Search

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the weight loss and isotonic core exercise on oswestry disability index (ODI), trunk extensor and flexor muscle strength in obese middle-aged women with chronic low back pain. METHODS Eighteen obese middle-aged woman with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned into weight loss + core exercise group (WL+CE, n=6), core exercise group (CE, n=6), and control group (CON, n=6). The weight loss goal was set at approximately 0.5-1 kg per week, and core exercises were conducted for 60 minutes, three times a week, for 8 weeks. Body composition (weight, % body fat, muscle mass, WHR), ODI, trunk extensor and flexor muscle strength were measured before, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after core exercise. RESULTS WHR and ODI significantly decreased at 4 and 8 weeks of exercise in both the WL+CE and CE groups compared to before exercise (p

PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the effects of concurrent core exercises and weight loss on lower back pain, core muscle strength, and balance in middle-aged obese women. METHODS Eighteen middle-aged obese women were randomly assigned to the core exercise with weight loss (CE+WL, n=6), core exercise (CE, n=6), and control (CON, n=6) groups. Moreover, CE was conducted for 60 minutes, three times a week for 8 weeks, with a weight loss goal of approximately 0.5-1 kg per week. All participants underwent measurements of body composition (weight, body mass index, percentage body fat, muscle mass, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), low back pain (visual analogue scale [VAS]), core muscle strength (hip flexor), and balance (sensory organization, reaction time, and motor control)) before the experiment, at 4 and 8 weeks. RESULTS A significant decrease in WHR was observed at 4 and 8 weeks of exercise compared to that before exercise in both the CE+WL and CE groups (p

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of shoulder rehabilitation exercise on range of motion (ROM), muscle activity, muscle tone and manual muscle strength after arthroscopic bankart repair in elite collegiate rowing athlete. METHODS A 22-year-old elite collegiate rowing athlete with nerve decompression surgery for scapular entrapment syndrome in 2019, and arthroscopic bankart repair in 2021 was enrolled in this case study. Shoulder rehabilitation exercise program was received weight bearing and elastic band exercises, and was performed for 50 min/day, and 3 day/week for 8 weeks. ROM (flexion, extension, abduction, internal rotation, external rotation), muscle activity, muscle tone and manual muscle strength (infraspinatus; IFP, teres minor; TM, biceps; BI, lateral deltoid; LD, supraspinatus; SSP, upper trapezius; UT) were measured before, after 4 and 8 weeks of shoulder rehabilitation exercise. RESULTS Shoulder ROM increased at flexion, extension, abduction, internal rotation, external rotation after shoulder rehabilitation exercise. Muscle tone increased at IFP, TM, LD, SSP, and UT, but BI decreased after shoulder rehabilitation exercise. Muscle activity and manual muscle strength increased at IFP, TM, BI, LD, SSP, UT after shoulder rehabilitation exercise. CONCLUSIONS The results of this case report confirmed that shoulder rehabilitation exercise had a positive effect on the muscular physiological indices after arthroscopic bankart repair in elite collegiate rowing athlete.

Physical fitness (PF) includes various factors that significantly impacts athletic performance. Analyzing PF is critical in developing customized training methods for athletes based on the sports in which they compete. Previous approaches to analyzing PF have relied on statistical or machine learning algorithms that focus on predicting athlete injury or performance. In this study, six machine learning algorithms were used to analyze the PF of 1,489 male adolescent athletes across five sports, including track & field, football, baseball, swimming, and badminton. Furthermore, the machine learning models were utilized to analyze the essential elements of PF using feature importance of XGBoost, and SHAP values. As a result, XGBoost represents the highest performance, with an average accuracy of 90.14, an area under the curve of 0.86, and F1-score of 0.87, demonstrating the similarity between the sports. Feature importance of XGBoost, and SHAP value provided a quantitative assessment of the relative importance of PF in sports by comparing two sports within each of the five sports. This analysis is expected to be useful in analyzing the essential PF elements of athletes in various sports and recommending personalized exercise methods accordingly.

PURPOSE This study aimed to determine the effects of weight-bearing exercise on health-related physical fitness and sleep index in pre- and postmenopausal women. METHODS Twenty middle-aged women were randomly assigned to premenopausal women (PRW; n=11) and postmenopausal women (POW; n=9) groups. All subjects engaged in weight-bearing exercises for 50 minute twice a week for 8 weeks. All participants underwent weight, body mass index (BMI), muscle mass (MM), body fat mass, body fat percentage, waist to hip ratio, bench press (BP), leg press (LP), 3-minute step test (3 MST), sit and reach test (SRT), air squat (AS), push up (PU), curl up (CU), grip strength (GS), and the Korean version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (K-PSQI) measurements before and 4 and 8 weeks after the weight-bearing exercise program. RESULTS AS and PU improved significantly in the PRW versus POW group (p

During the off-season, soccer players in Korea attend the winter training season (WTS) to build running stamina for the next season. For young soccer players, proper recovery time is needed to prevent injury or muscle damage. In this study, urinary metabolites in young players after 1, 5, and 10 days of the WTS were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) combined with multivariate analysis to suggest appropriate recovery times for improving their soccer skills. After NMR analysis of the urine samples obtained from young players, 79 metabolites were identified, and each group (1, 5, or 10 days after WTS) was separated from the before the WTS group in the target profiling analysis using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Of these, 15 metabolites, including 1-methylnicotinamide, 3-indoxylsulfate, galactarate, glutamate, glycerol, histamine, methylmalonate, maltose, N-phenylacetylglycine, trimethylamine, urea, 2-hydroxybutyrate, adenine, alanine, and lactate, were significantly different than those from before the WTS and were mainly involved in the urea, purine nucleotide, and glucose-alanine cycles. In this study, most selected metabolites increased 1 day after the WTS and then returned to normal levels. However, 4 metabolites, adenine, 2-hydroxybutyrate, alanine, and lactate, increased during the 5 days of recovery time following the WTS. Based on excess ammonia, adenine, and lactate levels in the urine, at least 5 days of recovery time can be considered appropriate.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common skin malignancy. This report describes the case of an unusual extensive SCC involving the whole hemiface, which required reconstruction with a combination of a dual vascular free transverse rectus abdominis muscle (TRAM) flap and a skin graft. A 79-year-old woman visited our hospital with multiple large ulcerated erythematous patches on her right hemiface, including the parieto-temporal scalp, bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva, cheek, and lip. A preliminary multifocal biopsy was performed in order to determine the resection margin, and the lesion was resected en bloc. Orbital exenteration was also performed. A free TRAM flap was harvested with preserved bilateral pedicles and was anastomosed with a single superior thyroidal vessel. The entire TRAM flap survived. The final pathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed that there was no regional nodal metastasis, perineural invasion, or lymphovascular involvement. The patient was observed for 6 months, and there was no evidence of local recurrence. Usage of a TRAM flap is appropriate for hemifacial reconstruction because the skin of the abdomen matches the color and pliability of the face. Furthermore, we found that the independent attachment of two extra-flap anastomoses to a single recipient vessel can safely result in survival of the flap.

In the Republic of Korea, 90.5% of those living with spinal cord injury (SCI) are faced with medical complications that require chronic care. Some of the more common ones include urinary tract infections, pressure sores, and pain symptomatology. These and other morbidities have been recognized to deteriorate the individual’s health, eventually restricting their community participation. Telerehabilitation, using information and communication technology, has propelled a modern-day movement in providing comprehensive medical services to patients who have difficulty in mobilizing themselves to medical care facilities. This study aims to verify the effectiveness of health care and management in the SCI population by providing ICT-based health care services. We visited eight individuals living with chronic SCI in the community, and provided ICT-based health management services. After using respiratory and urinary care devices with the provision of home visit occupational therapy, data acquisition was achieved and subsequently entered into a smart device. The entered information was readily accessible to the necessary clinicians and researchers. The clients were notified if there were any concerning results from the acquired data. Subsequently, they were advised to follow up with their providers for any immediate medical care requirements. Digital hand-bike ergometers and specialized seating system cushions are currently in development. The ICT-based health care management service for individuals with SCI resulted in a favorable expected level of outcome. Based on the results of this study, we have proposed and are now in preparation for a randomized clinical trial.