Purpose: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) have decreased exercise capacity. The purpose of this study was to determine exercise capacity in such patients.
Methods: One hundred ninety male AMI patients were divided into two groups, the DM group (n = 47) and the non-DM group (n = 143). Peak VO₂ as an index of exercise capacity was assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing performed in each patient at 1 month after the onset AMI.
Results: Peak VO₂ (24.3 vs. 27.1ml/kg/min, p < 0.01), knee extensor muscle strength (1.75 vs. 1.93Nm/kg, p < 0.01), handgrip strength (38.1 vs. 41.3kgf, p = 0.02), single-leg stance time (22.2 vs. 28.5sec, p < 0.01), %HRR (79.1 vs. 85.6%, p = 0.04), and ⊿HR (66.0 vs. 75.4bpm, p < 0.01) were all significantly reduced in the DM group versus the non-DM group. Stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that knee extensor muscle strength and ⊿HR were significant predictors of peak VO₂ (r = 0.58, R² = 0.301, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: Knee extensor muscle strength and ⊿HR may predict a reduction in peak VO₂ in AMI patients with type 2 DM.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate that relationship of the muscle tone and the degree of muscle extensibility of the ankle plantar flexors in hemiplegic patients.
Methods: The subjects were seventy-one ankle plantar flexors in hemiplegic patients after cerebrovascular disease. The ankle plantar flexors tone scale (APTS) and the R2 of the modified Tardieu scale were measured in knee extension and flexion positions. The APTS is consists of stretch reflex (SR), middle range resistance (MR) and final range resistance (FR). We analyzed relevance between APTS and R2.
Results: The SR indicate a no correlation to the R2 at knee extension and flexion positions. The MR showed that a weak negative correlation to the R2 (r_s = -0.24) at knee flexion position. And, the FR showed that a weak negative correlation to the R2 (r_s = -0.33) at knee extension position. The FR and the R2 at knee flexion position showed a moderate negative correlation between them (r_s = -0.49).
Conclusions: The stretch reflex and degree of muscle extensibility suggested that the relationship was not. And, resistance with passive stretch and degree of muscle extensibility was considered to have a relationship between them. This relationship, monoarticular muscle than biarticular muscle was suggested to be strong.

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Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of fear of falling among elderly inpatients about to be discharged to their homes as well as related factors.
Methods: Subjects were a total of 66 elderly inpatients scheduled to be discharged to their homes. Fear of falling was measured using the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), and defined as an MFES score of ≤139 points. As related factors, walking ability, experience of falls, cognitive function, ADL, depressive tendencies, and sex were investigated.
Results: Fear of falling was observed in 97% of subjects. Multiple linear regression analysis identified walking ability, ADL, and depressive tendencies as factors related to fear of falling.
Conclusion: The results indicate that fear of falling is a general psychological problem for elderly inpatients about to be discharged to their homes and that the fear of falling relates walking ability, ADL ability and depressive tendencies.

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Purpose: This study aimed to describe physical therapy provided to inpatients with stroke and investigate relationships between the physical therapy interventions and inpatients' characteristics.
Method: At nine rehabilitation facilities, the kind of physical therapy (specific functional activities and interventions) provided to inpatients within 1 year of stroke onset was recorded for 3 days. Data were collected from a total of 77 physical therapists and 160 inpatients with stroke. Inpatient characteristics, including age, gender, affected side, duration from stroke onset, ward unit, score on the Modified Rankin Scale, and gait ability measured by the Functional Independence Measure, were recorded. The amount of time spent on the specific functional activities and the frequency and amount of time spent on the intervention were calculated and relationships with inpatients' characteristics were investigated.
Results: As functional activities, prefunctional activities, bed mobility, sitting, sit-to-stand, and gait were performed most frequently. However, wheelchair mobility, transfers, advanced gait, and community mobility were performed infrequently. Based on interventions, motor learning, postural control, and balance training were performed most frequently. The proportion of activities was significantly correlated with activities of daily living and gait ability. A weak correlation was observed between the proportion of interventions and inpatients' characteristics.
Conclusion: This study identified the specific functional activities and interventions provided in physical therapy for inpatients with stroke. These results suggest that specific functional activities had relationships to inpatients' characteristics, but interventions had weak relationships.

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Purpose: To elucidate factors associated with chair stand speed adjusted for sample characteristics and medications in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (knee OA).
Methods: Seventy-four outpatients with knee OA (14 men, 60 women; 73.4 ± 8.2y) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The Five Timed-Stands Test (TST-5) was measured as the dependent variable. The following factors were measured as independent variables: maximum isometric muscle strength of knee extensors and flexors, hamstrings/quadriceps muscle strength ratio, knee range of motion, and knee pain. Results were analyzed by multivariate analyses adjusted for confounding factors such as sex, age, height, weight, and pain medications. The level of significance was set at 0.05.
Results: A higher maximum isometric muscle strength of knee extensors and flexors, as well as decreased knee pain, were significantly associated with a faster TST-5 score, and these associations were independent of the confounding effects.
Conclusions: The present findings suggest that the strength of knee extensors, strength of knee flexors, and knee pain are important for chair stand performance in a population with knee OA.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of Japanese versions of the STRATIFY and the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) in a Japanese rehabilitation hospital.
Methods: One hundred and twenty patients admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward since August 2008 were enrolled in this study. Development of Japanese versions of the STRATIFY and the MFS were completed with permission of the original authors. The STRATIFY and the MFS were administered at admission, and investigated prospectively over 3 months. We used a survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier) for fall incidence day as an endpoint. In addition, a proportional hazard model was used to detect risk factors for falls.
Results: When we used the STRATIFY, a significant reduction of the survival rate was observed in the high-risk group. However, when we used the MFS, there was no significant difference between the groups. In the proportional hazards model, a change of two points or more in the STRATIFY score was identified as a significant risk factor for falls.
Conclusion: In present study, the STRATIFY was a simple and useful assessment tool which could discriminate high-risk patients in a Japanese convalescent rehabilitation ward.

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