Introduction: Thoracic kyphosis commonly occurs in subacromial impingement syndrome. This pilot study investigated the effect of thoracic joint mobilization and extension exercise on improving thoracic alignment and shoulder function. Methods: In total, 30 patients with subacromial impingement syndrome were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups, the joint mobilization group (n = 10), exercise group (n = 10), and combination group (n = 10). After four weeks of treatment, the measured outcomes included thoracic kyphosis using a manual inclinometer; pectoralis major (PM) and upper trapezius (UT) muscle tone and stiffness using the MyotonPRO^®; affected side passive range of motion (ROM) using the goniometer (flexion, abduction, medial rotation, and lateral rotation); and shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI). Results: All three groups had significant improvements in all variables (p < 0.05). Thoracic kyphosis; UT muscle tone; and flexion, medial rotation, and lateral rotation ROM and SPADI were all significantly improved in the combination group compared to the mobilization and exercise groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The combination therapy of thoracic mobilization and extension exercise can be regarded as a promising method to improve thoracic alignment and shoulder function in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.

Background: Animal-assisted therapy using dogs is being administered to patients post-stroke for the purpose of recovering psychological and physical activity. Objective: This study was conducted to confirm the effect of animal-assisted therapy using dogs on gait performance, pulmonary function, and psychological variables in patients post-stroke. All outcomes were analyzed using two-way repeated-measure analysis. Methods: In total, 30 post-stroke patients were divided into an experimental group (gait training by animal-assisted activity, n = 15) and a control group (gait training, n = 15). Gait performance (cadence, gait speed, stride length, symmetric index), respiratory pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP)), and psychological variables (rehabilitation motivation and depression assessment) were measured before and after eight weeks of intervention. Results: Gait performance, respiratory pulmonary function, and psychological variables significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Based on this study, it was found that animal-assisted therapy using dogs is an effective intervention for recovery of psychological and physical activity in patients post-stroke.

After a stroke, forward head posture occurs, resulting in swallowing dysfunction. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) combined with upper cervical spine mobilization has demonstrated enhanced recovery of the swallowing function in stroke patients. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of NMES in conjunction with upper cervical mobilization in stroke patients with dysphagia. Thirty-four stroke patients were recruited (in a randomized controlled clinical trial) and divided into an experimental group (n = 17; NMES plus upper cervical spine mobilization) and a control group (n = 17; NMES plus sham mobilization). Forward head posture was measured by craniocervical flexion test (CCFT) and craniovertebral angle (CVA). Swallowing function was measured by variations in video fluoroscopic dysphagia scale (VDS) and penetration–aspiration scale (PAS) scores using the video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS). All measurements were done at baseline and after four weeks of NMES plus mobilization. A significant increase was observed in CCFT, CVA, VDS (total VDS score, oral stage score, pharyngeal stage score), and PAS score in all variations in the experimental group. The CCFT, CVA, pharyngeal stage score, total VDS, and PAS score were significantly higher in the experimental group when compared to the control group. NMES plus upper cervical spine mobilization can be regarded as a promising method to improve swallowing function and forward head posture changes in stroke patients with dysphagia.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical capacity and fear avoidance beliefs in patients with chronic low back pain. [Subjects and Methods] This cross sectional study included 131 male university students with chronic low back pain. All the patients completed a fear avoidance beliefs questionnaire. Each participant performed a physical capacity test, which included hand grip force, leg strength, abdominal muscle endurance, flexibility, and cardiopulmonary endurance testing. [Results] Negative correlation was observed between physical capacity (leg strength, abdominal muscle endurance) and fear avoidance beliefs regarding work. Physical capacity (hand grip force, leg strength, cardiopulmonary endurance) showed a negative correlation with fear avoidance beliefs about physical activity. Abdominal muscle endurance and cardiopulmonary endurance were predictors of fear avoidance beliefs. [Conclusion] Physical capacity showed a negative correlation with fear avoidance beliefs in patients with chronic low back pain. The results of this study suggest that physical capacity is an important factor for predicting fear avoidance beliefs in patients with chronic low back pain.

Background: Impaired trunk postural control is common after stroke. Combining kinesio taping with trunk rehabilitation has been shown to enhance the recovery of postural control ability in patients with stroke. Objective: We investigated whether the combination of kinesio taping with trunk rehabilitation would improve dynamic and static sitting stability after stroke. Methods: Twenty-eight patients with stroke were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the two 8-week trunk rehabilitation programs with kinesio (experimental group) or placebo taping (control group). Outcome measures were dynamic forward, dynamic backward, affected-side, and unaffected-side sway areas, static sway area and length, and the total limit of stability (LOS) area. The variables were measured using the BioRescue analysis system. All outcome measures were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks of trunk rehabilitation. Results: Significant increases were observed in the dynamic forward, dynamic backward, affected-side, and unaffected-side sway areas, and the total LOS area, in the experimental and control groups, whereas decreases were observed in the static sway area and length. The dynamic forward sway area was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group, but there were no significant differences between the groups in the other variables. Conclusions: Trunk rehabilitation is effective for improving dynamic and static sitting stability after stroke. The addition of kinesio taping to the back muscles further increases forward mobility.