The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of heat stress on prevention of disuse muscle atrophy in rat skeletal muscle. Male SPF Wistar rats, 7 weeks old, were divided into the control (C), heat stress (H), hindlimb suspension (HS), and hindlimb suspension and heat stress (HSH) groups. Bilateral hindlimbs of H and HSH groups were immersed once daily in hot water (42℃) for 60 min for 7 days. Soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were used for analysis. Heat shock protein 70 concentration of both muscles were significantly greater in the H and HSH groups compared to other groups. Types I and IIA fibers of the SOL and EDL muscles in the HSH group showed significant hypertrophy compared with the HS group, thus, heat stress can prevent disuse muscle atrophy. In the EDL muscle, however, the mean muscle fiber diameter for type IIB fiber did not differ from the HS group. Therefore, heat stress dose not affect atrophied type IIB fiber in EDL muscle.

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Linear polarized light irradiation is the deep heating modalities to heat muscles, tendons and other tissues. Although a large number of researches on effects of linear polarized light irradiation in pain management and wound healing have been reported, little is known about Its effects on muscle extension. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of linear polarized light irradiation on muscle extension. The subjects were twenty healthy adults (seven males, thirteen females). They were randomly divided into Intervention group (ten persons) and control group (ten persons).
The intervention group received linear polarized light irradiation into gastrocnemius, and the control group was taken dummy irradiation. Range of motion (ROM) of ankle dorsiflexion and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of muscle pain with stretching were measured In pre-irradiation, post-irradiation and after a rest of 15 minutes. In the intervention group. ROM measured in post-irradiation was significantly greater (p < 0.01) than those measured in pre-irradiation and those measured after rest (p < 0.05). In addition, VAS measured In post-irradiation was significantly decreased (p < 0.05), compared with those measured in pre-irradiation. But ROM and VAS were not significantly different in the control group. We concluded that linear polarized light irradiation has effects on increases in muscle extension.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual conditions on developmental stages of oral functions of children and adults with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) and levels of diet modification they eat.
The subjects were 92 persons with SMID, who suffered from dysphagia. Their age range was from 3 to 55 years (mean 28.1 years). Three developmental stages (early, middle, and late weaning period) of oral functions (movements of tongue and jaw) and levels of diet modification were evaluated.
As a result, though oral functions stopped during the middle weaning period in almost all the subjects, those who had eaten various diet modification during the late weaning period did so for about 30% in staple foods and about 80% in side dishes. As a whole, they ate diet modification that were of significantly higher levels than those for the actual developmental stages of oral functions.
Oral functions develop from the interaction with diet modification, feeding position and so on. The levels of diet modification suitable for oral functions should be reconsidered to prevent aspiration pneumonia and loss of eating pleasure.

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The purpose of this study is to consider effective methods of practical physical therapy training by developing a new objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for physical therapy education and analyzing the results of a trial run. With all instructors in this major involved, a physical therapy OSCE was developed and a 30-page physical therapy OSCE manual was produced. The subjects were 18 students who were about to start clinical training in their senior year. A total of 4 tasks were assigned, each of which consisting of 25-29 questions. Task 1 was for pulse rate and blood pressure measurements. Task 2 for joint range of motion tests and manual muscle tests, and both were performed in patients who underwent total knee replacement. Task 3 was medical interviews, Task 4 was for balance tests, and both were administered to hemiplegic patients. The average accuracy rate of the total was 78.4%. Among the four tasks, the accuracy rate of the medical interview was significantly lower than the others. Evaluation was done by four pairs of instructors and the average concordance rate between each pair was almost 70%. Like the OSCE used in medical education, physical therapy OSCE was considered to be feasible for the evaluation of basic skills and interaction with patients. Adding an overall impression to evaluation was considered effective for comprehensive understanding of adaptability in the clinical trainings.

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This study analyzed the relationship between vastus medialis (VM) activity and hip position in knee extension isometric exercise. Study subjects were 11 healthy adult male volunteers. Surface electromyography was recorded during the contraction of VM, vastus lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris. The subjects performed the maximal isometric knee extension in a sitting position on a bed. Electromyographic activity of these muscles were compared in six hip positions; neutral, external and internal rotation with 0 and 20 degree abduction, respectively. The VM/VL ratio of the external rotation with 20 degree abduction was significantly greater than that In the neutral position with 0 degree abduction. This finding suggests that VM may be selectively strengthened by performing external hip rotation with abduction during isometric contraction exercise with knee extension.

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether the standing postural control test using the Elderly Balance Board type N could be used to predict an elderly person's risk of falling. Subjects were 45 elderly persons average aged 81.2 (SD; 6.4). At the baseline investigation of this study, we assessed the Elderly Balance Board type N test, Berg Balance Test, walking speed and Timed Up and Go Test. One year after the baseline investigation, we asked subjects about falls during the follow up period. The Elderly Balance Board type N test was classified into four categories based on the duration of standing times on the Balance Board (less than 30 sec or more) and the height of the Balance Board. In the univariate analysis, the Elderly Balance Board type N test differed significantly according to the fall status. The results of logistic regression analysis revealed that, the lower categories of the Elderly Balance Board type N test subjects showed, the higher the risk of falls became. Our results suggested that standing postural control test using the Elderly Balance Board type N may be a simple and easy-to-use clinical measure of functional balance level and useful for preventing recurrent falls.

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The purpose of this study was to Investigate the effects of the 8-week high intensity pedaling training on muscle strength, cross sectional area of thigh muscles and lower extremity performance. Eleven healthy adults (4 male and 7 female, mean age 22.7 ± 3.3 yr) participated in this study. Muscle strength, EMG, MRI, pedaling power and lower extremity performance tests were measured before training and after 8 weeks of pedaling training. As a result, for muscle strength, a significant increase was observed in hip extension, knee extension, knee flexion, ankle dorsiflexion and ankle plantar flexion, but not in hip abduction. Muscle hypertrophy was seen in quadriceps, but not in hamstrings. Pedaling power showed a significant Increase during the 8-week training period. Improvements in muscle strength and pedaling power caused by the training transferred to improvements in lower extremity performance. It was suggested that high intensity pedaling training was an appropriate exercise for young healthy subjects to improve both muscle strength in open kinetic chain and performance in closed kinetic chain.

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The Functional Movement Scale (FMS) is a new clinical measure for evaluating functional limitations. The FMS consists of twelve items; sitting balance, reaching downward to floor in sitting, supine-sit, sit-stand, standing balance, transfer, reaching downward to floor in standing, turning, walking, sit on floor-stand, standing on one leg, and stair climbing. Each task is scored on five-point sale (0-4). The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and the validity of the FMS. In total, 264 stroke patients (mean age, 67.7 ± 11.9 years) were assessed for neurological Impairments (motor function, sensory and visuo-spatial deficit), FMS and extended ADL scale. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was measured by the kappa statistic. One item, standing on one leg, exhibited poor agreement, and this item was therefore deleted. The intraclass correlation coefficients measuring inter-rater and intra-rater reliability for the FMS scores as a whole (11 Items) were 0.97 and 0.99, respectively. There was a high degree of internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.97). A factor analysis identified one factor. The FMS scores correlated moderately with the other instruments. Path analysis revealed that the FMS scores mediates between the neurological impairments scores and the extended ADL scale scores. These results suggest that the FMS exhibits high reliability and construct validity. In addition, this tool Is relatively easy to administer and score, and useful in clinical practice and research.

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