It has been demonstrated that excellent athletes usually have, not only a higher exercise capacity but also higher ability to maintain equilibrium which is important for assuming the various body postures required in different sports. It is thought that a method of training which enhances the sense of equilibrium will also increase the ability to perform certain of sports.
Many sensory organs and the central nervous system, which integrates these organs, are integrated to the maintenance of equilibrium. To maintain equilibrium, vestibular, visual and bathyesthetic inputs are integrated centrally (in the brainstem, cerebellum, etc.) and necessary commands are other tissues.
A series of studies which we performed demonstrated that the ability to maintain equilibrium was lower in individuals with imbalanced occlusion than in individuals with normal occlusion.
Imbalanced occlusion can be corrected by the appropriate use of rejin sprints. We recently examined the effects of such sprints on the equilibrium of athletes with imbalanced occlusion, using a gravity fluctuation analyzer. In this study, we raised the bite only within the amount of existing free way spce.
From these results, gravity fluctuation in athletes with imbalanced occlusion was greater than that in individuals with normal occlusion.However, when imbalanced occlusion was corrected by the use of rejin sprints, gravity fluctuation tended to decrease.
It these findings from the present study are combined with the knowledge that the exercise capacity of athletes has a positive correlation with their equilibrium maintenance ability. It appears that correction of imbalanced occlusion and the appropriate use of mouth protectors would contri-bute to improving the performance of athletes.

In Kampo medicine, abdominal palpation is essential procedure to make the diagnosis of Sho. We experienced two cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm which are diagnosed by means of abdominal palpation. The coexistence of aneurysm and the sign of abdominal palpitation is extremely rare, but every clinician should pay attention to this fact.

We performed a physio-psychological research on the mental, physical relaxation and health-keeping effect of Shinrin-yoku (forest walking) in Kawaba village. Eleven male and 8 female healthy elderly residents in Kawaba village, whose average age was 74.0±3.5 years old for male and 74.9±2.9 years old for females volunteered for this experiment. All members walked for one hour in the Kawaba Forest on August 17 under cloudy skies, 30-32°C temperature, 58-60% humidity, and, 0-2m/sec wind condition and walked again for another one hour in a non-forest rural agricultural area on August 21 under almost the same weather conditions. Phytoncides in the air, Profile of Mood State (POMS) test, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), fasting levels of serum natural killer cell activity (NK), plasma catecholamine (adrenaline, noradrenalin and dopamine), plasma cortisol, and serum adiponectin were measured before and after walking. Phytoncides were detected in the forest and non-forest, all members showed a decrease of POMS total scale, BP, adrenalin and serum cortisol. Six (3 male and 3 female subjects) of them expressed an increase of serum NK cell activity after the forest-walking. One female showed a high serum NK cell activity after both forest and non-forest rural walking.
Our experiment on the forest-walking in Kawaba village indicated that its relaxation and health-keeping effects, probably due to walking in the fresh forest air.

  Strength training performed while restricting blood flow is believed to cause the secretion of growth hormones under low load intensities and allow for muscle hypertrophy and increased muscle strength. This has potential clinical applications for elderly individuals and people with existing conditions. However, previous research has been performed on land, with hemodynamics and growth hormone secretion trends for training performed underwater unclear. Against this background, we investigated the effects of blood flow restriction training underwater on hemodynamics and plasma growth hormone (GH) levels. Twelve healthy university students were divided into two groups: a localized immersion group where only the upper limb of the dominant hand was submerged, and a whole-body immersion group where participants were submerged to the xiphoid process. Immersed according to respective group protocols, both groups performed flexion and extension of the shoulder joint for 10 minutes with a pressurized cuff at the base of the upper arm under both 0 mmHg and 50 mmHg cuff pressures. Measured hemodynamics were heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. Plasma GH levels were measured from blood samples. This study revealed that underwater blood flow restriction strength training induced plasma GH level secretion under 50 mmHg conditions. In addition, high levels of GH secretion were shown in the localized immersion group for strength training even when the cuff was not pressurized. Conversely, no significant differences were evident in any measured hemodynamic categories. Results suggest that, in addition to cuff pressure, blood flow restriction training is affected by the body part immersed in water.

  Balneotherapy for humans has a long tradition in Germany. Carbonated water or CO2 containing spring water has been known for ancient times, not only in spas for bathing but also for drinking. In 1845 the German spa physician Dr. F. Bodo from Bad Nauheim noted a “congested, velvety reddened skin” after taking a bath in warm CO2 enriched water. Conducting absorption experiments Hediger in 1928 demonstrated for the first time that CO2 is absorbed into the body by passing through the intact skin. In Germany 80% of the natural mineral spas contain the minimum concentration of 400mg/kg CO2 required for treatment and 50% of all spas have a CO2 content higher than 1000 mg/kg which is required for the designation as carbon dioxide enriched water. The spa resorts Bad Nauheim and Bad Krozingen harbor natural mineral springs with the world wide highest CO2 concentrations containing 2600 mg/kg and 2200 mg/kg, respectively. These springs belong to artesian wells which means the spring water is under a hydrostatic pressure that is high enough to well up to the surface without any pumps.   The beneficial effects of CO2 balneotherapy are not known in detail yet. However, animal studies have shown that bathing in carbon dioxide rich water enhances collateral blood flow in ischemic hindlimb through mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells and activation of NO system. Daily CO2 bathing for 28 days induced a 4 fold increase in collateral vessel density which was prevented by the administration of L-NAME a NO inhibitor. In humans CO2 bathing improves arteriolar blood flow in patients with arterial occlusive diseases. Patients with necrosis of skin and soft tissue due to disturbed blood flow showed profound improvement of the skin defects with decrease of the necrosis area. To the skin CO2 enriched water has topical effects. Ten days of rinsing detergent-damaged skin with CO2 enriched water enhanced clinical skin regeneration, enhanced epidermal lipid synthesis and enhanced barrier repair. Taking together CO2 balneotherapy has different beneficial effects on human diseases. This review presents the effects of CO2 enriched water on humans diseases and discusses its clinical indications.

A nationwide survey of Japanese teachers belonging to departments of medicine was conducted to investigate their opinions about: 1) expanding medical departments into medical schools and, 2) the required subjects and selection criteria for admitting students to the faculty of medicine. We found that responses to both questions depended largely on the specialty of the teachers. With regard to the medical school design, which will cause a dramatic change in medical education in Japan, 60% of the teachers were in favor of expanding departments into medical schools.