Background: As sedentary life increases, people's thoracic vertebra joint movement decreases, and the resulting associated pain is complaining of a lot of discomfort. This is also affecting the autonomic nervous system. Objectives: The purpose of this study was therefore to find out the effect of thoracic vertebra joint mobilization on heart rate variability in upper back pain patients. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Method: Thirty subjects in this study were randomly assigned to two groups of 15 persons each using a randomization tool. Maitland's grade III joint mobilization, hot pack, and interferential current therapy (ICT) were applied to T1-L2 and hot pack and ICT were applied to the control group. The intervention was performed 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Results: There were statistically significant changes in Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Standard Deviation of all Normal R-R Intervals (SDNN), Low Frequency (LF), High Frequency (HF) and LF/HF ratio in the study group, and statistically significant changes in VAS, SDNN, and LF/HF ratio in the control group. In comparison of differences, there were statistically significant changes in VAS. Conclusion: Positive effects were found on SDNN and LF/HF ratio in both the joint mobilization group and the control group compared to before the study. In particular, even LF and HF were positive in the joint mobilization group showed influence.

Background: Physical therapists provide treatment with patient counseling. Therefore, communication with the patient is essential. There was insufficient research on the relationship between communication competence and job satisfaction of physical therapists. Objectives: To examine the relationship between communication ability and job satisfaction of physical therapists. Design: Descriptive surveys. Methods: The subjects were 89 physical therapists who working in hospitals and clinics. Communication competence were measured using global interpersonal communication competence scale (GICC-45). Job satisfaction were measured with the job satisfaction questionnaire used by Park. Results: As a result of comparison by employment status, there was a significant difference (P<.05). In comparison between working positions, there was a significant difference between staff and manager compared to assistant manager (P<.05). In comparison between working hours, there was a significant difference between more than 40 hours per week compared to less than 40 hours per week (P<.05). Communication competence and job satisfaction was found to have a significant positive correlation (P<.05). Specifically, communication ability were found to have a significant positive correlation with job pride, organization factor, autonomy and payment, working condition, welfare and stability (P<.05). Conclusion: This study suggests that the higher the communication competence of the physical therapist, their job satisfaction was higher.

Background: Patients with stroke may show impaired balance due to the limited range of motion of the ankle resulting from abnormal soft tissues surrounding the ankle joint. Changes in the viscoelasticity of soft tissues and decreased mobility of the ankle impair the balance and lead to problems in the daily life of patients with stroke. Joint mobilization and stretching are effective methods of improving balance by increasing the viscoelasticity of soft tissues and range of motion of the ankle. Objectives: To effects of ankle joint mobilization and calf muscle stretching on balance in patients with stroke. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Methods: A total of 20 patients with stroke were randomly assigned into two groups. The joint mobilization group (JMG) underwent anteroposterior joint mobilization of the talocrural joint, while the stretching group (SG) received calf muscle stretching. Functional reach test (FRT), berg balance scale (BBS), and timed up and go test (TUG) were used to assess balance. Results: The FRT, BBS, and TUG results significantly improved in the JMG and SG after invention (P<.05). However, the improvements were greater in the JMG group than those in the SG group (P<.05). Conclusion: Joint mobilization was an effective intervention to improve soft tissue performance and range of motion of the ankle, thereby improving balance in patients with stroke.

Background: Patients with stroke have limited ankle range of motion (ROM) due to soft tissue abnormalities around the ankle and thus experience functional impairment. Increased muscle tension and reduced ankle ROM impair gait and hinder the activities of daily living. Joint mobilization and stretching are effective interventions that improve gait performance by enhancing the ankle ROM. Objectives: To investigate the effects of ankle joint mobilization and calf muscle stretching on gait speed and gait performance in patients with stroke. Design: This was a randomized controlled trial. Methods: Twenty patients with stroke patients were randomized into two groups. The joint mobilization group (JMG) underwent anteroposterior mobilization of the talocrural joint and the joint mobilization stretching group (JMSG) underwent calf muscle stretching in addition to joint mobilization. Gait speed and gait parameters were measured using the 10-meter walk test and the GAITRite. Results: Both the JMG and JMSG groups showed significant improvements in gait speed, affected-side step length, and cadence after the intervention (P<.05). Conclusion: Joint mobilization and stretching were effective interventions for improving gait performance by enhancing ankle function in patients with stroke.

Background: Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis show abnormal changes in muscle activity due to pain and limited range of motion of the lumbar spine. Excessive increased muscle tone and decreased muscle activity patterns threaten the patients’ quality of life. However, there have been a few studies showing how to improve muscle performance in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Among these, joint mobilization is one way of improving muscle performance through pain relief and increasing the range of motion. Objectives: To investigate the effect of lumbar mobilization by orthopedic manual physical therapy on paravertebral muscle activity and tone in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Methods: In this study, 24 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis were randomized (1:1 ratio) into two groups. The experimental group underwent lumbar posteroanterior mobilization, and the control group underwent conventional physical therapy (conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) for 15 minutes each. For outcome measures, MyotonⓇPRO was used to evaluate muscle tone when resting of the paravertebral muscle in the pain area. For muscle activity evaluation, the reference voluntary contraction of the paravertebral muscle was evaluated using surface electromyography. Results: Muscle tone and activity were significantly improved after intervention in both the experimental and control groups. In addition, the experimental group showed more significant decrease in muscle tone and activity than the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that lumbar mobilization improving muscle performance in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Background: Physical therapy has been widely studied in various fields, however, the academic trends and characteristics has not been systematically analyzed. Semantic network analysis is used as an approach for this study. Objective: To explore academic trends and knowledge system in the physiotherapy research in the Journal of International Academy Physical Therapy (J of IAPTR) Study design : Literature review Method: Semantic network analysis was conducted using the titles of 272 articles published in the Journal of IAPTR from 2010 to 2019. Results: Frequency analysis revealed following most frequently used key words; Stroke (27 times), Balance (21 times), Elder (13 times), Forward head posture (FHP, 11 times), Muscle activity (9 times). The relationship between the presented keywords is divided into six subgroups (FHP and pain, walk and quality, elder and balance, stroke and apoptosis, muscle strength and function) according to their correlation and frequency to be used together. Conclusion: The study is considered to be of help to researchers who want to identify research trends in physiotherapy.