The purpose of this study was to know the visual information effect on the posture.
Ten right brain-damaged patients and ten left brain-damaged patients with cerebral vascular accident were given two kind of tests. One is to know the judgement of vertical axis in space, and the other is to know the change of center of gravity in standing as visual stimulation (landscaped and striped picture) lean to right or left side was given.
Results were as follows ;
1) The judgement of vertical axis in space was lean to the opposite direction to brain damaged side.
2) When the landscaped visual stimulation which resulted in the opposite direction to the brain damaged side was given, the center of gravity was changed to the same direction.
3) The center of gravity was not changed when the striped visual stimulation was given.
4) There was no correlation between the judgement of vertical axis in space and change of center of gravity.

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In this study, we measured the power spectra of body sway and of its velocity, when subjects standing upright, inclined themselves forward, and their centers of gravity shifted forward. At the same time, we calculated the variances of body sway, and examined the relation to the power spectra.
When subjects inclined themselves most forward from natural standing, the forward-backward components of the power spectra of body sway and of its velocity increased 1.98 times and 1.63 times, respectively. This occurred in the frequency ranged from 1.75 Hz to 2.50 Hz, which showed the greatest increase. The frequency ranged from 1.75 Hz to 2.50 Hz is corresponding to that of foot step. At the start of walking, the body inclines forward and its center of gravity shifts forward. With forward body inclination, the forward-backward components of the power spectra of body sway and of its velocity showed great increase. This occurred in the frequency range corresponding to that of foot step.

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Dermatomal Somato Sensory Evoked Potentials (DSSEPs) were recorded in sixteen patients who were diagnosed as lumbosacral disc herniation and admitted to our hospital. The age of patients ranged from 29 to 60 year-old (mean age was 40.3 ys). Before the operation, DSSEPs were investigated in all of them, and compared with sensory disturbance and myelography. Fifteen patients underwent an operation, and DSSEPs investigated before the operation were compared with findings at the operation such as root swelling, adhension, mobility in fourteen patients. After the operation, continuous examination of DSSEPs were done in ten patients. In these investigations, following results were obtained.
1. There was a high correlation between DSSEPs and sensory disturbance, but a little correlation between myelography and operated findings.
2. Continuous examination of DSSEPs after the operation revealed a recovery of seven patients, and the mean recovery period was 2.78 months.
In this series, DSSEPs showed a high correlation with sensory disturbance, but a little correlation with myelography and findings at the operation. This may result from following factors ; speed of nerve root compression, relative space between nerve root and spinal canal or foramen, substitution of intact nerve fiber in nerve root for damaged nerve fiber.

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The object of this study was to evaluate the effect of the silent period (SP) when the thenar muscle strength (TMS) was increased under the constant stimulation voltage (SV) and when the SV was increased under the constant TMS.
Fifteen males and one female (mean age 24.8 ± 6.1 years) volunteers were served as subjects in this study. SP was obtained by stimulating the median nerve at the wrist and recording the electromyogram of the thenar muscle. During the measurements, the hand was rigidly stabilized on the plastic holder in flexion and opposition of the dominant thumb. The proximal phalanx of the thumb was suspended vertically between ergometer and cuff for control of the TMS. The electrical stimulation parameters had a duration of 0.5 ms, frequency of 0.5 Hz with jntensity of 60 to 210 V. Data was collected by digitization of the analogical signal and storage by electromyograph unit. The duration of SP was measured during increasing the TMS under the constant SV, and measured during increasing the SV under the constant TMS.
The following results were obtained ;
(1) The duration of SP was reduced below 90% in most subjects when the TMS was increased under the constant SV.
(2) The duration of SP was prolonged above 1.1 times when the SV was increased under the constant TMS.
(3) The duration of SP (100〜120 ms.) in this study was in good accord with that of the previous studies by others.
These data suggest that reduction or prolongation of the duration of SP may be associated with thener muscular tones, length and others.

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Presently, we do not have a proper standard for evaluating a gait velocity. In the past, those based on unreliable data have been used such as ; the standard gait velocity is 15 sec. per 10 m for a physically handicapped person and 10 sec. per 10 m for healthy persons ; or in other words, that for a handicapped person is slightly longer than that for healthy persons.
Is this speed sufficient for a normal social life? There is no time limit for moving indoors, but on the street, particularly at a crosswalk, certain speed is required to cross it safely.
Therefore, in order to calculate the necessary speed for crossing crosswalks safely, we investigated the length of 130 crosswalks, the time duration of their green lights and of their blinking green lights.
According to the results, the length of the crosswalks ranged from 6.4〜38.5 m (average 16.1±6.76 m). The time duration of the green lights was 10〜91 sec. (average 38.0±19.54 sec.) and the blinking green lights 0〜5 sec. (average 4.8±0.88 sec.).
By calculating the necessary time to cross a crosswalk, it is indicated that time durations of 1.31〜0.10 m/sec. for a green light and 1.06〜0.09 m/sec. for a green and blinking green light were needed.
These results suggest that necessary gait velocity for crossing crosswalks safely is at least 1 m/sec. This should be regarded as one standard for evaluating a gait velocity in our actual rehabilitation.

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Manual breathing assist is most basic technique to improve ventilation without patient's voluntary effort. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of this technique on lung volumes in healthy young subjects. The following techniques were used : 1) to assist upper chest motion in sitting position, 2) to assist upper chest motion in supine position, and 3) to assist lower chest motion in supine position. Lung volumes was obtained by using spirometer during breathing assist, and compared with those in resting condition.
Tidal volume was increased almost twice in all techniques. Functional residual capacity was decreased to 7-12% converted into % FRC. Main factor of increasing of tidal volume was that expiratory reserve volume was decreased by breathing assist at expiration. In half of the subjects, inspiratory reserve volume was decreased by expansion of rebound of chest cage. The study results support the use of manual breathing assist to improve ventilation in any clinical conditions.

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Daito City in Osaka Prefecture is the only municipal government in Japan possessing a physiotherapy, section as an arm of its welfare administration. This section consists of four physical therapists, one caseworker, one part-time occupational therapist and one nurse. The section performs the following activities : (1) to provide services to meet the needs of the entire citizens and to give the handicapped and the aged functional training either at facilities and school or at home ; (2) to plan and implement a consistent rehabilitation program, in cooperation with the relevant agencies for all the citizens of any age between infants and old people ; (3) to deepen citizens' the concern and understanding of community-based rehabilitation, and to encourage the citizens to create by themselves a city where the handicapped and the aged can participate in daily social activities.
Specifically, the physiotherapy section enlightens the citizens by holding events for them such as a “rehabilitation festival” or a nursing lecture course, and places emphasis on fostering of volunteers. An important objective to be achieved in the future is the fostering of young volunteers. In the main text of this report, detailed and specific activities are described.

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To clarify the various features of the later stage of aged in patients with cerebrovascular accidents, 515 hemiplegic patients, who were treated by physical therapy in addition to medical treatment, occupational therapy, psychological therapy and speech therapy during the period from April 1982 and March 1987, were evaluated with respect to their disability at discharge from physical rehabilitation inpatient unit of Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital. And the factors which affected their activities of daily living were analyzed.
The mean age of inpatients requiring physical rehabilitation has been becoming higher (66.2 year-old in 1982, 69.7 year-old in 1987), and their state of hemiplegia has become more severe in our geriatric hospital. The percentage of patients who could return to their home has become smaller, 53.2% in 1987, which might result from both aging and deterioration in activities of daily living.
Activities of daily living of the aged patients with hemiplegia at discharge were closely related to their ages, severity of their hemiplegia, Brunnstrom's recovery stage, number of risk factors to cerebrovascular diseases, relapse number of stroke, size of lesion in brains, and duration between the onset of stroke and beginning of physical therapy. Although approximately 30% of the aged patients with hemiplegia in this series are bed-ridden at discharge, most of them were able to perform various kinds of movement ordered to do or watched over.
These results suggested that aged patients with hemiplegia should be treated by physical rehabilitation approach as early as possible after their cerebrovascular accidents, and that physical therapy should serve to them with various disciplines according to individual characteristics and back ground of the patients. And we conclusively stress that physical therapists have to respond actively to the the needs of aged patients with hemiplegia at their residences as well as in the hospital.

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The effect of three methods of ROM exercise (I. ROM by a therapist, II. Prolonged stretching by a triangle block, and III. ROM by CPM) was studied by means of electromyography. Subjects of this study were 10 cases of TKR and 5 cases of arthroplasty of knee joint. The purpose of the ROM exercise on the early stage of postoperative patients is to relax of the muscle guard to avoid potential pain and to prevent the contracture. The method of ROM exercise by a therapist could not relax the muscle effectively. Prolonged stretching by a triangle block, when used for a long duration, produced pain and muscle guard. The best method is to use CPM machine in the early stage of postoperative patients.

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The purpose of this study was to analyze times of motor components in the stereotyped voluntary movements of upper extremities between control group and parkinsonism group (PG).
Subjects were twenty two normal young and old adults and seven cases of PG (42-78 years old). These subjects were right-handed.
The subject was ordered to move the index finger as quickly and correctly as possible from the horizontal contact plate to the upper contact plate at an angle of 15 degrees, next to the other upper adductive contact plate and then return the horizontal plate by regular and random signals of Electrical Stimulation (ES) to the opposite forearm.
Results as follows ;
1) EMG activities and latent period EMG activities of PG showed regularly alternative grouped discharge as a tremor at rest. EMG activities replied to ES showed a sharp grouped discharge at the beginning of movement in normal groups, but not in PG.
2) The used time for a finger to reach the target in PG was significantly prolonged than that in old group.
3) The percentage of RT (Reaction Time means a time of an index finger to leave the horizontal plate from ES) to the total time was remarkably higher in the old group (22.7%) than in PG (18.6%) at random stimulation, but the percentage of UT (Upper Time means a time to move the finger from the horizontal plate to the upper contact plate) was higher in PG (18.2%) than in old group (16.2%) at random stimulation.
On the basis of above results, it was suspected that disturbance of motor skill in parkinsonism might be due to dysfunction of motor switching mechanism and rigidity of peripheral effector.

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[in Japanese]

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