No abstract available.
Foot*

No abstract available.
Muscle Strength*

Foot problems are common in elderly patients, and the relief of foot pain can increase the rehabilitative potential for patients with chronic diseases, impairments, or disabilities. The author presents a detailed description of techniques for the clinical management of hallux valgus, plantar fascitis, callosities, and myofascial pain syndrome. The focus is clinical and practical, i.e., based upon common foot conditions seen in clinical practice.
Aged ; Callosities ; Chronic Disease ; Fasciitis ; Foot* ; Hallux Valgus ; Humans ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes ; Rehabilitation*

Although hip and knee osteoarthritis are mostly of primary origin, ankle osteoarthritis is of posttraumatic origin. In sports injuries, the ankle is the second most commonly injured body site after the knee. In addition, compared to the cartilage in the knee joint, ankle cartilage has a higher content of proteoglycans and water, and an increased rate of proteoglycan turnover and synthesis, all of which are responsible for its increased incidence of posttraumatic origin osteoarthritis. Nonoperative management of ankle arthritis typically starts with weight reduction, activity modification, and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, and can progress to gait-aids including a cane, shoe-wear modification, patellar tendon weight-bearing ankle-foot orthosis, and intra-articular injections with corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Animals ; Ankle ; Arthritis ; Athletic Injuries ; Canes ; Cartilage ; Hip ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Incidence ; Injections, Intra-Articular ; Knee ; Knee Joint ; Orthotic Devices ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; Patellar Ligament ; Proteoglycans ; Water ; Weight Loss ; Weight-Bearing

OBJECTIVE: Aims of this study are to assess the activities of daily living (ADL) for disabled persons in some rural communities using an appropriately developed ADL scale and to analyse the relationship between severity of impairment and ADL score. METHOD: ADLs of 98 disabled persons in two myeons of Kyunggido were assessed from May 1996 to August 1997. The newly developed ADL index composed of eight basic ADL (B-ADL) and two instrumental ADL (I-ADL) parameters were used. Impairment defined by the National Reparation Law was divided into a severely disabled group, grades 1 to 6 and a mildly disabled group, graded 7 to 14. Correlations between the impairment grade of each body part and the assessed ADL score were studied. RESULTS: 1) The most dependent ADL item of ten ADL parameters was performance in the public office (37.8%) and, the most independent ADL item was feeding (98.0%). 2) With severe impairment of the upper or lower limb, all ADL scores except for feeding were significantly low (p<0.05). In addition, with severe hearing impairment, scores of performance in public office were accessed low (p<0.05). 3)With severe lower limb impairment, average scores of I-ADL and B-ADL were low (p<0.05). 4) With severe language impairment, the average I-ADL score was also low (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The task of performance in the public office was the most difficult ADL item for disabled persons. All ADL parameters except feeding were affected for disabled persons with lower or upper limb impairment. We think this pilot study may be used to develop more appropriate ADL scales for community based rehabilitation in the future.
Activities of Daily Living* ; Disabled Persons* ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Lower Extremity ; Pilot Projects ; Rehabilitation ; Rural Population* ; Upper Extremity ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVES: To confirm the HAVS in workers exposed to hand-arm vibration with using the objective diagnostic methods METHODS: Several tests were used to help substantiate a clinical diagnosis of HAVS. Some other diseases were excluded by a medical interview, hematologic assessment, urinalysis, X-rays. The hand-arm vibration acceleration level of the grinder was evaluated for considering HAVS. Peripheral vascular changes were examined by a cold provocation test. An electromyography was implemented to ascertain the peripheral neural changes. RESULTS: 8 workers with symptoms in hands & fingers, exposed to hand-arm vibration were examined. Some other diseases(primary Raynauds disease, secondary Raynauds disease in not occupational origin) were excluded by a medical interview, hematologic assessment, urinalysis, X-rays. The hand-arm vibration acceleration level of the grinder was 7. 9 m/sec2. The recovery time of a skin temperature followed finger cooling was significantly prolonged in 6 workers with HAVS. The nerve conduction velocity was reduced in 6 workers with HAVS. CONCLUSIONS: So we report 6 cases of HAVS in grinding workers exposed to hand-arm vibration diagnosed objectively by an exclusion of some other disease, handarm vibration acceleration level, cold provocation test, electromyography.
Acceleration ; Diagnosis ; Electromyography ; Fingers ; Hand* ; Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome* ; Neural Conduction ; Raynaud Disease ; Skin Temperature ; Urinalysis ; Vibration*

Objectives: The prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders of upper extremities mons watch assembly workers in small-scaled industry was studied. Methods: In 83 workers at five watch assembly factories, symptoms and psychosocial questionnaire, ergonomic Interview, physical examination were conducted. Results: Prevalence of self-reported symptoms was 54.2% and neck 34.9%, wrist/hand 31.3%, shoulder 30.1%, elbow/arm 18.0% by anatomical site. Prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders was 45.8%. Most common disease was myofascial pain syndrome (31.3%). The other diseases were De Quervain disease (9.6%), tenosynovitis/tendinitis at wrist/hand (9.6%), bicipital tendinitis(6.0%), fat. epicondylitis(4.8%), meIn. epicondylitis(2.4%), and cervical disc disease(2.4%). As result of ergonomic interview, repetitiveness was 79(98.8%). There were no differences in the prevalence of self-reported symptoms and cumulative trauma disorders for age, sex, marital status, duration of work In the study, The significant factors of cumulative trauma disorders were occupational task and psychosocial stress in the study. The prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders in high strain group was hlgher (68.4%) than other three groups. The prevalence of self-reported symptoms and cumulative trauma disorders in assembly task was higher (70.0%, 64.0%) than other two tasks. Conclusions: Prevalence of self-reported symptoms was 54.2%, prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders was 45.8% in watch assembly workers. In this study, factor related to self-reported symptoms was occupational task and factors relaxed to cumulative trauma disorders were occupational task and psychosocial stress. This results suggest that differences of ergonomics and environment in occupational task cause differences of prevalence of self-reported symptoms and cumulatlve trauma disorders.
Cumulative Trauma Disorders* ; De Quervain Disease ; Human Engineering ; Marital Status ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes ; Neck ; Physical Examination ; Prevalence* ; Questionnaires ; Shoulder ; Upper Extremity*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence and ratio of biphalangeal toes in Korean adult and to investigate whether this finding correlates with the evolution of human toes. METHOD: The materials used in this study consisted of 1,290 radiographs of the human feet obtained from 645 adults with foot symptom and complete osseous growth. The 1,290 radiographs consisted of anteroposterior weightbearing radiographs and nonweightbearing oblique radiographs. Those were retrospectively reviewed and carried out of detailed macroscopic examinations. RESULTS: Biphalangeal toe was observed for the 5th toe in 934 cases (72.40%), for the 4th toe in 161 cases (12.48%), for the 3rd toe in 7 cases (0.54%), and for the 2nd toe in 1 case (0.08%). Bilaterality of biphalangeal and triphalangeal toes for each toe was observed over 97.1%. CONCLUSION: Our results are in agreement with Nakashima and it is likely that over 70% of the Asian population have only two phalanges in their fifth toes, and it seems to be an example of microevolution or genetic adaptation to bipedalism.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Foot* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Retrospective Studies ; Toes* ; Weight-Bearing

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a self-stretching exercise on the pressure threshold of myofascial trigger point. METHOD: We examined the changes of pressure threshold in 66 patients with myofascial trigger points before and after a self-stretching exercise of shoulder girdle and also tested the visual analogue scale (VAS) of the subjective pain intensity. The self-stretching exercise of shoulder girdle includes a stretching exercise of four muscles in shoulder girdle simultaneously, including upper trapezius, levator scapulae, infraspinatus, rhomboideus major and minor, which is followed by 1) a sitting position, relaxed, 2) lateral bending of neck to contralateral side, 3) forward and downward stretching of ipsilateral arm with protrusion of scapula and internal rotation of arm maximally to the contralateral foot. Each stretching motion is maintained for 30 seconds. RESULTS: The results of the patients experiencing unilateral or bilateral myofascial neck and shoulder pain showed that the pressure threshold of trigger point increased in response to the self-stretching exercise as assessed by a pressure algometer. Also visual analogue scale (VAS) decreased in response to the self-stretching exercise. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the self-stretching exercise of shoulder girdle is an effective method for the simultaneous stretching of upper trapezius, levator scapulae, infraspinatus, rhomboideus major and minor.
Arm ; Foot ; Humans ; Muscles* ; Neck ; Scapula ; Shoulder Pain ; Shoulder* ; Superficial Back Muscles ; Trigger Points*

OBJECTS: The purpose of this study is to estimate the values of foot pressure of the stance phase during a gait cycle in hemiplegic gait. METHOD: Thirty patients who had a stroke and forty healthy adults were evaluated by the EMED-SF system to analyze the stance phase of hemiplegic gait. The stance phase was evaluated by 6 points according to the foot pressure and center of pressure proposed by Lee et al.2) RESULTS: 1) In hemiplegics, the stance time of involved limb decreased compared with that of the uninvolved limb and increased that of control groups (p<0.05). 2) In hemiplegics, the midstance time increased but the loading response and terminal stance decreased compared with the uninvolved limb and controls (p<0.05). 3) In hemiplegics, the midstance time decreased and the loading response and terminal phase increased according to the increased Brunnstrom stage (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that an analysis of stance phase by the measurement of plantar pressure was a valuable parameter in the gait analysis of hemiplegic patients.
Adult ; Extremities ; Foot ; Gait ; Gait Disorders, Neurologic ; Humans ; Stroke