Category: Health Services Research; Clinical Practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP, implementation science, program development)
Objective :
This study investigated the effect of the downhill treadmill walking exercise (DTWE) on thoracic angle and thoracic erector spinae (TES) activation in subjects with thoracic kyphosis.
Design :
This study is a cross-sectional study. Paired t-tests were used to confirm the effect of the DTWE (p
Setting :
This study was conducted at Yonsei University Wonju Campus.
Participants (or Animals, Specimens, Cadavers) :
A total of 20 subjects with thoracic kyphosis were recruited for this study.
Interventions :
All the subjects performed the DTWE for 30 minutes.
Main Outcome Measure(s) :
A surface EMG and 3D motion capture system were used to measure TES activation and thoracic angle before and after the DTWE.
Results :
Both the thoracic angle and TES activation had significantly increased after the DTWE compared to the baseline (p
Conclusions :
The DTWE is effective for thoracic kyphosis patients as it decreases their kyphotic posture and increases the TES activation. Future longitudinal studies are required to investigate the long-term effects of the DTWE.
Jun-hyeok Lee
– student/researcher, Yonsei University, Wonju, Kangwon-doHye-Seon Jeon
– Professor, yonsei univ., Wonju, Kangwon-doJoo-hee Park
– Ph.D, yonsei univ., Kangwon-do, Kangwon-do
Ji-hyun Kim
– Doctoral student, yonsei univ., kangwon-do, Kangwon-doHyeo-bin Yoon
– student/researcher, yonsei univ., Wonju, Kangwon-do