抄録
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of physical therapy for trunk muscles on the function of the affected arm muscles in a patient with cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Evaluation of trunk muscle function and function of the affected arm was done with surface electromyography and evoked electromyography. I compared the amplitude ratio of H/M and muscle action potential in the sitting position after physical therapy with that in the sitting position before physical therapy. The H-reflex was recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis after stimulating the median nerve at the wrist with evoked electromyography. The H-reflex was analyzed and the amplitude ratio of H/M was determined. And muscle action potential was recorded from both the obliquus abdominis and low back muscles with surface electromyography. The amplitude H/M after physical therapy was lower than that before physical therapy in this patient. In surface electromyography, the obliquus abdominis on the affected side and both of the low back muscles after physical therapy was lower than that before physical therapy in this patient. As a result of this study, excitability of spinal neural function in the affected arm might be decreased after physical therapy for function of the trunk and lower extremity muscles in patients with CVD. The result suggested that physical therapy of affected arm in patients with CVD needed to consider the influence of contraction of the trunk muscles and the low back muscles.
