Effectiveness of the FED Method in the Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis of Girls Aged 11–15 Years

(1) Background: The unknown etiology of idiopathic scoliosis and its three-dimensional nature make the cause-and-effect therapeutic management difficult. A tendency to progression of scoliosis and the failure of many methods of conservative treatment have prompted the search for new methods that would stop and correct deformations. One of them is the FED method, used in the conservative treatment of idiopathic scolioses, in which all scoliotic curves are corrected. The aim of this study was a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of idiopathic scoliosis treatment with the FED and FITS methods. (2) Methods: The study included 60 randomly selected girls, aged 11 to 15 years, treated with the FED and FITS methods. They were diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis grade II according to Cobb and double-curve scoliosis type I and II according to King–Moe classification. The results of the therapy were assessed with the use of the Bunnell scoliometer. The examinations were performed before the start of the therapy—on the first day of the child’s stay—and 3 weeks after the therapy. The angle of trunk rotation and the sum of two rotations were assessed using a scoliometer. (3) Results: The performed statistical analysis demonstrated significant changes in the examined parameters in both therapeutic groups. (4) Conclusions: 1. The obtained results indicate that the FED therapy may prove to be an effective method of treating idiopathic scoliosis; however, it requires further research in a larger group of patients; 2. both methods significantly improved trunk rotation in primary and secondary scoliosis, but after using summing parameters (SDR parameter), the FED method appeared to be statistically more effective.

The Trunk Rotation may Differentially Affect Lung Volume and Respiratory Muscle Strength in Males and Females

It is known that gender affect pulmonary function, associated with anatomical differences between male and female. However, the effects of trunk rotation on respiratory variables and its differences between males and females remain unclear. We examined the effects of gender and physical characteristics on postural changes in healthy young people. In this study, 9 males and 11 females (22 ± 1 year old for both males and females) were enrolled. We measure the vital capacity (VC), inspiratory capacity (IC), tidal volume (VT), expiratory reserve volume (ERV), inspiratory reserve volume (IRV), and force vital capacity (FVC) and respiratory muscle (PImax and PEmax) with rest posture in the sitting position (rest posture) in sitting position and 30° trunk rotation both genders in the sitting position (rotational posture). The value of VC, IC, ERV, IRV, FVC, or FEV1.0 for males were significantly higher than that for females in both postures. Further, PEmax was more affected by rotational posture in male than in female. On the other hand, PImax showed a significant decrease in the rotational posture only in females. This study indicated that the effect of rotational posture on PImax and PEmax, a measure of respiratory muscle strength, may be different between males and females. These finding may provide important insights on gender differences in respiration in daily living.

A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Obstacle Negotiation and Turning on Gait Variability in Adults with Multiple Sclerosis

Many falls in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) occur during daily activities such as negotiating obstacles or changing direction. While increased gait variability is a robust biomarker of fall risk in PwMS, gait variability in more ecologically related tasks is unclear. Here, the effects of turning and negotiating an obstacle on gait variability in PwMS were investigated. PwMS and matched healthy controls were instrumented with inertial measurement units on the feet, lumbar, and torso. Subjects completed a walk and turn (WT) with and without an obstacle crossing (OW). Each task was partitioned into pre-turn, post-turn, pre-obstacle, and post-obstacle phases for analysis. Spatial and temporal gait measures and measures of trunk rotation were captured for each phase of each task. In the WT condition, PwMS demonstrated significantly more variability in lumbar and trunk yaw range of motion and rate, lateral foot deviation, cadence, and step time after turning than before. In the OW condition, PwMS demonstrated significantly more variability in both spatial and temporal gait parameters in obstacle approach after turning compared to before turning. No significant differences in gait variability were observed after negotiating an obstacle, regardless of turning or not. Results suggest that the context of gait variability measurement is important. The increased number of variables impacted from turning and the influence of turning on obstacle negotiation suggest that varying tasks must be considered together rather than in isolation to obtain an informed understanding of gait variability that more closely resembles everyday walking.

The Trunk Rotation May Reduce Lung Volume and Respiratory Muscle Strength Prominently in Female Than Male

It is known that gender affect pulmonary function, associated with anatomical differences between male and female. However, the effects of trunk rotation on respiratory variables and its differences between males and females remain unclear. We examined the effects of gender and physical characteristics on postural changes in healthy young people. In this study, 9 males and 11 females (22 ± 1 year old for both males and females) were enrolled. We measure the vital capacity (VC), inspiratory capacity (IC), tidal volume (VT), expiratory reserve volume (ERV), inspiratory reserve volume (IRV), and force vital capacity (FVC) and respiratory muscle (PImax and PEmax) with rest posture in the sitting position (rest posture) in sitting position and 30° trunk rotation both genders in the sitting position (rotational posture). The value of VC, IC, ERV, IRV, FVC, or FEV1.0 for males were significantly higher than that for females in both postures. In both genders, the VC, ERV, FVC, FEV1.0, and PEmax values in the rotational posture were significantly lower than that in the rest posture. Further, in females, there was a significant decrease in PImax in the rotational posture compared with the resting posture.This study indicated that trunk rotation may limit pulmonary function prominently in female than in male. These finding may provide important insights on gender differences in respiration in daily living.

A biomechanical comparison of different baseball batting training methods

This study compared the kinematic parameters of swing mechanics under toss batting (TB), motor imagery (MI), video projection (VP), and virtual reality (VR) conditions during baseball batting. Nine college baseball players performed three swings to hit a tossed ball under TB conditions or a virtual ball under MI, VP, and VR conditions. The results revealed that upper trunk backward rotation was smaller in the loading phase under the VP and VR conditions than under the TB and MI conditions and lower under VR than under the VP condition ( p < 0.05) except at the load event. Pelvic backward rotation was smaller under the VR condition than under the TB, MI, and VP conditions ( p < 0.05). In the swing phase, TB demonstrated higher peak velocity at the head of the bat, lead elbow extension, and pelvis and upper trunk rotation than did MI, VP, and VR, whereas VP also demonstrated higher peak velocity in pelvic forward rotation than did VR ( p < 0.05). In summary, VR demonstrates a more realistic response in the loading phase and reduced pelvic backward rotation but lower movement velocities. Coaches should pay attention to movement differences between swing conditions when arranging a swing training plan.

Surface electromyographic activity of the erector spinae and multifidus during arm and leg ergometer exercises in young healthy men

Surface electromyographic activities of the erector spinae and multifidus during graded arm- and leg-ergometer exercise were investigated. Fifteen young healthy male participants performed arm- and leg-ergometer exercises at 50W and 100W for 1 min, while monitoring the electrocardiograms of the paraspinal muscles and heart rate, and the root mean squares of the electromyograms were calculated. Time series of contractions of the paraspinal and extremity muscles during both exercises were assessed (n = 7). Both paraspinal muscle activities increased with increased workload in both exercises similarly (P < 0.01, each). Heart rate increased with increased workload, and the increase was greater for arm-ergometer exercise than for leg-ergometer exercise. Each contraction time of trunk and limb muscles suggested that the paraspinal muscles facilitated trunk rotation and prevented excessive lateral bending of the trunk, respectively. The activities of these paraspinal muscles increased with increased workload similarly in both exercises, although heart rate response was different between them.