[Purpose] This study examined the effects of an ankle-foot orthosis worn during balance training on lower limb muscle activity and static balance of chronic stroke patients. [Subjects] The subjects were twenty-five inpatients receiving physical therapy for chronic stroke. [Methods] The chronic stroke patients were divided into two groups: thirteen patients were assigned to the ankle-foot orthos...

In a standing position, the vertical projection of the center of mass passes in front of the ankle, which requires active plantar-flexor torque from the triceps surae to maintain balance. We recorded motor unit (MU) activity in the medial (MG) and lateral (LG) gastrocnemius muscle and the soleus (SOL) in standing balance and voluntary isometric contractions to understand the effect of functiona...

OBJECTIVE The purposes of the present study were to elucidate the age-related changes in single-limb standing balance and sensory compensation for maintaining single-limb standing in profoundly deaf (PD) children, and to compare them with age-matched normal-hearing (NH) children. METHODS This study involved 57 PD children, aged 4-14 years and 57 age-matched NH children. Each group was subdivi...

[Purpose] This study aimed to explore the possibility of improving functional balance using an exercise program with Nintendo and the Balance Board peripheral in subjects with cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] This study included 4 male outpatients of a neurological center. All participants received an exercise program based on the use of Nintendo with the Balance Board peripheral. Trainin...

Background The importance of the somatosensory information from the plantar foot area for balance control is well reported in the literature. Usually, tests for touch and vibration sensitivity are performed with subjects in sitting or supine position [1]. However, balance tests are measured in standing position [2]. Therefore the aim of this study was to compare vibration thresholds measured wi...

[Purpose] This study aimed to determine the reliability and validity of our standing balance assessment index using a hand-held dynamometer (the hand-held dynamometer assessment index) in stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The participants were 60 stroke patients with impaired standing balance. Intrarater and interrater reliabilities were evaluated employing the intraclass correlation coef...

One of the most important tasks in biped robot is the balance-keeping control. A question arisen as how do our human beings make the balance-keeping possible in upright standing as human beings are the only biped-walking primates, which takes several million years of evolution period to achieve this ability. Studies on humans’ balance-keeping mechanism are not only the work of physiologists but...

Performance in a dual task is typically worse than performance in a single task due to the sharing of limited cognitive capacity. The present study found the opposite results when the task involved postural control in non-typical standing. Thirtysix children aged 4-9 years stood on a force plate for 10 seconds with a normal or heel-to-toe stance. In the dual-task condition, they also performed ...

This study investigated the relationship between daytime physical activity patterns and physical fitness in elderly women. The subjects comprised 19 elderly women who resided in a nursing home. Time spent lying, sitting, standing and walking and the number of steps taken during the daytime from 10:00 to 16:00 were measured to determine physical activity patterns. Physical fitness measures inclu...