Objective: To compare the effect of visual and kinesthetic locomotor imagery training on walking performance and to determine the clinical feasibility of incorporating auditory step rhythm into the training. Design: Randomized crossover trial. Setting: Laboratory of a Department of Physical Therapy. Subjects: Fifteen subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis. Intervention: Four locomotor imagery trainings on walking performance: visual locomotor imagery training, kinesthetic locomotor imagery training, visual locomotor imagery training with auditory step rhythm and kinesthetic locomotor imagery training with auditory step rhythm. Main outcome measures: The timed up-and-go test and electromyographic and kinematic analyses of the affected lower limb during one gait cycle. Results: After the interventions, significant differences were found in the timed up-and-go test results between the visual locomotor imagery training (25.69 ± 16.16 to 23.97 ± 14.30) and the kinesthetic locomotor imagery training with auditory step rhythm (22.68 ± 12.35 to 15.77 ± 8.58) (P<0.05). During the swing and stance phases, the kinesthetic locomotor imagery training exhibited significantly increased activation in a greater number of muscles and increased angular displacement of the knee and ankle joints compared with the visual locomotor imagery training, and these effects were more prominent when auditory step rhythm was integrated into each form of locomotor imagery training. The activation of the hamstring during the swing phase and the gastrocnemius during the stance phase, as well as kinematic data of the knee joint, were significantly different for posttest values between the visual locomotor imagery training and the kinesthetic locomotor imagery training with auditory step rhythm (P<0.05). Conclusions: The therapeutic effect may be further enhanced in the kinesthetic locomotor imagery training than in the visual locomotor imagery training. The auditory step rhythm together with the locomotor imagery training produces a greater positive effect in improving the walking performance of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of community-based ambulation training on walking function of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of supervised and unsupervised pelvic floor muscle exercises utilizing trunk stabilization for treating postpartum urinary incontinence and to compare the outcomes.

To investigate the effects of action observation training involving community-based ambulation for improving walking ability after stroke. Randomized, controlled pilot study. Inpatient rehabilitation hospital. A total of 25 inpatients with post-stroke hemiparesis were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 12) or control group (n = 13). Subjects of the experimental group watched video clips demonstrating four-staged ambulation training with a more complex environment factor for 30 minutes, three times a week for four weeks. Meanwhile, subjects of the control group watched video clips, which showed different landscape pictures. Walking function was evaluated before and after the four-week intervention using a 10-m walk test, community walk test, activities-specific balance confidence scale, and spatiotemporal gait measures. Changes in the values for the 10-m walk test (0.17 ±0.19 m/s vs. 0.05 ±0.08 m/s), community walk test (–151.42 ±123.82 seconds vs. 67.08 ±176.77 seconds), and activities-specific balance confidence (6.25 ±5.61 scores vs. 0.72 ±2.24 scores) and the spatiotemporal parameters (i.e. stride length (19.00 ±11.34 cm vs. 3.16 ±11.20 cm), single support (5.87 ±5.13% vs. 0.25 ±5.95%), and velocity (15.66 ±12.34 cm/s vs. 2.96 ±10.54 cm/s)) indicated a significant improvement in the experimental group compared with the control group. In the experimental group, walking function and ambulation confidence was significantly different between the pre- and post-intervention, whereas the control group showed a significant difference only in the 10-m walk test. Action observation training of community ambulation may be favorably used for improving walking function of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare hip range of motion between a lumbar stability group and a lumbar instability group, and to evaluate the effectiveness of hip exercises for low-back pain patients with lumbar instability. [Subjects] Seventy-eight patients with chronic low-back pain were the subjects. [Methods] The patients were divided into two groups: a lumbar stability group (n=45) and a lumbar instability group (n=33). They were assessed using the Korean version of the Oswestry Disability Index (KODI) to determine the level of disability of the patients with low-back pain. A 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess low-back pain. [Results] The limitation of hip range of motion of the lumbar instability group was significantly greater than that of the lumbar stability group. Comparisons among four groups at three weeks and six weeks after the start of hip exercises revealed that the VAS score of each group had significantly decreased. Comparisons among four groups at three weeks and at six weeks after the start of hip exercises revealed that the KODI score of each group had significantly decreased. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that the performance of hip exercises by chronic low-back pain patients with lumbar instability is more effective than conventional therapy at reducing low-back pain and levels of disability.