Living a healthy lifestyle is the most important need in the world today. However, oxidative stress (OS) is caused by several stress-inducing factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, chronic diseases, and inflammatory responses, oxygen-free radicals are produced in excess and can damage major organs in the body. This phenomenon has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, including gastritis, constipation, and inflammatory bowel diseases, which include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, functional dyspepsia, acid reflux, diverticular disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. In this review article, we provide a brief overview of the role of OS in the pathogenesis of GI disorders. Additionally, we discuss the therapeutic role of alkaline-reduced water (ARW) on GI diseases and existing studies on ARW related to GI diseases. Furthermore, we believe that findings from this review article will enhance the knowledge of the readers on the role of ARW on OS and inflammation-based GI diseases.

Regular physical activity confers health benefits and improves the general quality of life. Recently, alkaline-reduced water (ARW) consumption has garnered increasing attention in the field of sports. ARW effectively inhibits the oxidative stress generated in cells during high-intensity exercises; however, whether it exerts similar effects during exhaustive exercises remains unknown. This study was designed as a randomized, controlled, crossover, double-blind clinical trial with a single intervention of ARW intake (pH 9.5, 10 mL/kg body weight) after intense exercise. The participants were divided into two groups, wherein they consumed either purified water (PW group) or ARW (ARW group). Blood samples were collected before exercise, immediately after exercise, and 15 min after drinking water. The serum levels of oxidative stress markers and fatigue markers were determined. The results showed that ROS (p < 0.01) and NO levels (p < 0.001) were significantly decreased after ARW intake, and the reduction was more pronounced than that in the PW group. Interestingly, the increase in GPx and MDA levels was mediated by ARW intake (both p < 0.05) after exercise. The levels of fatigue markers, such as lactate (p < 0.001), lactate dehydrogenase (p < 0.001), and phosphate (p < 0.001), were significantly reduced in both groups, with ARW intervention showing more decreased markers. The correlation analysis results showed that ARW may help maintain homeostatic conditions for ROS, antioxidant systems, and fatigue markers. These findings indicate that ARW consumption is effective in reducing oxidative stress and fatigue following exhaustive exercise and that ARW could be used as an antioxidant and anti-fatigue supplement after exhaustive physical exercise.

Background: The axial (horizontal) traction approach has been traditionally used for treatment of low back pain-related spinal disorders such as nuclear protrusion, primary posterolateral root pain, and lower thoracic disc herniation; however, it is known to have some technical limitations due to reductions of the spinal curve. Lumbar lordosis plays a pivotal function in maintaining sagittal balance. Recently, vertical traction and combination traction have been attracting attention due to improving therapeutic outcomes, although evidence of their clinical application is rare; therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the mechanical changes of lumbar intervertebral space, lordotic angle, and the central spinal canal area through vertical traction treatment using a spinal massage device in healthy participants. Methods: In total, 10 healthy subjects with no musculoskeletal disorders and no physical activity restrictions participated. The participants lay on the experimental device (CGM MB-1901) in supine extended posture and vertical traction force was applied in a posterior-to-anterior direction on the L3–4 and L4–5 lumbar sections at level 1 (baseline) and level 9 (traction mode). Magnetic resonance (MR) images were recorded directly under traction mode using the MRI scanner. The height values of the intervertebral space (anterior, center, and posterior parts) and lordosis angle of the L3–4 and L4–5 sections were measured using Image J software and the central spinal canal area (L4–5) was observed through superimposition method using the MR images. All measurement and image analyses were conducted by 2 experienced radiologists under a single-blinded method. Results: The average height values of the intervertebral space under traction mode were significantly increased in both L3–4 and L4–5 sections compared to baseline, particularly in the anterior and central parts but not in the posterior part. Cobb’s angle also showed significant increases in both L3–4 and L4–5 sections compared to baseline (p < 0.001). The central spinal canal area showed a slightly expanded feature in traction mode. Conclusions: In this pilot experiment, posterior-to-anterior vertical traction on L3–4 and L4–5 sections using a spinal massage device caused positive and significant changes based on increases of the intervertebral space height, lumbar lordosis angle, and central spinal canal area compared to the baseline condition. Our results are expected to be useful as underlying data for the clinical application of vertical traction.

Background: There are various therapeutic options for the conservative management of lower back pain (LBP). A combination of two or more treatment options may be more effective in the clinical management of non-specific LBP. In this study, we compared the effects of simultaneous heat massage with conventional physical therapy in patients with subacute LBP. Methods: A single-center randomized controlled trial in which 40 participants with LBP were allocated to one of two groups: a heat massage group (HMG) and physical therapy group (PTG). The HMG received simultaneous heat massage therapy using a mechanical device (CGM MB-1401, Ceragem, Republic of Korea). The PTG received conventional physical therapy. Both groups received 40 min of therapy once daily, five times a week, for a total of four weeks. Changes in serum cortisol, epinephrine (EP), and norepinephrine (NE) were assessed. The outcomes were measured using the pain numeric rating scale (PNRS), the Oswestry disability index (ODI), the Roland–Morris disability questionnaire (RMDQ), the short-form McGill pain questionnaire (SF-MPQ), the multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI-20), the Beck depression inventory (BDI), surface EMG (sEMG), and sympathetic skin response (SSR) at baseline (PRE), at 2 (2 W) and 4 weeks (4 W) following the intervention. Results: The serum EP and NE levels in the HMG decreased after treatment. The PNRS, ODI, RMDQ, and SF-MPQ scores improved without significance in both groups. The BDI score showed improvement in the HMG before the PTG. The MFI-20 score improved in both groups, but the results were better in the HMG than in the PTG at 4 W. All the activities of sEMG were significantly decreased in both groups. However, the improvement of the %MVIC in the HMG was better than that in the PTG at 4 W. The SSR latency on sEMG decreased while the amplitude increased in the HMG at 2 W and 4 W, respectively. Conclusions: Following 4 weeks of combined therapies, heat massage was not superior to conventional physical therapy alone. Both treatments were shown to be effective in improving LBP and pain-related disability. However, heat massage was shown to have a better effect on the control of autonomic nerve function and underlying moods.

The aim of this survey was to provide background theory based on previous research to elucidate the potential pathway by which medical devices using extremely low-frequency high-voltage electric fields (ELF-HVEF) exert therapeutic effects on the huma

Electrotherapy is commonly used for myalgia alleviation. Low-frequency stimulation (LFS) is primarily used for controlling acute and chronic pain and is a non-invasive therapy that can be easily performed with electric stimulation applied on the skin. However, little evidence exists regarding the pain alleviation effects of personal low-frequency stimulation device for home use. Moreover, no studies have compared myalgia alleviation effects between personal low-frequency stimulation (PLS) and physical therapy (PT), which are most commonly used for patients with myalgia in hospitals and clinics. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the pain alleviation effects of PLS in patients with myalgia and compare these effects with those of conventional PT (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation + ultrasound). In total, 39 patients with myalgia in the neck, shoulder, back, and waist areas were randomly assigned to the personal low-frequency stimulation group (PLSG: n = 20) and physical therapy group (PTG: n = 19). Both groups were treated for 3 weeks (20 min per session and 5 sessions per week). Patients were assessed for pain intensity by surface electromyography (sEMG), visual analogue scale (VAS) and a short-form McGill pain questionnaire (SF-MPQ) before and after the intervention period. Our results showed that PLSG showed a tendency of muscle relaxation with a significant decrease in sEMG in the neck (p = 0.0425), shoulder (p = 0.0425), and back (p = 0.0046) areas compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference in waist area. Additionally, VAS scores significantly decreased between pre- and post-treatment in both PTG (p = 0.0098), and PLSG (p = 0.0304) groups, but there was no significance difference between the groups. With respect to SF-MPQ, the PLSG showed greater pain alleviation (5.23 ± 0.25) effects than the PTG (6.23 ± 0.25). Accordingly, our results suggest that PLS treatment using a home device might offer positive assistance in pain alleviation for patients with myalgia that is as equally effective as conventional PT treatment. However, further detailed studies are required considering larger samples to fully claim the effectiveness of this device.