We investigated postural control during a knee flexion-extension exercise. Twelve healthy young adults performed the exercise at a preferred speed with the following knee flexion angles (KFA): 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 degrees. The center of pressure in the anteroposterior direction (CoPap) and the movement angle of the knee, inclination angles of the trunk and lower leg, and muscle activity of the rectus femoris (RF) were measured. In each KFA, ten cycles were adopted for analyses. For CoPap, the mean position and peak amplitude at a lower frequency than the knee exercise were maintained within a certain narrow range, regardless of the KFA. At a KFA of 5-30 degrees, the trunk was kept vertical but at a KFA of 40 degrees or higher, the trunk was leaned forward, with the mean position of the CoPap shifted forward slightly. It was presumed that the forward leaning of the trunk would inhibit an excessive increase in RF muscle activity. At a KFA of 50 degrees or higher, however, the forward shift in the mean position of the CoPap to maintain whole-body balance was restricted. At a KFA of 5 degrees, the mean position of the CoPap shifted slightly backward. The backward shift may relate to the enhancement of sensory information during knee flexion with the increase in RF activity. These results indicate that the targets of postural control change according to the KFA.

  The objectives of this study were to implement an individualized lifestyle-related disease prevention program utilizing transtheoretical model in a local municipality and to investigate the effects of this program. A non-randomized, quasi-experimental study design was used for program implementation and impact evaluation. The study subjects were 81 participants who had metabolic syndrome symptoms. To evaluate outcome at 1 year later, a matched-pair, controlled study was conducted, intervention group (n = 57) and control group (n = 114). Program participant satisfaction, sense of self-efficacy, blood test results and health-related quality of life were collected at pre- and post-intervention periods, and one year later. The control group data were collected health check-up data at pre-intervention period and one year later. Paired t test, t test, and chi-square test were used to evaluate the difference during the pre- and post-intervention phases, pre-intervention and one year later, and difference during groups. The implementation of a support program by public health nurses, nutritionists, and health fitness programmers based on transtheoretical model could increase participant satisfaction according to impact evaluation; raise sense of self-efficacy with regard to exercise according to impact evaluation; improve blood test data, and quality of life after one year. The results revealed favorable changes according to each viewpoint of process, impact, and outcome evaluation, suggesting that this program could be effective for preventing lifestyle-related disease.

Objectives: In the present study, literature review was performed on the health literacy scales in Japan and related issues were identified through recent trends.

Methods: Studies were identified by screening the literature in multiple international and domestic web-based databases. Terms used for the search were “health literacy” and “scale,” separately or as a combination. The question items of the health literacy scale were classified into health domain and competence. The items in health domain were classified into “primary prevention”, “secondary prevention”, and “tertiary prevention” with reference to the classification by Leavell and Clark (1965). Moreover, the items in competence were classified into “calculating”, “reading/writing”, “searching”, “understanding”, “appraising”, “deciding/action”, and “communicating” with reference to the classification by Sørensen et al. (2012).

Results: The review identified 12 health literacy scales in Japan. Regarding health domain, “primary prevention” had 109 items, “secondary prevention” had 9, and “secondary and/or tertiary prevention” had 46. The most frequent item of the health domain was “primary prevention.” No items were identified only as “tertiary prevention.” Regarding competence, “calculating” had 14 items, “reading/writing” had 9, “searching” had 37, “understanding” had 48, “appraising” had 35, “deciding/action” had 24, and “communicating” had 15. The most frequent item of competence was “understanding,” followed by “searching” and “appraising.”

Conclusion: Our results suggest that there is a necessity to develop health literacy scales in Japan according to purpose and target based on the circumstances of the disease component and health policy.

  When the skin above the knee joint was stretched in quiet standing, forward or backward leaning response was observed in many subjects. In relation to this phenomenon, the purpose of this study was to determine the aspects of skin stretch displacement on the front of thigh during stance phase in walking, which is a fundamental locomotion for human. Ten subjects walked on a treadmill at their comfortable speeds, attaching the reference markers (6.5 mm in diameters) at 3 cm intervals between the centers of patella and thigh along with rectus femoris (RF). We analyzed amplitude and speed of skin stretch based on the displacement of two adjacent markers in three-dimensional coordinates composed by 5 high-speed cameras. The myotendinous junction of RF was identified from the ultrasound image (8.2 ± 0.6 cm above the center of patella). Skin stretch amplitudes from the center of patella to 9 cm above the center of patella were about 3 mm per 1 cm interval, with no significant differences between them. These amplitudes were significantly larger than those over 9 cm above the center of patella. The smallest amplitude was found near the center of thigh. Skin stretch speed was about 10 mm/sec.