Effect of scapular stabilization exercise on neck alignment and muscle activity in patients with forward head posture.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of scapula movement on neck alignment and the muscles in patients with forward head posture, who has the structural changes around the neck caused from the forward head posture, when scapular stabilization exercise is applied. [Subjects and Methods] A sample of 30 patients with forward head posture were recruited and participated in an intervention for 30 minutes a day, three times per week for 4 weeks. Fifteen patients were assigned to the scapular stabilization exercise group and the remaining 15 were assigned to the neck stabilization exercise group. Before the intervention, the craniovertebral angle (CVA), cranial rotation angle (CRA), and muscle activity of the muscles around the neck were measured. Four weeks later, these 3 factors were re-measured and analyzed. [Results] Within-group changes in CVA and CRA were observed in both groups and were statistically significant. Only the CVA group had a statistically significant between-group differences. Within-group changes in muscular activity were significant differences in all groups. Between groups, the lower back trapezius and serratus anterior showed statistically significant differences. [Conclusion] Scapular stabilization brought about improvement in posture through activation of the neck muscles, the lower trapezius, and the serratus anterior. Therefore, the intervention has a positive effect on neck alignment by reducing the compensatory movements of the muscles involved in forward head posture. Structural changes are observed.

Effects on muscle activities according to the type of bodyblade exercise in quadruped position.

[Purpose] Most studies on bodyblade exercise have examined changes in muscle activities in the trunk and shoulders according to the hand position or direction while in a standing position. The present study compared and examined the changes in muscle activities around the shoulders and trunk according to different bodyblade lifting methods during stabilization exercise in a quadruped position. [Subjects and Methods] The present study was conducted on 20 healthy males. The following exercise four types were performed with the bodyblade held by flexing the dominant arm at 180° in a quadruped position. The muscle activity and the ratio of muscle activity were measured. [Results] The SA and IO, EO muscles showed significant differences. Moreover, the SA/UT activity ratio showed significant differences according to the type of exercise. The Tukey's post hoc test results were as follows: for the SA muscle, exercise types 4, 2 were more effective than types 1, 3: and for the IO muscle, types 1, 2 were more effective than types 3, 4. [Conclusion] The present study showed that type 2 scapular stabilization exercise (crossed leg lifting with the hand raised above the head on a vertical plane) showed selective and positive effects on trunk muscle strengthening and stabilization. In future, additional studies are required to design effective exercise programs for pain management and improvement of muscle activities in patients with complaints of shoulder pain due to scapular winging.

Effects of dynamic neural mobilization on cerebral cortical activity in patients with stroke.

[Purpose] The current study aimed to identify the effects of dynamic neural mobilization on cerebral cortical activity in patients with stroke, and to present efficient intervention methods for stroke management. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 20 hemiplegic patients diagnosed with stroke over the past 6 months were sampled, and randomly divided into groups I (n=10) and II (n=10). Groups I and II underwent neural mobilization and dynamic neural mobilization, respectively, on the paralyzed arm. Both interventions were administered for 30 min, once a day, for 4 days a week, over a course of 4 weeks. ß-waves and µ-rhythms in the C3 and C4 areas of the cerebral cortex were measured using electroencephalography, both before and after the intervention. [Results] After the intervention, both groups showed significant changes in the ß-waves and µ-rhythms in the C3 area alone. Further, significant inter-group differences in the ß-waves and µ-rhythms were only present in the C3 area. [Conclusion] Dynamic neural mobilization is an efficient intervention because it increases ß-waves and µ-rhythms in the cerebral cortex. Therefore, the effects of continuous intervention programs involving dynamic neural mobilization in patients with stroke should be investigated in the future.

A study on muscle activity and ratio of the knee extensor depending on the types of squat exercise.

[Purpose] For preventing the patellofemoral pain syndrome, this study aims to suggest a proper squat method, which presents selective muscle activity of Vastus Medialis Oblique and muscle activity ratios of Vastus Medialis Oblique/Vastus Lateralis by applying squat that is a representative weight bearing exercise method in various ways depending on the surface conditions and knee bending angles. [Subjects and Methods] An isometric squat that was accompanied by hip adduction, depending on the surface condition and the knee joint flexion angle, was performed by 24 healthy students. The muscle activity and the ratio of muscle activity were measured. [Results] In a comparison of muscle activity depending on the knee joint flexion angle on a weight-bearing surface, the vastus medialis oblique showed a significant difference at 15° and 60°. Meanwhile, in a comparison of the muscle activity ratio between the vastus medialis oblique and the vastus lateralis depending on the knee joint flexion angle on a weight-bearing surface, significant differences were observed at 15° and 60°. [Conclusion] An efficient squat exercise posture for preventing the patellofemoral pain syndrome is to increase the knee joint bending angle on a stable surface. But it would be efficient for patients with difficulties in bending the knee joint to keep a knee joint bending angle of 15 degrees or less on an unstable surface. It is considered that in future, diverse studies on selective Vastus Medialis Oblique strengthening exercise methods would be needed after applying them to patients with the patellofemoral pain syndrome.

The effects on postural control and low back pain according to the types of orthoses in chronic low back pain patients.

[Purpose] This study investigated how types of lumbosacral orthoses applied to patients with chronic lumbar pain affect postural control and low back pain. [Subjects and Methods] Ten subjects were randomly selected and allocated to each a group wearing soft lumbosacral orthoses and a group wearing rigid lumbosacral orthoses. They wore the lumbosacral orthoses for 4 weeks. Pain index and postural control were measured on the first day of wearing lumbosacral orthoses and 4 weeks later. Pain index was evaluated using a visual analogue scale, and postural control was measured using a Balance measurement system. The measurements examined included the overall balance index, anteroposterior balance index, and mediolateral balance index. [Results] There were statistically meaningful within-group differences in all variables, the visual analogue scale, overall balance index, anteroposterior balance index, and mediolateral balance index, in the group wearing soft lumbosacral orthoses. There were meaningful differences in visual analogue scale, overall balance index, and mediolateral balance index in the group wearing rigid lumbosacral orthoses. Furthermore, there was a meaningful difference in anteroposterior balance index between the group wearing soft lumbosacral orthoses and the group wearing rigid lumbosacral orthoses. [Conclusion] The results of the present study showed that wearing soft lumbosacral orthoses was more effective than wearing rigid lumbosacral orthoses.

The effect of exercise types for rotator cuff repair patients on activities of shoulder muscles and upper limb disability.

[Purpose] This study investigated the effect on activities, shoulder muscle fatigue, upper limb disability of two exercise types performed by patients in the post- immobilization period of rotator cuff repair. [Subjects and Methods] The intervention program was performed by 20 patients from 6 weeks after rotator cuff repair. Ten subjects each were randomly allocated to a group performing open kinetic chain exercise and a group preforming closed kinetic chain exercise. Muscle activity and median frequency were measured by using sEMG and the Upper Extremity Function Assessment before and after conducting the intervention and changes in the results were compared. [Results] There was a significant within group increases in the activities of the shoulder muscles, except for the posterior deltoid. The median power frequencies (MFD) of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus and anterior deltoid significantly increased in the open kinetic chain exercise group, but that of the posterior deltoid decreased. There were significant differences in the changes in the upper limb disability scores of the two groups, in the shoulder muscle activities, except for that of the posterior deltoid, in the comparison of the change in the muscle activities of the two groups, and in the MDFs of all shoulder muscles. [Conclusion] The Median power frequencies of all these muscles after closed kinetic chain exercise increased indicating that muscle fatigue decreased. Therefore, research into exercise programs using closed kinetic chain exercises will be needed to establish exercise methods for reducing muscle fatigue.

Prostate epithelial genes define therapy-relevant prostate cancer molecular subtype.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Transcriptomic landscape of prostate cancer (PCa) shows multidimensional variability, potentially arising from the cell-of-origin, reflected in serum markers, and most importantly related to drug sensitivities. For example, Aggressive Variant Prostate Cancer (AVPC) presents low PSA per tumor burden, and characterized by de novo resistance to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARIs). Understanding PCa transcriptomic complexity can provide biological insight and therapeutic guidance. However, unsupervised clustering analysis is hindered by potential confounding factors such as stromal contamination and stress-related material degradation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To focus on prostate epithelial cell-relevant heterogeneity, we defined 1,629 genes expressed by prostate epithelial cells by analyzing publicly available bulk and single- cell RNA sequencing data. Consensus clustering and CIBERSORT deconvolution were used for class discovery and proportion estimate analysis. The Cancer Genome Atlas Prostate Adenocarcinoma dataset served as a training set. The resulting clusters were analyzed in association with clinical, pathologic, and genomic characteristics and impact on survival. Serum markers PSA and PAP was analyzed to predict response to docetaxel chemotherapy in metastatic setting. RESULTS: We identified two luminal subtypes and two aggressive variant subtypes of PCa: luminal A (Adipogenic/AR-active/PSA-high) (30.0%); luminal S (Secretory/PAP-high) (26.0%); AVPC-I (Immune-infiltrative) (14.7%), AVPC-M (Myc-active) (4.2%), and mixed (25.0%). AVPC-I and AVPC-M subtypes predicted to be resistant to ARI and have low PSA per tumor burden. Luminal A and AVPC-M predicted to be resistant to docetaxel and have high PSA/PAP Ratio. Metastatic PCa patients with high PSA/PAP ratio (>20) had significantly shorter progression-free survival than those with low ratio (≤20) following docetaxel chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: We propose four prostate adenocarcinoma subtypes with distinct transcriptomic, genomic, and pathologic characteristics. PSA/PAP ratio in advanced cancer may aid in determining which patients would benefit from maximized androgen receptor inhibition or early use of antimicrotubule agents.