The purpose of this study was to clarify factors that influence the presence or absence of bow-legs and investigate their associations with physical functions in community-dwelling elderly females. The subjects were １１４ community-dwelling elderly females. The presence or absence of bow-legs was evaluated, and physical functions, such as the physique, body composition, muscle strength, standing balance, and walking speed, were compared. We compared the values between 5３ females with a distance of ≥３０ mm between the medial epicondyles of the femur (bow-legs group) and 6１ with a distance of <２０ mm (non-bow-legs group). There were significant differences in the skeletal muscle volume, quadriceps femoris muscle strength, 30-sec Chair Stand test, duration of standing on one leg, maximum walking speed, and Timed Up & Go Test. In the bow-legs group, these results were poorer than in the non-bow-legs group. There were no significant differences in the age, Body Mass Index, percent body fat, grip strength, or normal walking speed. In addition, based on the results of logistic regression analysis, ２ items, that is, the skeletal muscle volume and quadriceps femoris muscle strength, were extracted as factors that influence the presence or absence of bow-legs. These results suggest that reductions in the skeletal muscle volume and quadriceps femoris muscle strength cause bow-legs in community-dwelling elderly females, bow-legs leading to a reduction in the standing balance or walking ability.

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence the sitto-stand (STS) reaction time from the trunk flexion angle and ground reaction force parameters during STS movement. The participants included 3０ healthy young women (mean age ２０.１ ± １.０ years). The STS reaction time was measured by a test in which STS movements were performed after recognition of a light stimulus, and the trunk flexion angle and ground reaction force parameters (Peak reaction force per body weight, Rate of force development, Center of pressure moving distance, Trunk flexion time (T０), The time span of the developing force (T１), The chair-rise time (T２)) were evaluated. The results showed that the trunk flexion angle and three time-related parameters (T０, T１, T２) were significantly correlated with STS reaction time. Multiple regression analysis with STS reaction time as the dependent parameter and age, BMI, trunk flexion angle, T０, T１, and T２ as independent parameters revealed that only T１ was extracted as a significant influencing factor for STS reaction time. These results suggested that the possibility of evaluation of STS reaction time for agility by focusing on T１ among the ground reaction force parameters.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare gait cycle during treadmill walking and body weight supported treadmill training with angles of the hip joint and both knee and ankle joints of patients with Parkinsonʼs disease (PD). Methods: The study included 10 healthy subjects and 7 patients with PD (Analysis target is 5 patients). The gait cycle ratio and lower limb angle data of the body weight supported treadmill training and treadmill walking were measured using the body weight supported device (SPIDER by Assist) and the portable 3D motion analysis device (MyoMOTION™ by Noraxon).  Results: There was no significant difference between the conditions among healthy subjects. Among patients with PD, the proportion of the stance phase decreased and that of the swing phase increased during body weight supported treadmill training compared with treadmill walking (p-value<0.05). In addition, patients with PD reduced significantly the simultaneous support phase (p-value<0.05).  Conclusion: In conclusion, body weight supported treadmill training in PD patients decreased the rate of simultaneous support phase, suggesting that it may be a factor in increasing stride length.

This study aimed to examine the reproducibility and validity of sitting Strength of the Muscles in Hip Abduction with Flexion (SMHAF) in young healthy adults. A total of 34 young healthy adults (15 men and 19 women) were included in the study. The reproducibility of sitting SMHAF was examined by determining the value of the intraclass correlation coefficient using the test–retest method. The validity of seated SMHAF was investigated by obtaining correlations between sitting SMHAF, supine SMHAF, and quadriceps muscle strength for both men and women. The reproducibility of the seated SMHAF was extremely high, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.98. In both men and women, significant correlations as indices of lower limb muscle strength (p<0.05) were found between supine SMHAF and quadriceps muscle strength. These results indicate that seated SMHAF may be a reproducible and valid indicator of lower limb muscle strength in young healthy adults.

Brain neural activity changes during the observation of emotional visual stimuli can serve as an indicator to reflect the neuropsychological state of the subject. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether differences in emotional state toward the infant of elderly women have an impact on brain neural activity during observing facial expression images. The participants were ２２ elderly women living in the community who were asked to fill up a questionnaire about their sentiments toward infants and identify facial expressions in images of infants. An electroencephalogram  (EEG) recorded brain activity during the task of observing facial expression images. The results showed that most subjects had positive sentiments toward the infants, and all subjects were able to discriminate differences in facial expression. Results from EEG analysis revealed that the group with high positive sentiments toward the infants had significantly higher (p<0.05) β-band neural activity in the precuneus while observing images with infant faces than the group with low positive sentiments. These results suggest that when elderly women look at images of infant faces, it induces changes in brain neural activity, and that these changes may be influenced by their emotions toward the infants.

【Objective】The purpose of this study was to examine the duration required to improve the motor function of pre-frail elderly people through exercise intervention in a short-term intensive day care service. 【Methods】37 pre-frail elderly people who used the motor function program for 6 months participated in this study. The Changes in the “Handgrip strength”, “One-leg standing time”, “5m walking time” and “Timed up & go test”（TUG） were analyzed for the beginning, 3 months, and 6 months retrospectively. 【Results】“Handgrip strength” and “One-leg standing time” were not significant changes for our program. “5m walking time” and TUG were significantly faster at the beginning of use, 3 months after the intervention, and 6 months after the intervention. However, there was no statistically significant difference between 3 and 6 months of intervention. 【Conclusion】The results of this study suggest that exercise intervention in short-term intensive day care services may improve motor function as measured by 5m walking  time and TUG up to 3 months.