Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of whole-body vibration performed under the different position on lumbar spine and femoral neck bone density.

Methods: The subjects were postmenopausal women over the age of 60 years who had lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral density of more than 70% YAM (young adult mean) and did not use medicines for osteoporosis. The subjects were divided into 4 groups (control, standing position, sitting position, lateral decubitus position), then lumbar spine and femoral neck bone density were compared before and after the whole-body vibration intervention.

Results: Only the femoral neck bone mineral density of the control group decreased (P = 0.02). As a result of the χ² test, the number of people who maintained or increased the femoral bone density was larger in the sitting group compared to the other groups (P = 0.03, V = 0.44).

Conclusions: It is suggested that the whole-body vibration of the sitting position may be the most effective to improve femoral neck bone mineral density. The effect of whole-body vibration to a specific body part may be different depending on the position.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between frailty of elderly men and site-specific body of muscle mass.

Methods: Forty-two in community elderly men aged 65 or over participated in this study. Kihon checklist (KCL) was used to evaluate frailty. Total KCL score of 3 points and less were classified as robust group, 4 and more as pre-frail and frail persons (frailty group). Muscle thickness of eight regions of the body, as well as body height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), handgrip strength, and 5-m usual gait speed were measured.

Results: The scores for physical functions, oral functions, and cognitive functions, depression was higher in the frailty group than in the robust group. Regarding the muscle mass of the eight regions, only the muscle mass of the anterior upper arm was significantly smaller in the frailty group than in the robust group. A significantly negative correlation was observed between the total KCL score and the muscle mass of the anterior upper arm.

Conclusion: Loss of muscle mass of frail elderly men were not recognized the lower limbs or the trunk, but a specific site, that is occurred for anterior upper arm.

Purpose: The factors of neck and shoulder pain (NSP), referred to as katakori in Japanese, have yet to be examined well. The aim of this study is to compare the factors of prolonged NSP between those of an asymptomatic control group. The study consisted of community dwelling elderly women and was conducted utilizing simple evaluation tools that can be found in clinical practice.

Method: Thirty-three community dwelling elderly female subjects (22 prolonged NSP group, 11 asymptomatic control group, and average age 71 years old) were recruited for this study. Measurements of the cervicothoracic spinal alignment were obtained via forward head alignment (FHA) along with the upper thoracic angle. A lateral photograph was taken of test subjects with a digital camera, also neck flexor muscle endurance was obtained with the neck flexor muscle endurance test. Cervical functional measurements were obtained with the Neck Disability Index (NDI).

Results: There was no significant difference in the FHA and the upper thoracic angle between the two groups; however, the cervical flexor muscle endurance of the prolonged NSP group was significantly lesser than the asymptomatic control group. NDI score of the prolonged NSP group was also significantly higher than the asymptomatic control group. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of cervical muscle endurance was significantly higher in NSP group.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the cervical flexor muscle endurance could be a good factor for the presence of prolonged NSP. NDI score was also significantly higher in the prolonged NSP group; therefore, it also indicates prolonged NSP is not only the symptoms in the neck/shoulder region, but also could affect neck function.

Purpose: To examine whether early knee range of motion (ROM) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) influences the time to independent walking and the length of hospital stay.

Methods: Seventy-eight inpatients who received TKA in our hospital were included. Age and body mass index were assessed before TKA. Knee ROM (active and passive, flexion and extension), the visual analog scale of pain, and serum C-reactive protein levels were measured 4 days after TKA. The isometric strength of the knee extensors was measured with a hand-held dynamometer 7 days after TKA. Conventional rehabilitation was started one day after TKA. To predict the time until hospital discharge and independent walking after TKA, a stepwise multiple linear regression was applied.

Results: Stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that the important factors determining the length of time until hospital discharge after TKA were active knee flexion ROM (β = –0.37, P < 0.01) and age (β = 0.30, P < 0.05), and the important factors determining the length of time needed to achieve independent walking after TKA were active knee flexion ROM (β = –0.46, P < 0.01) and active knee extension ROM (β = 0.28, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Improvement in early active knee ROM after TKA may be one of the factors influencing early independent walking and hospital discharge.

Objective: This study investigated the association between resumption of menstruation and low back and pelvic pain (LBPP) after childbirth in women with LBPP during pregnancy.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included postpartum women who participated in health checkups for 4-month-old infants. At the health checkup, 120 women answered a self-reported questionnaire and of these 120, 99 women who reported LBPP during pregnancy were included in this study (mean age 31.5 ± 4.9 years). Demographic data, LBPP including pain severity 4 months after childbirth, and resumption of menstruation were assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. We evaluated pain severity using the numerical rating scale (NRS). The Fisher exact test was used to determine the association between LBPP observed 4 months after childbirth and resumption of menstruation. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounding variables. We evaluated the following variables as relevant confounders: age, body mass index, parity, a history of LBPP before pregnancy, and NRS during pregnancy.

Results: Women who did not show resumption of menstruation were at a higher risk of LBPP after childbirth than those with resumption of menstruation (50.5% vs. 8.1%, p < 0.05). Even after adjusting for confounding variables, resumption of menstruation continued to show an association with LBPP 4 months after childbirth (odds ratio 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.09–0.93).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that postnatal amenorrhea was associated with LBPP after childbirth.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between exercise, self-efficacy for exercise, and grade of frailty in community dwelling older adults.

Methods: A total of 212 subjects older than 65 years who lived independently and did not have nursing care insurance were included in the study (85 males, 127 females; mean age, 76 years). Exercise habits were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire and self-efficacy for exercise by the scale of self-efficacy for exercise. The Japanese Cardiovascular Health Study Index was used to classify the grade of frailty in the subjects as either robust, pre-frailty, or frailty.

Results: Multiple logistic analysis showed that the factors that related significantly with pre-frailty were no walking habit (odds ratio 11.521), no muscle training（odds ratio 6.526), and not participating in group exercise (odds ratio 10.089). The lower values of the self-efficacy scale for exercise were the only values that showed a relationship with frailty (odds ratio 0.826, 95% CI 0.714–0.955).

Conclusion: This study showed that exercise habit, and psychological and educational support was important for preventing progression of frailty in older adults who lived in the community.

Purpose: To investigate factors that influence a student’s cooperative learning, in the short-term physiotherapy clinical practice, with a placement model of one clinical educator to two students.

Method: The subjects consisted of 90 students, who completed a short-term clinical practice (of 10 days) with a placement model of one clinical educator to two students. They were divided into 2 groups, depending on their answers to a questionnaire asking whether the clinical practice felt cooperative (C group) or not (NC group). The Emotional Intelligence Scale (EQS) was evaluated before the clinical practice. The scores of the scales’ interpersonal scope, and of the 3 corresponding factors (empathy, altruism, and human control) were compared between groups. Additionally, the score gap between the pairs, as well as gender and general academic performance, and its gap, were equated.

Result: The C group contained 30 pairs, while the NC group had 13. The empathy scores in the C group were significantly higher than that of the NC group. Furthermore, the score gap of altruisms between student pairings in the NC group was significantly higher than that of the C group.

Conclusion: In order to facilitate cooperative learning among students, it may be necessary to focus on each student’s self-evaluation, regarding interpersonal correspondence, and the difference in self-evaluation among the students.