Ki-Yeon Chang

Effect of the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre in combination with ankle dorsiflexion in strengthening the transverse abdominal muscle in healthy young adults: A preliminary, randomised, controlled study

OBJECTIVES To compare the effect of the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre with the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre in combination with ankle dorsiflexion on changes in muscle thickness and associated muscle activity in abdominal muscles. DESIGN A preliminary, randomised, controlled study. SETTING University laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Forty healthy adults (18 males, 22 females) were allocated at random to the experimental group [mean age (SD) 24 (1.6) years, n=20] or the control group [mean age (SD) 24 (1.9) years, n=20]. The experimental group performed the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre in combination with ankle dorsiflexion, and the control group performed the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre alone, five times a day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Ultrasonography and electromyography were used to determine the intervention-related changes in muscle activity and the thickness of abdominal muscles during the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre or the abdominal draw-in manoeuvre in combination with ankle dorsiflexion. RESULTS A significant difference was found in the thickness of the transverse abdominal muscle between the groups [mean difference 0.24 cm, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08 to 0.40, P=0.005. On electromyography, a significant difference was demonstrated in the amplitude of the transverse abdominal muscle contraction between the two techniques in the experimental group (mean difference 68.76 mV, 95% CI 53.16 to 84.36, P=0.000. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC(2,1)) showed excellent test-retest reliability of ultrasound measurement of the abdominal muscles: 0.96 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.99) for the transverse abdominal muscle, 0.87 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.98) for the internal oblique muscle and 0.77 (95% CI 0.44 to 0.96) for the external oblique muscle. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to demonstrate the additive effect of ankle dorsiflexion on deep core muscle thickness and activity, thus contributing to existing knowledge about therapeutic exercise for the effective management of low back pain.

Intramuscular innervation patterns of the brachialis muscle.

The aim of this study was to provide accurate anatomical descriptions of the patterns of innervation of the brachialis muscle by the musculocutaneous, radial, and median nerves. Sihlers staining method was applied to 20 brachialis muscles from 10 cadavers to reveal the intramuscular distribution patterns of the musculocutaneous, radial, and median nerves. Three patterns of innervation of the brachialis muscle by the three studied nerves were found: single, double, and triple. These innervation patterns were categorized into four types: Type I—only the musculocutaneous nerve; Type II—double innervation by the musculocutaneous and radial nerves; Type III—double innervation by the musculocutaneous and median nerves; and Type IV—triple innervation by all three nerves. Single, double, and triple innervation patterns occurred 25%, 70% (Type II, 55%; Type III, 15%), and 5% of the samples, respectively. The brachialis muscle is not solely innervated by the musculocutaneous nerve but also by the radial and median nerves, thus making it a potentially triply innervated muscle. Double innervation of this muscle with either the musculocutaneous and median nerve or the musculocutaneous and radial nerves was also observed. Clin. Anat. 28:123–127, 2015.

Neuroanastomosis and the innervation territory of the mental nerve

The aim of this study was to clarify the distribution pattern and innervation territory of the mental nerve (MN) in the skin and mucosa by topographic examination by Sihlers staining, thereby providing reference anatomical information for surgical procedures and to enable prediction of regions of sensory disturbance following nerve damage. Ten human specimens were subjected to Sihlers staining, which is a highly accurate method for visualizing the distribution of nerve fibers without altering their topography. Each branch of the MN overlapped adjacent branches (five cases), or else they were distributed individually at the lower lip (five cases). The MN anastomosed with some branches of the facial nerve near the mental foramen. Moreover, some branches of the MN anastomosed with the buccal nerve of the trigeminal nerve, which supplies sensation to the skin and mucosa over the lateral region of the lower lip (six cases). The details of the distribution pattern and innervations territory of the MN presented herein may enable the prediction of a region of sensory disturbance following MN damage. Moreover, knowledge of the pattern of synapses with adjacent branches of other nerves, such as the facial (marginal mandibular and cervical branches) and the buccal nerves, might help to improve our understanding around incomplete anesthesia during the surgical procedures in oral & maxillofacial region. Clin. Anat. 598–602, 2014.

Comparison of muscle activity between two adult groups according to the number of Shaker exercise

The purpose of this study was to investigate the muscle activity of the suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles according to the number of Shaker exercise. The 19 experimental subjects were recruited and randomly assigned to the two experimental groups. The 1st experimental group performed Shaker exercise once a day, and 2nd experimental group performed Shaker exercise three times a day for 6 weeks. Shaker exercise consists of isometric and isotonic contraction movement, enhancing the strength of suprahyoid muscle and increasing the opening of UES. After performing Shaker exercise for 6 weeks, the muscle activity of experimental groups was measured and analysed by surface electromyography. As a result, muscle activity of the suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles showed significant improvement in both groups (P < 0·05). Comparing muscle activity of both groups, there was no significant difference. This means the Shaker exercise shows similar exercise effects on suprahyoid muscle which is the primary target muscle irrespective of the number of Shaker exercise. The activity of the infrahyoid muscle, which takes a supportive role, also showed significant difference between the two groups. In the results of a follow-up test after 4 weeks, muscle activity was higher than the initial status and the value of the EMG activity was statistically significant (P < 0·05). These results by EMG study may suggest that Shaker exercise performed once a day, like performing three times a day, has enough exercise effect and there is similar effect on the suprahyoid muscle between the 2 groups. In addition, the exercise effect lasts for 4 weeks after completing exercise.

Influence of Fall-preventive Occupational Therapy Applied to Elderly in the Community upon Balance Ability

This study is to look into the effectiveness of fall-preventive occupational therapy of elderly by clarifying the influence of occupational therapy applied to female elderly in the community upon balance ability. A 6-week occupational therapy program including both training and exercise for prevention of fall down was applied by dividing into 13 persons of experimental group and 13 persons of control group for female elderly aged more than 65 years who were capable of independence gait and have not taken any drug to adversely affect balance. For balance ability assessment, the Berg balance scale and the Tetrax fall index were used. The Berg balance scale in experimental group was shown to be 48.38 to 50.69 through the 6-week program, indicating changes in significance level(p

Effect of Craniocervical Flexion Exercise on Pain and Cross Sectional Area of Longus Colli Muscle in Workers with Chronic Neck Pain

This study compared the effects of craniocervical flexion exercise with conservative cervical flexion exercise in workers with chronic neck pain. Subjects were randomly allocated to two groups: control (n=20) and experimental group (n=20), respectively. The conservative exercise for the control group consisted of cervical flexion exercise, whereas the experimental group performed a craniocervical flexion exercise. To compare the two groups, the visual analogue scale (VAS) for a pain, neck disability index (NDI) for a neck disability scale, and cross sectional area (CSA) of longus colli muscle using ultrasound image were assessed on pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 2 weeks follow-up. 2-way repeated ANOVA was used with Bonferroni post-hoc test. (1) There were significant main effects (within and between groups) (p<0.05) and interaction effect (p<0.05) in VAS. Post-hoc test revealed that there were significant differences in all pair-wise comparisons. (2) There were significant main effects (within and between groups) (p<0.05) and interaction effect (p<0.05) in NDI. Post-hoc test revealed that there were significant differences between pre-intervention and post-intervention, pre-intervention and 2 weeks follow-up. (3) There were significant main effects (within and between groups) (p<0.05) and interaction effect (p<0.05) in CSA of longus colli muscle. Post-hoc test revealed that there were significant differences in all pair-wise comparisons. The findings indicate that craniocervical flexion exercise are more effective for improving pain, neck disability, and CSA of longus colli muscle than cervical flexion exercise in workers with chronic neck pain.

Relationship between Quantified Instrumental Swallowing Examination and Comprehensive Clinical Swallowing Examination.

The aim of this study was to identify the correlation between the Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) and the Videofluoroscopic Dysphagia Scale (VDS) to investigate the applicability of the MASA as a follow-up test of swallowing function. Criterion validity was assessed for MASA results versus VDS scores of tests administered to 54 patients who had a stroke and dysphagia. A significant correlation was found between the MASA and the VDS (correlation coefficient = -0.509). In analyses of test-re-test reliability and inter-rater reliability of the scoring scale, intraclass correlation coefficients (2, 1) were high (0.98, 0.99). In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that the MASA holds adequate clinical test-re-test and inter-rater reliabilities and criterion validity for measuring the swallowing abilities of Korean patients who had a stroke and dysphagia. The MASA could contribute to more systematic management of swallowing problems and efficient therapeutic service.