Challenges and Prospects of Sensing Technology for the Promotion of Tele-Physiotherapy: A Narrative Review.

Significant developments in sensing technology have had many impacts, enhancing monitoring and assessment accuracy across diverse fields. In the field of physical therapy, sensing, which plays a pivotal role in tele-physiotherapy, rapidly expanded amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its primary objective is to monitor biological signals and patient movements at remote locations.

Postural control strategies in individuals with and without chronic ankle instability during the reach phase of the posteromedial direction of the star excursion balance test.

Objective: To compare center of mass (COM) and center of pressure (COP) displacement, joint angles, and muscle activity for the ankle, knee, and hip during the posteromedial (PM) reach direction of the Star Excursion Balance Test between individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) and healthy individuals.

Design: Cross-sectional Study.

Setting: Biomechanics laboratory.

Factors influencing the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction who received usual care: a multicenter prospective cohort study.

[Purpose] The prognostic factors for patients with acute stroke who received usual care (mobilization ≥48 h after admission) remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic factors that predict functional outcomes using evaluations performed immediately after onset in patients with acute cerebral infarction who received usual care from admission until discharge. [Participants and Methods] Participants with acute cerebral infarction admitted to five acute care hospitals in Tokyo and Saitama, Japan and prescribed physical therapy were included.

Validity Verification of Human Pose-Tracking Algorithms for Gait Analysis Capability.

Two-dimensional (2D) clinical gait analysis systems are more affordable and portable than contemporary three-dimensional (3D) clinical models. Using the Vicon 3D motion capture system as the standard, we evaluated the internal statistics of the Imasen and open-source OpenPose gait measurement systems, both designed for 2D input, to validate their output based on the similarity of results and the legitimacy of their inner statistical processes. We measured time factors, distance factors, and joint angles of the hip and knee joints in the sagittal plane while varying speeds and gaits during level walking in three in-person walking experiments under normal, maximum-speed, and tandem scenarios.

Reliability and validity of muscle activity analysis using wearable electromyographs.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to develop a novel wearable surface electromyograph called NOK, and compare its reliability and validity to an existing electromyograph. [Participants and Methods] The study participants were 23 healthy university students (Seven males and 16 females; age 20.3 ± 1.

Factor analysis for construct validity of a trunk impairment scale in Parkinson's disease: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To investigate the construct validity of the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), which was developed to assess trunk impairment in patients with stroke, in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Design: This retrospective, cross-sectional study enrolled consecutive PD inpatients. Correlation analysis was performed to clarify whether the TIS assessment was related to other balance functions, lower extremity muscle strength, or walking ability.

Reliability and validity of impact absorption rate using accelerometers during single-leg drop-jump landings.

[Purpose] To assess the reliability and validity of accelerometer-based impact absorption rate measurements during single-leg drop-jump landings. [Participants and Methods] Study participants were healthy adult males. The task involved a single-leg drop-jump from the platform with a forward landing onto a floor reaction force plate.

Verification of biomechanical factors of gait related to medial knee loading in patients 6 Months after total knee arthroplasty.

Background: The knee adduction moment (KAM) is considered an index for estimating the knee mechanical load, and increased KAM peak and KAM impulse are related to increased medial knee load and progression of knee joint degeneration. We aimed to verify the biomechanical factors of gait related to medial knee loading in patients 6 months after TKA.

Methods: Thirty-nine women who underwent TKA were enrolled.

Effect of Simultaneous Dual-Task Training on Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: No previous study has examined the effect of dual-task training using changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) as an outcome.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effects of simultaneous dual-task training of exercise and cognitive tasks on rCBF using SPECT in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Methods: In this non-randomized control trial, 40 older adults with aMCI participated from May 2016 to April 2018.

The Relationship between Sarcopenia and Respiratory Muscle Weakness in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

An association between respiratory muscle weakness and sarcopenia may provide a clue to the mechanism of sarcopenia development. We aimed to clarify this relationship among community-dwelling older adults. In total, 117 community-dwelling older adults were assessed and classified into 4 groups: robust, respiratory muscle weakness, sarcopenia, and respiratory sarcopenia.

Early postoperative relationship between patient-reported outcome measures and gait biomechanical factors after total hip arthroplasty.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have recently been considered as indicating clinical outcomes after total hip arthroplasty (THA). Although various factors are reportedly associated with post-THA and PROMs, the relationship with gait parameters, which are objective assessment factors after THA, remains unclear.

Research Question: What is the relationship between PROMs and gait biomechanical factors four weeks after THA?

Methods: Forty-five patients (six men and 39 women) who underwent THA were included.

Effects of dynamic supported standing training in a patient with pusher behavior: a case report.

Background: The effects of task-specific and voluntary exercise in upright positions for pusher behavior remain unclear. In this report, we aimed to describe the effects of dynamic supported standing training using a modified standing frame to correct the alignment in a patient with severe pusher behavior.

Case Description: A 76-year-old man with cardioembolic ischemic stroke demonstrated pusher behavior.

Relevant factors of self-care in children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy.

Objective: Manual ability is considered one of the factors that can predict functional independence in activities of daily living. For evaluating personal tasks such as self-care, the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) comprises/introduces/offers a set of useful measures that assist in enhancing the capability for self-care among children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to investigate the relevant factors of self-care capability and performance in children and adolescents with spastic CP.

Examination of Rehabilitation Intensity According to Severity of Acute Stroke: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To investigate the intensity and effectiveness of rehabilitation in acute stroke patients according to the severity of functional impairments in them.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 294 patients with acute hemispheric stroke admitted to three acute-care hospitals who subsequently underwent an inpatient rehabilitation program. Stroke severity was classified according to neurological deficits and trunk dysfunction.

Separated center-of-pressure measurements reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Background And Objective: Accelerations, ground reaction force data, and other quantitative data obtained from kinematic analyses of gait initiation serve as measures of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether a separate center of pressure information could reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Methods: Ten healthy elderly subjects and 10 patients with Parkinson's disease participated in this study.

Measurements of the centre of pressure of individual legs reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia.

Objectives: To determine whether individual measurements of the centre of pressure for the stance and stepping legs can reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in post-stroke hemiplegic patients.

Methods: Subjects included 30 stroke patients and 10 healthy age-matched controls. The acceleration of the trunk, and the centre of pressure of each leg, were measured during gait initiation, 3 times each with the paretic and non-paretic legs leading.

Intra- and inter-rater reliability of rectus femoris muscle thickness measured using ultrasonography in healthy individuals.

Background: Ultrasonography (US) is a feasible and accessible method for the measurement of skeletal muscle mass. This technique presents acceptable intra-rater reliability; however, there are a few reports on its inter-rater reliability. Additionally, relative reliability should equally be inspected to determine the presence of systematic errors.

Relationships between early postoperative gait biomechanical factors and patient-reported outcome measures 6 months after total knee arthroplasty.

Background: This study was focused on the gait parameters of the knee extensor and hip abductor muscle groups, which are believed to contribute to knee joint function improvement in early postoperative TKA. The associations between patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) 6 months after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and the early postoperative internal knee extension moment, knee extension negative joint power, and internal hip abduction moment while walking were investigated.

Methods: Twenty-one patients who underwent primary TKA for knee osteoarthritis were included.

Characteristics of dynamic standing balance with and without an insole in patients with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy.

[Purpose] This study examined characteristics of dynamic standing balance, with an without an insole, in patients with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy (CP). [Participants and Methods] This cross-sectional study used a crossover design. Eleven patients with spastic diplegia CP and gross motor levels between I and III with spastic diplegia CP (according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System expanded and revised version) were randomly allocated to either the barefoot or insole groups.

Electromyography-guided electrical stimulation therapy for patients with pusher behavior: A case series.

Background: Pusher behavior (PB) is a posture disorder due to a subjective bias in verticality perception. However, muscle activity characteristics in this disorder and the effective treatments are not known.

Objective: To investigate electromyographic (EMG) activity and the effect of electrical stimulation (ES) in PB.

The relationship between movement of the shank while running and foot alignment factors that lead to the onset of Achilles peritendinitis.

[Purpose] To clarify the relationship between movement of the shank relative to the global reference frame (shank angle) while running, and foot alignment factors that lead to the onset of Achilles peritendinitis. [Participants and Methods] This study included 54 healthy male participants. Running at a constant speed was measured by three-dimensional motion analysis.

Effects of an underwear-type hip abduction orthosis on sitting balance and sit-to-stand activities in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

[Purpose] Hip dislocation and subluxation are common in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Hip abduction orthoses are used to prevent and treat these problems. This study investigated the effects of an underwear-type hip abduction orthosis on sitting balance and sit-to-stand (STS) activity in children with spastic CP.

Influence of peripheral magnetic stimulation of soleus muscle on H and M waves.

[Purpose] This study evaluated the effects of repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation of the soleus muscle on spinal cord and peripheral motor nerve excitability. [Subjects and Methods] Twelve healthy adults (mean age 22 years) who provided written informed consent were administered repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation for 10 min. Pre-and post-stimulation latencies and amplitudes of H- and M-waves of the soleus muscle were measured using electromyography and compared using paired t-tests.

Easy assessment tool for motor imagery ability in elementary scool students.

[Purpose] The final purpose of the present study was to propose easy and quick mental rotation task. Since subjects can easily understand mental rotation task that they have to do, the task is considered to be available in particular children. However, existing mental rotation task using specific software asked subjects more than ten trials per one pictured stimulus, meaning that relatively long time is required to accurately measure.