1.Evaluation of muscle activity level in the lower extremities during various steps used in aerobic dance exercise
Shiho SAWAI ; Kayo MIYADERA ; Junko HIRUMA
Japanese Journal of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine 2022;71(2):227-237
To create a safe and effective aerobic dance exercise (ADE) program, the intensity, and difficulty level of each step, and muscle activation during the program must be considered. This study evaluated the muscle activity levels of the lower extremities when major ADE movements were repeated at a fixed speed. The subjects were seven females 21-22 years old who were familiar with the ADE movements. Eleven low impact steps and nine high impact steps representative of the ADE movements were selected, and while the movements were performed, the surface electromyograms (EMG) of six muscles in the lower extremities were measured using a telemeter electromyograph. The EMG data for 10 cycles of each step were full wave rectified and integrated. Then, the average value per unit time was calculated, and normalized (%EMGmax) by the EMG integral value during isometric maximum voluntary contraction (EMGmax). The EMGmax was measured for each of the six muscles to evaluate the muscle activity level, and determine which muscles were activated at higher or lower levels in response to the specific steps. The highest levels of total muscle activity detected in the six muscles were for: double hop, jumping jack, and pendulum. The results of this study may help create ADE programs that consider the differences in muscle activation in the lower extremities.
2.Remote Cardiac Rehabilitation With Wearable Devices
Atsuko NAKAYAMA ; Noriko ISHII ; Mami MANTANI ; Kazumi SAMUKAWA ; Rieko TSUNETA ; Megumi MARUKAWA ; Kayoko OHNO ; Azusa YOSHIDA ; Emiko HASEGAWA ; Junko SAKAMOTO ; Kentaro HORI ; Shinya TAKAHASHI ; Kaoruko KOMURO ; Takashi HIRUMA ; Ryo ABE ; Togo NORIMATSU ; Mai SHIMBO ; Miyu TAJIMA ; Mika NAGASAKI ; Takuya KAWAHARA ; Mamoru NANASATO ; Toshimi IKEMAGE ; Mitsuaki ISOBE
Korean Circulation Journal 2023;53(11):727-743
Although cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been shown to improve exercise tolerance and prognosis in patients with cardiovascular diseases, there remains low participation in outpatient CR. This may be attributed to the patients’ busy schedules and difficulty in visiting the hospital due to distance, cost, avoidance of exercise, and severity of coronary disease. To overcome these challenges, many countries are exploring the possibility of remote CR. Specifically, there is increasing attention on the development of remote CR devices, which allow transmission of vital information to the hospital via a remote CR application linked to a wearable device for telemonitoring by dedicated hospital staff. In addition, remote CR programs can support return to work after hospitalization. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of remote CR on exercise tolerance. However, the preventive effects of remote CR on cardiac events and mortality remain controversial. Thus, safe and effective remote CR requires exercise risk stratification for each patient, telenursing by skilled staff, and multidisciplinary interventions. Therefore, quality assurance of telenursing and multi-disciplinary interventions will be essential for remote CR. Remote CR may become an important part of cardiac management in the future. However, issues such as costeffectiveness and insurance coverage still persist.