The purpose of this study was to determine the muscle activities of the erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (Gmax), gluteus medius (Gmed), and the hamstring (HAM) and the ratios of Gmax/ES, Gmax/HAM, and Gmed/HAM during the prone heel squeeze (PHS) with different knee flexion angles (45˚, 90˚, and 135˚). Fifteen young and healthy subjects (8 men, 7 women) were recruited for the study. Surface electromyography signals were collected on ES, Gmax, Gmed, and HAM during PHS. A separate one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to determine the significance of the muscle activities of ES, Gmax, Gmed, and HAM and the ratios of Gmax/ES, Gmax/HAM, and Gmed/HAM with different knee flexion angles during PHS. There was a significant increase in the Gmax activity at the knee flexion of 90˚ in comparison with that of the 45˚ (p=.016). There were significant increases in the Gmed activity at the knee flexion of 90˚ (p=.008) and 135˚ (p=.006) in comparison with that of the 45˚. There were significant decreases in the HAM activity at the knee flexion of 90˚ (p=.009) and 135˚ (p=.004) in comparison with that of the 45˚. There were significant increases in the Gmax/HAM muscle activity ratio at the knee flexion of 90˚ (p=.007) and 135˚ (p=.012) in comparison with that of the 45˚. There were significant increase in the Gmed/HAM muscle activity ratio at the knee flexion of 135˚ in comparison with that of the 45˚ (p=.008). The knee flexion of 90˚ during PHS can induce decreasing activity of HAM and increasing activity of Gmax, and the knee flexion of 135˚ during PHS can induce decreasing activity of HAM and increasing activity of Gmed. Hence, PHS with different knee flexion positions could be considered for the different target muscle.

The purposes of the current study were to (1) estimate the inter-rater agreement for visual assessment of scapular downward rotation (SDR), (2) develop the scapular downward rotation index (SDRI) as a method to measure SDR objectively and quantitatively, and (3) analyze the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the SDRI. Twenty subjects with scapular downward rotation syndrome (SDRS) were recruited for this study. The visual assessment and the measurement for the SDRI were conducted by two examiners in two sessions each. The SDRI [(a-b)÷a×100] is calculated with the measurement of two linear distances: One is a perpendicular distance from the root of the scapular spine to the thoracic mid-line (a), and the other is a perpendicular distance from the inferior angle of the scapula to the thoracic mid-line (b). Cohen’s kappa coefficient was calculated to estimate the inter-rater agreement for visual assessment. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI), the standard error of measurement, and minimal detectable differences were calculated to assess intra- and inter-rater reliability of SDR measurement using the SDRI. The results indicated that the kappa coefficient of inter-rater agreement for visual assessment was fair (κ=.21). The intra-rater reliability of SDR measurement using the SDRI was excellent for examiner 1 (ICC=.92, 95% CI=.78∼.97) and good for examiner 2 (ICC=.82, 95% CI=.55∼.93). The inter-rater reliability was moderate (ICC=.73, 95% CI=.32∼.89). These findings showed that SDR measurement using the SDRI for subjects with SDRS may be considered reliable and better than the visual assessment.

A Study about the Effect of the Kwang-Dong Qi-Gong Therapy in Bariatrics The purpose of this study is to find out what effects the practice of Qi-Gong shows in controlling obese that is one of the main causes of adult disease. In this study, the researchers chose some overweight or obese subjects over 17 years and divided them into two groups, and gave 4 weeks of twelve treatments to one group with Kwang-Dong Qi-Gong therapy developed by Hong Seong-Gyun in Kwang-Dong, and did not give any treatment to another group. And the effects were evaluated by comparative analysis. Before and after the treatments, the researchers measured the height, weight, body fat, BMI(Body Mass Index), hip size, etc. of two groups of them. And the health condition and eating habits of each persons of the two groups were examined before the experiment, and the difference of eating habits between the two groups was investigated in the course of the experiment, and the effects of the therapy that the treated group felt is investigated with an questionnaire sheet after the experiment. The following shows the result of the comparative analysis about the experiment 1. The result of the experiment about the effect of Kwang-Dong Qi-Gong therapy treated to control overweight or obese shows that： a) The height, body weight, BMI, body fat index, chest size did not make any statistically meaningful difference. b) The measurements of hip, waist, forearms, thighs, calves, and ankles made meaningful differences. 2. In the course of the experiment, the eating habits of the two groups did not make any significant difference except the frequency of dining together. 3. The effect of Kwang-Dong Qi-Gong therapy for the group that was given 12 treatments shows that： a) Regarding the change of their defecation, 81% of the subjects in the treated group said 'Yes' and 19% said 'No', that is most of subjects answered positively. b) Before the experiment, three subjects of the treated group had been taking medicine, but after the practice of Kwang-Dong Qi-Gong therapy, they appeared to stop taking medicine. c) 87% of subjects in the treated group said that they 'feel well' after he practice, 13% said that they 'did not feel well', that is most of subjects were satisfied with Kwang-Dong Qi-Gong therapy. d) 81% of subjects in the treated group replied that they 'feel peaceful in mind' after the practice, 19% replied that they 'did not feel peaceful in mind.'