The purpose of this investigation was to examine the cooling effect of the new cast (Cooling Cast) which was developed for cold therapy. At first, the change in a skin temperature of vastus medialis was measured during and after 10 min cooling with the Cooling Cast or an ice bag in six male subjects. Secondly, a sheet to proteat from radiation was pasted on an inside surface of the Cooling Cast to prolong a usable time, and then the effect of the improvement was evaluated in five male subjects. As a result, the skin temperature by the Cooling Cast was significantly lower than that by the ice bag during cooling (p<0.05). Moreover, the mean usable time of the Cooling Cast was prolonged from 55 to 70 min by the treatment.

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We evaluated the bilateral quadriceps and hamstrings peak torque for concentric and eccentric contractions in 20 basketball players (10 males, 10 females, mean age 17 years) with no joint laxity or instability. All subjects had won the 1993 national high school championship. We compared the muscle actions between males and females. The following results were obtained: 1. The eccentric quadriceps torque was greater in females than in males. 2. The H/Q torque ratio for eccentric contraction, and concentric hamstrings to eccentric quadriceps (Hcon/Qecc) torque ratio were significantly lower in females than in males. It is clear that on a jump-landing or a sudden stop, the knee joint should have eccectric quadriceps contraction and concentric hamstrings contraction. These results may therefore support the previous studies that non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury occurs frequently in female basketball players on a jumplanding or a sudden stop.

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To examine the effects of exercise therapy on glycemic control, we performed a prospective controlled study of 32 Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) patients in hospital who were randomly assigned to dietary therapy (Dgroup, n=19) or to diet combined exercise therapy (DE group, n=13). The patients in the D group were evaluated in the period with dietary therapy, and the patients in the DE group were evaluated both in the first period with dietary therapy alone and in the second period with diet combined exercise therapy. Both D and DE groups showed a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels after dietary therapy, and the difference between the two groups was not significant. Although FPG levels in the DE group further decreased significantly after exercise therapy, similar effects on FPG levels were observed both in D and DE groups at the end of the study. These results suggest that exercise therapy may have no additional effect on FPG levels in NIDDM patients treated with diet.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of aging on collagen concentration and the change in solubility of Achilles tendon collagen. Wistar strain male rats, aged 3 (n=6), 9 (n=6) and 37 (n=6) weeks, were used. Hydroxyproline was determined for the estimation of the collagen content in neutral salt soluble, acid soluble and insoluble collagen. The collagen concentration in Achilles tendon was expressed as a per cent of wet weight. The collagen concentration did not change significantly between 3 and 9 weeks of age, 9 and 37 weeks of age. The percentage of the salt soluble collagen to the total collagen was decreased significantly between 3 and 9 weeks of age, and did not change significantly between 9 and 37 weeks of age. The percentage of the acid soluble collagen to the total collagen was decreased significantly between 9 and 37 weeks of age, and did not change significantly between 3 and 9 weeks of age. The percentage of the insoluble collagen to the total collagn was increased significantly between 9 and 37 weeks of age, and did not change significantly between 3 and 9 weeks of age. These results suggest that 1) The collagen concentration in Achilles tendon may not change significantly with weeks of age. 2) The solubility of Achilles tendon, expressed as a percentage of the salt soluble collagen, acid soluble collagen and insoluble collagen to the total collagen, may change significantly with weeks of age.

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This paper reports the current status of physical therapy in Indonesia. There are approximately 1,500 physical therapists in Indonesia. Many of them practice "home visit physical therapy" in addition to working in hospitals, and some operate private clinics owing to the lack of official control over private physical therapy and treatment. The Indonesian Physical Therapy Association, which was established in 1968, coordinates a radio programme as a means of promoting physical therapy among the public. Among the 5.5 milion Indonesians with disabilities, 27% are physically disabled. Within physical therapy, physical methods such as thermotherapy are used much more frequently than therapeutic exercise. The education of physical therapy assistants was initiated in 1956. Education of physical therapists, to a level three diploma, was initiated in 1964. Indonesia currently has three government and five private physical therapy academies, the majority of which were established in the late 198O_s. Physical therapy is a popular choice among Indonesian high school students, with as many as seven times the number of students writing the entrance examination each year as there are positions. Three of Indonesia's physical therapists hold Master of Science degrees (MS_c), but none has a PhD.

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Sit-to-stand motion of healthy children, 1 to 4 years old, was evaluated using VTR data to characterize the motion on the developmental view. Three phases of the sit-to-stand motion were identified as follows: phase 1, head and trunk bending forward; phase 2, buttocks rising up and forward while bending head and trunk forward; phase 3, extending trunk and hip, knee joints simultaneously to correct the body alignment vertically. With increasing ages, the peak angle of trunk tilted during phase 1 was significantly decreased. Relative motion time rate (%) of phase 1 was significantly decreased, that of phase 2 was unchanged, and that of phase 3 was significantly increased. These tendencies ceased at the age of 3 or 4, reaching the fixed relative durations; phase-1, 28%, phase-2, 9% and phase-3, 63%.

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The 12th Asian Games Hiroshima 1994 were held in Hiroshima prefecture from 2nd Oct. to 16th Oct. We, the Hiroshima Physical Therapy Association, supported these games as the official physical therapists in the Village Medical Center. Five hundred and forty-one physical therapists participated in this service. We treated 731 athletes who suffered from athletic injuries, especially muscle fatigue (179 in-stances, 60% of all injuries) for 4 weeks. They came from 34 NOC_s (national olympic committees). Only 27% of the injuries were truly acute athletic injuries. The main purposes of treatment were recovery of fatigue, relaxation, and pain relief. We used massage, ultrasound, and stretching, accounting for 1,512 treatments. Many of the therapists later reflected that they had difficulty with language and that they knew too little about physical therapy for athletic injuries. This sense of disappointment probably came from their inability to immediately satisfy the expectations of the athletes for sports physical therapy, provided in a multicultural context. These games were the first occasion of this scale for Japanese physical therapists to support as an organization.

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