Effects of Intra-abdominal Pressure with Visual Feedback on Muscle Activation of Upper Trapezius and Sternomastoid during Forced Inspiration in Individuals with Costal Respiration

Purpose@#This study analyzed the immediate effects of intra-abdominal pressure with visual feedback on the muscle activation of the upper trapezius and sternomastoid during natural inspiration and forced inspiration in individuals with costal respiration. @*Methods@#The eighteen individuals with upper costal breathing pattern participated in this study. Surface electromyography was used to analyze the muscle activity of the upper trapezius and sternomastoid during natural inspiration and forced inspiration before and after intra-abdominal pressure. @*Results@#A significant difference in muscle activation was observed with the muscle type, inspiration type, and test session (p0.05). A comparison of the difference between the pre-test and post-test during forced inspiration revealed the upper trapezius to be significantly larger than the sternomastoid (p0.05). @*Conclusion@#The intra-abdominal pressure has positive effects on correcting the breathing patterns in individuals with costal respiration.

Effects of Intra-abdominal Pressure with Visual Feedback on Muscle Activation of Upper Trapezius and Sternomastoid during Forced Inspiration in Individuals with Costal Respiration

Purpose@#This study analyzed the immediate effects of intra-abdominal pressure with visual feedback on the muscle activation of the upper trapezius and sternomastoid during natural inspiration and forced inspiration in individuals with costal respiration. @*Methods@#The eighteen individuals with upper costal breathing pattern participated in this study. Surface electromyography was used to analyze the muscle activity of the upper trapezius and sternomastoid during natural inspiration and forced inspiration before and after intra-abdominal pressure. @*Results@#A significant difference in muscle activation was observed with the muscle type, inspiration type, and test session (p0.05). A comparison of the difference between the pre-test and post-test during forced inspiration revealed the upper trapezius to be significantly larger than the sternomastoid (p0.05). @*Conclusion@#The intra-abdominal pressure has positive effects on correcting the breathing patterns in individuals with costal respiration.

Study on the Injury and Rehabilitation of Racket Athletes with Disabilities

PURPOSE: This study examined the injury and rehabilitation of athletes with disabilities in racket sports projects (i.e., badminton, table tennis, and wheelchair tennis). In addition, the characteristics of each project and the differences among those projects are discussed. METHODS: Business team athletes with disabilities in racket sport were enrolled as subjects (i.e., 19 badminton athletes, 19 table tennis athletes, and 19 wheelchair tennis athletes). The real conditions of the injury, injury severity, injury site, symptoms, and rehabilitation methods after injury were analyzed. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed among the actual condition, injury severity, symptoms and the methods of rehabilitation on racket sport for athletes (i.e., badminton, table tennis, and wheelchair tennis athletes) with disability. The differences were focused mainly on the injury sites due to the characteristics of the different projects, and specific technical actions. CONCLUSION: This study examined the real condition of the injury, injury severity, injury site, symptoms and rehabilitation methods after the injury on the rackets (i.e., badminton, table tennis, and wheelchair tennis) athletes with disabilities. The data can be used to eliminate the incidence of injury and minimize the injury severity for racket athletes with disabilities. In addition, it can also be used for the disabled, who like racket projects, as the fundamental material to prevent injury and assist in recovery.

The Effects of Computerized Gaming Program on Cognition in Children with Mental Retardation: A Case Study

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analysis of effectiveness between cognitive function assessment scores and gaming cognitive rehabilitation system in children with intellectual impairment. METHODS: Five children (male=5, age=10.00±0.80) with intellectual impairment participated in this study and were randomly assigned to the experiment that played (received) gaming cognitive rehabilitation system (Neuroworld). The children were applied 2 times a week for 30 minutes during 3 months. The children were assessed K-WSIC-VI (Korean-Wechsler intelligence scale for children-fourth edition) and recorded that gained score in gaming cognitive rehabilitation system before and after intervention. K-WSIC-VI contained five primary index scores: verbal comprehension index, visual spatial index, fluid reasoning index, working memory index, and processing speed index. Gaming cognitive rehabilitation system scoring was composed visual recall, target recall, sequence recall, selective attention, continuous attention, and exploration. RESULTS: In the intelligence quotient (IQ) of K-WSIC-VI, there were significant increased in all children. The visual recall item was highest effective in all children. However, sequential recall showed the lowest improvement in all children. The performance speed of selective attention item was decreased, this means that children's skills have improved. Also, their ability to explore has improved significantly. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, gaming cognitive rehabilitation system was significant effectiveness in cognitive function in some categories for children with intellectual impairment. However, the visual recall and performance speed don't represent of all cognitive function. Therefore, further studies will need to verify by applying more subject and longer duration.

Comparison of the Symmetry of Buttock Pressure during Simulated Driving between Heathy Adults and Patients with Stroke

PURPOSE: Driving is an important activity that is affected by various motor and cognitive deficits after stroke. On the other hand, there is no standard screening tool to evaluate the sitting asymmetry during driving, which is the stereotyped postural characteristic observed in patients with stroke. Therefore, this study compared the buttock pressure during simulated driving between healthy adults and patients with stroke. METHODS: Ten post-stroke patients and ten healthy subjects participated in the experiment. The participants experienced simulated driving of 6.1 km during approximately 5 minutes for adaptation. The driving scenario consisted of 3.5 km urban traffic conditions, 10 km straight highway, and 7 km curved or hilly rural roads. Force sensitive application (FSA) was used to analyze the distribution of the buttock pressure on the driver's seat. The symmetry index (SI) was determined using the average buttock pressure of each side of the buttock. The closer SI is to zero, the higher the symmetry of buttock pressure. RESULTS: These studies showed that the SI of healthy subjects was significantly closer to zero than that of the stroke patients. CONCLUSION: The buttock pressure of the stroke patients showed more asymmetry than that of the healthy subjects during simulated driving. Therefore, a therapeutic approach is needed for symmetrical sitting to improve the driving performance.

Quantitative EMG Changes During 12-Week DeLorme's Axiom Strength Training

Strength training is one of the most common exercises practiced in the field of physical therapy or sports training. However, limited methodology is available to evaluate its effect on the target muscle. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that surface electromyographic (EMG) data from both isometric and isotonic exercise can express changes within the muscle during a 12-week strength training program. Ten healthy male volunteer students (5 for training, 5 for controls) from Yonsei University were recruited for evaluation in this study. DeLorme's axiom was practiced for 12 weeks in the dominant elbow flexors and knee extensors of the training group. Tension for 1 repetition maximum and maximal voluntary isometric contraction, and surface EMG information such as the integrated EMG and three variables from the regression line of median frequency (MDF) data were measured at weeks 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12. The limb circumference was measured at weeks 0 and 12. During the strength training, which was enough for the increment of muscle strength and limb circumference, the rectified-integrated EMG and initial MDF increased with a significant linear pattern in both types of contraction. The two surface EMG variables were able to monitor the physiologic muscle changes during the training. Based on these results, we propose that these two surface EMG variables can be used for monitoring electrophysiological changes in the specific muscle that is undergoing the training program, under conditions where the contraction mode for EMG data collection is either static or dynamic.