk, together with changes in the muscle activation of users, at the start of and at 5, 10, and 15 minutes of smartphone use. Eighteen males participated in this study. Surface electromyography (EMG) and a digital camera were used to measure the muscle activation and angular changes of the neck and trunk of participants during smartphone use for a period of 16 minutes.

Effects of Three Weeks of Whole-Body Vibration Training on Joint-Position Sense, Balance, and Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Controlled Study.

: To observe the effects of whole-body vibration (WBV) training in conjunction with conventional physical therapy (PT) on joint-position sense (JPS), balance, and gait in children with cerebral palsy (CP). In this randomized controlled study, 24 children with CP were randomly selected either to continue their conventional PT or to receive WBV in conjunction with their conventional PT programme. Exposure to the intervention was intermittent (3 min WBV, 3 min rest) for 20 minutes, twice weekly for 3 weeks.

Effects of tibial rotation on Ober's test and patellar tracking.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tibial position on ITB flexibility and patellar position.

Methods: A total of 31 asymptomatic subjects (21 males, 10 females) were recruited for this investigation. Adduction angle was measured by Ober's test, and PCD was measured by ultrasonography in three different tibial rotation conditions: N, IR, and ER.

Modifying the hip abduction angle during bridging exercise can facilitate gluteus maximus activity.

Purpose: To investigate how the erector spinae (ES) and gluteus maximus (GM) muscle activity and the anterior pelvic tilt angle change with different hip abduction angles during a bridging exercise.

Methods: Twenty healthy participants (10 males and 10 females, aged 21.6 ± 1.

A comparison of the effects of visual deprivation and regular body weight support treadmill training on improving over-ground walking of stroke patients: a multiple baseline single subject design.

The body-weight-support treadmill (BWST) is commonly used for gait rehabilitation, but other forms of BWST are in development, such as visual-deprivation BWST (VDBWST). In this study, we compare the effect of VDBWST training and conventional BWST training on spatiotemporal gait parameters for three individuals who had hemiparetic strokes. We used a single-subject experimental design, alternating multiple baselines across the individuals.

Shrug exercises combined with shoulder abduction improve scapular upward rotator activity and scapular alignment in subjects with scapular downward rotation impairment.

The aim of this research was to investigate which shoulder abduction angle (30°, 90°, 150°) during shrug exercise is superior for (1) activating the scapular upward rotators and (2) improving scapular and clavicular position in subjects with scapular downward rotation impairment. Twenty subjects performed shrug exercises at three different shoulder abduction angles (30°, 90°, 150°) which were obtained and maintained actively. Surface EMG data were collected from the levator scapulae (LS), upper trapezius (UT), lower trapezius (LT), and serratus anterior (SA) during shrug exercises.

Effect of Adeli suit treatment on gait in a child with cerebral palsy: a single-subject report.

The purpose of this research report is to investigate the long-term effect of Adeli suit treatment (AST) in a child with cerebral palsy (CP) on spatial-temporal gait parameters, 10-meter walking speed, gross motor functional measure (GMFM) and performance on the pediatric balance scale (PBS). An eight-year-old girl with spastic diplegia classified as level III on the Gross Motor Function Classification System participated in this single-subject A-B design study, with a baseline and an intervention phase. The baseline phase was collected at one-week intervals for six weeks and then the AST intervention phase was carried out with 18 AST sessions, 50 min per session, once a week for an 18-week period.

EMG activity and force during prone hip extension in individuals with lumbar segmental instability.

The goal of the current study was to investigate potential differences in back and hip extensor muscle activity and hip extension force during prone hip extension (PHE) in individuals with lumbar segmental instability (LSI) and asymptomatic subjects. Thirty-six subjects with LSI and 26 asymptomatic volunteers participated in this study. Muscle activity of the erector spinae, gluteus maximus, and biceps femoris was recorded using electromyography (EMG), and hip extension force was measured by a digital force gauge.

The relationship between length of the iliotibial band and patellar position in Asians.

Background: Tightness of the iliotibial band (ITB) has been documented as a major factor in lateral patellar translation because the ITB inserts into the lateral border of the patella through the iliopatellar band. The aim of this study was to compare the patella-condyle distance (PCD) between subjects with and without ITB tightness. We also investigated the relationship between ITB length and lateral patellar translation in hip adduction.