PURPOSE : The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effect of static stretching on muscular performance with concentric isotonic muscle actions under various loads.METHODS : Concentric isotonic leg extension power outputs were assessed in 12 healthy male subjects after two types of pre-treatment. The pre-treatments included 1) static stretching (SS) treatment performing static stretching of leg extensors, and 2) non-stretching (NS) treatment by resting in a sitting position. Loads during the assessment of the power output were set to 5%, 30% and 60% of the maximum voluntary contractile (MVC) torque with isometric leg extension in each subject.RESULTS : The peak power output following the SS treatment was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that following the NS treatment under each load.CONCLUSION : The present study demonstrated that static stretching significantly reduces power output with concentric isotonic muscle actions under various loads. This result suggests that static stretching decreases power performance.

We performed exercise intervention for 12 weeks in young females (22.3±2.5 yrs ; mean±SD) with a %fat value of 30% or more (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry : DXA) despite a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25 kg/m², which indicates hidden obesity, and the following results were obtained.The intensity of exercise was established as the double product break point calculated from heart rate and systolic blood pressure, and the subjects were instructed to exercise for 30 minutes or more for 3 or more times a week. Six weeks after exercise intervention, the BMI, body fat level, and plasma glucose level were lower than those before exercise intervention, and the %fat value was lower 12 weeks after intervention. Furthermore, cardiac autonomic function (CAF) was negatively correlated with changes in Total power and changes in fat (kg), suggesting that exercise-related improvement in CAF is involved in a decrease in %fat.

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationships between the exercise history and the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in female Japanese young adults using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). One-hundred twenty females, aged between 18 to 28 years, participated in the present investigation. The BMD at the lumbar spine (L-BMD), whole body BMD and BMC (WB-BMD and WB-BMC), lean body mass (LBM) and fat mass (FM) were measured by DXA. Using a self-administrered questionnaire, the exercise habits during preschool (4-6 years), primary school (7-12 years), junior high school (13-15 years), high school (16-18 years), and the current habits (>18 years) were eveluated. The L-BMD, WB-BMD and WB-BMC were significantly higher in the subjects with exercise habits during both the period of <18 years and >18 years compared with those in the subjects without an exercise history during all periods (p<0.05). In a separate analysis with the data stratified by the school age, the subjects with an exercise history during primary school, junior high school, or high school had significantly higher BMD and BMC values compared with the non-exercisers (each, p<0.05). In contrast, the BMD and BMC did not differ significantly according to either the exercise history during pre-school nor the current exercise status. A multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that the body weight, LBM, FM, age of menarche, and exercise habits during high school were significant determinants of the L-BMD, WB-BMD and WB-BMC (p<0.001). The results of the present investigation show that both the exercise history during school age and the current exercise habits affect the BMD and BMC in young adults. In particular, high school females should be encouraged to participate in the regular exercise to increase their bone health. Future studies will be needed to confirm the targeted age-group(s) for participation in sports/exercise for the improvement of bone health, including an analysis of the type and intensity of exercise/sports.

Aim of the present study was to statistically evaluate the examination rule with use of a questionnaire obtained from physicians regarding treatment for chillness of the limbs, and to prove the clinical usefulness of the database. The database showed that tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto was the most frequently used to treat chillness of the limbs, and subsequently keishikajutsubuto, hachimijiogan, and tokishakuyakusan were ranked as drugs with wide use. When physicians determined a kampo formulation suitable for each patient, they used findings specific for the kampo formulation, but not uniform findings obtained from the four traditional examination methods (i.e., inspection, listening and smelling, interviewing, palpitation). There was a statistical difference in the selection mode of drugs among physicians. In a simulation obtained from a questionnaire, there was a positive association between time (time X) to the start of becoming physically warm in the limbs, and time (time Y) to remission (R² = 0.971, P = 0.014). The formula (Y = 4.379 X−0.519), which could predict time Y on the basis of information on time X, was able to accurately monitor the clinical courses of 7 responders to treatment for chillness of the limbs. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that the database constructed in the present study may be useful for evaluation of traditional Kampo medicine, and might allow us to perform more fittingly personalized Kampo medicine in the near future.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mortality by age, sex, and cause of death is the foun­dation of public health both globally and domestically. Comparable mortality statistics over time and investi­gations of mortality were used to develop the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). In the ICD, the WHO states that morbidity statistics are also an essential foundation of public health, but they are much less widely applied. The 10th revision of the ICD (ICD-10) is now in use, but further revisions must be made in the development of the 11th revision (ICD-11) to capture advances in health science and medical practice, to make better use of the digital revolution, and to evaluate traditional medicine (TM). Revision of ICD-10 began in 2007, and an ICD-11 version for preparing implementation was released on July 18, 2018. ICD-11 features a new TM chapter on Japanese traditional medicine, known as Kampo medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and Korean medicine. ICD-11 will be approved at the next World Health Assembly in May 2019 and will come into effect. This means that the WHO does not currently recognize the effects of TM, but that we as well as the WHO will have hard time to prepare and study the effects of TM on morbidity statistics. It is very important to the study of Kampo medicine that we will be able to properly evaluate the terms and classifications contained in ICD-11.