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Background: In recent years, a three-dimensional ankle exercise has been proposed as a practice for strengthening the intrinsic foot muscles, however this topic still requires further research. This study aimed to compare the activities of the intrinsic muscles in healthy participants during 3D foot&ndash, ankle exercises, namely, short foot (SF), and toe spread out (TSO). Methods: Prior to the experiment, 16 healthy adults were trained on how to perform SF, TSO, and 3D foot&ndash, ankle exercises for an hour. Once all participants passed the foot&ndash, ankle exercise performance test, we randomly measured the activity of the intrinsic foot muscles using electromyography while the patients were performing foot&ndash, ankle exercises. Results: The abductor hallucis (AbH), extensor hallucis longus (EHL), and flexor hallucis brevis (FHB) activities showed significant differences among the exercises for intrinsic foot muscle strengthening (p &lt, 0.01). Additionally, the AbH/AdH (adductor hallucis) ratio showed significant differences among the exercises for strengthening the intrinsic foot muscles (p &lt, 0.01). Conclusions: Our results showed that the 3D extension exercise is as effective as the therapeutic exercise in terms of the AbH and FHB activities, and the AbH/AdH ratio. On the contrary, the 3D flexion exercise showed superiority in terms of the EHL activity.

The present study aimed to investigate lumbar multifidus (LM) thickness and perceived exertion during graded superman exercises (GSE) or GSE with an abdominal drawing-in maneuver (GSE-AD) in young adults. Twelve young adult males and females, who were informed of the purpose and procedures of this study and then gave their voluntary consent to participate, were included in this study. All subjects randomly performed three GSE and GSE-AD over 3 days. Ultrasonography was used to measure the LM thickness to the left and right of the L5 region. Additionally, the issue of whole-body fatigue felt by the subject while performing the GSE or GSE-AD was measured using the Borg scale. The intrarater reliability of the LM measurement was found to be intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC[3,1])=0.97 (0.87–0.99) at resting and ICC(3,1)=0.94 (0.78–0.99) at contraction. Both the left and right LM showed significantly higher contraction during the grade 3 GSE (P< 0.05). The whole-body fatigue was significantly greater following GSE 2 and 3 than following GSE-AD 2 and 3 (P0.05). It is recommended that the abdominal drawing-in maneuver be applied with grade 3 GSE to enhance stability and reduce spinal fatigue.

Many experts have used an indirect method for enhancing strength and performance of muscles in clinical practice. The indirect method, which called an irradiation is a basic procedure of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, there is little research related the effects of irradiation. This study investigated abdominal muscle activity during abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) combined with irradiation variations. The study recruited 42 healthy, young adults who were divided randomly into three groups according to which intervention they received. The first group performed the ADIM combined with coactivation of the pelvic floor muscle. The second group performed the ADIM combined with the irradiation resulting from dorsiflexion of the ankle. The third group performed the ADIM combined with the irradiation resulting from bilateral arm extension. Electromyography data were collected from the rectus abdominis, external oblique abdominis, and transversus abdominis/internal oblique abdominis (TrA/IO) muscles during ADIM combined with irradiation variations. There were significant differences in the abdominal muscle activity and the preferential contraction ratio of the TrA/IO among the three groups (P

Aim. Kuseonwangdogo is a traditional Korean immunomodulatory polyherbal prescription. However, there are no systemic findings on its complex immunomodulatory effects onin vivomodels. In this study, we observed the immunomodulatory effects of Kuseonwangdogo-based mixed herbal formula aqueous extracts (MHFe) on cyclophosphamide- (CPA-) induced immunosuppression mouse model.Methods. In total, 60 male 6-week-old ICR mice (10 mice/group) were selected based on body weight 24 h after the second CPA treatment and used in this experiment. Twelve hours after the end of the last (fourth) oral administration of MHFe, the animals were sacrificed.Results. Following CPA treatment, a noticeable decrease in the body, thymus, spleen, and submandibular lymph node (LN) weights; white blood cell, red blood cell, platelet number, hemoglobin, and hematocrit concentrations; serum interferon-γlevels; splenic tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin- (IL-) 1β, and IL-10 content; and peritoneal and splenic natural killer cell activities was observed. Depletion of lymphoid cells in the thymic cortex, splenic white pulp, and submandibular LN-related atrophic changes were also observed. However, these CPA-induced myelosuppressive signs were markedly and dose-dependently inhibited by the oral administration of 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg MHFe.Conclusion. MHFe can be a promising, potent immunomodulatory therapeutic agent for various immune disorders.

The objective of this study was to determine appropriate knee angles for the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) through evaluation of changes in contraction ratios of the abdominal muscles and activity of quadriceps muscle in relation to changes in knee angles occurring while the ADIM is performed in the wall support standing (WSS). 20 subjects performed the ADIM at different knee angles (0°, 20°, 40°, 60°) in random order, standing at a point 6 inches away from the wall with the spine maintained in the neutral position. The WSS with knee flexion at 20° showed significantly higher preferential contraction ratio (PCR) of transversus abdominis (TrA) compared to other positions (0°, 40°, 60°). Therefore, performing the ADIM in the WSS with knee flexion at 20° appears to be the most appropriate position for TrA PCR.

[Purpose] This study examined the effects of diagonal shoulder training on an individual with secondary impingement due to scapular dyskinesis. [Subject] A 54 year-old female with secondary impingement participated in this study. [Methods] The patient performed diagonal shoulder training in 4-point kneeling, 3 times per day for 20 minutes over a period of 6 weeks. Evaluations of shoulder pain, range of motion, upper trapezius/lower serratus anterior ratio, and impingement were performed before training and at 2, 4, and 6 weeks. [Results] The patient’s parameters improved gradually. All parameters returned to normal ranges at 4 weeks. [Conclusion] Diagonal shoulder training is effective for improving dysfunction in individuals with secondary impingement. In addition, this training should be applied for more than 4 weeks.