2016 Volume 16 Pages 87-93
The IZARI exercise involves using the buttocks to improve sitting movements during activities of daily living. In this study involving a patient with spinal cord disease, we focused on the patient’s bilateral trunk muscle actions when performing the bathtub straddle movement. Following IZARI exercise, the trunk stability during the bathtub straddle movement improved, allowing the patient to bathe on her own. Initially, the patient could turn 90 degrees to the right in a sitting position, and lift the lower limbs beginning with the right limb. However, it was time consuming, and the patient needed to separately hold each of the lower limbs. After the initial evaluation, physical therapy was performed to improve the function of the right internal and left external oblique muscles, but no improvement in the bathtub straddle movement was observed. Therefore, the IZARI exercise was prescribed to improve the coordinated action of the bilateral internal and external oblique muscles. Following this, improvement in the bilateral internal and external oblique muscle functions was observed, allowing the patient to perform the bathtub straddle movement from the sitting position. The IZARI exercise, which mimics the required trunk muscle activity, can be effective training for the performance of the bathtub straddle movement.
