Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is used in traditional herbal medicine in many Asian countries for the treatment of several diseases such as diabetes, eczema, night blindness, psoriasis, and rheumatism. Especially, most reports concerning the biological activities of bitter melon have focused on its effects on diabetes and hyperglycemia. Also, bitter melon is regarded as a longevity food, suggesting that it has several beneficial effects on anti-aging and the maintenance of a healthy state. Thus, we investigated whether bitter melon could increase the capacity of exercise in this study. Interestingly, bitter melon fruit extract activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is important for regulating glucose homeostasis, mitochondrial content and exercise capacity. In addition, bitter melon extract increased the expression of enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation such as mitochondrial uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3), carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1b (CPT1b), and pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 4 (PDK4). Moreover, exercise tolerance was much more enhanced in bitter melon treated animals compared to the non-treated control group. These results suggest that bitter melon is a promising candidate for the development of functional foods beneficial for physical strength and the enhancement of exercise capacity.

Impaired respiratory function is common in patients with stroke. The purpose of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of exercises and to assess forced vital capacity and peak cough flow after completion of neck stabilizing and respiratory reeducation exercises (combining diaphragmatic breathing and pursed-lip breathing exercises). The 45 participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group 1 (n1=15), experimental group 2 (n2=15), and a control group (n3=15). All subjects performed conservative physical therapy for 30 minutes. Experimental group 1 undertook the neck stabilizing exercise and the respiratory reeducation exercise. Experimental group 2 undertook the respiratory reeducation exercise. Additional exercise did not exceed 30 minutes, five times a week for six weeks. The subjects were assessed for deep neck flexor thickness and breathing function (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume at one second, forced expiratory volume at one second/forced vital capacity, peak expiratory flow, and manual assisted peak cough flow) at pre-post value. The results of this study were as follows. Experimental group 1 showed a significant increase only in deep neck flexor thickness change rate (p<.05). All groups showed significant increases in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume at one second, and peak expiratory flow in pre-post measurement (p<.05). Experimental groups 1 and 2 showed an increase in manual assisted peak cough flow in pre-post measurement (p<.05). There was no significant difference between experimental group 1 and experimental group 2, but experimental group 1 improved more than experimental group 2 in respiratory function as a whole. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the neck stabilizing exercise in combination with the respiratory reeducation exercise can improve forced vital capacity and peak cough flow in patients with stroke.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of rehabilitation exercise and neuromuscular electrical stimulation on a visual analysis scale and functional visual analysis scale regarding functional capacity. A total of 7 consecutive patients with the complaint of patellofemoral pain syndrome who received this diagnosis from a sports medicine physician were recruited to assess the effect of rehabilitation exercise and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Functional Visual Analog Scale (FVAS), functional capacity patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome. The exercise rehabilitation consisted of a complex training program requiring five treatments a week for eight weeks. The training program consisted of four phases, and each lasted for two weeks. Statistical analyses were one-way ANOVA with repeated measures. The results were as follows: (1) There were significant differences in the VAS and FVAS during 8-weeks of rehabilitation exercise and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (p<.01). (2) There were no significant differences in the functional capacity during 8-weeks of rehabilitation exercise and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (p<.05). In conclusion, at the end of the eight weeks of this rehabilitation program and neuromuscular electrical stimulation, a significant reduction was found in VAS and FVAS, but there was no significant difference in functional capacity at the end of the treatment.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of thoracic flexibility exercise on chest function and mobility and to provide the information of physical therapy for patients with idiopathic scoliosis. Forty female subjects who were diagnosed with scoliosis participated in this study and were divided into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group consisted of 20 patients who were treated with thoracic flexibility exercise program during the admission (10 days) ad one month after discharge. The control group consisted of 20 patients who were not treated with thoracic flexibility exercise program. Vital capacity was measured using a respirometer. The chest expansion were calculated using differences of chest circumference between maximum inspiration and maximum expiration measured under armpits, at the junction between the sternum and xyphoid process, and at the waist. All subjects were measured two times: before the admission and at one month after discharge. Data were compared by groups using independent t-test, Vital capacity and chest expansion values (the armpit, chest and waist values) were significantly higher for the experimental group compared to those of the control group (p<.05). The findings of this study show that thoracic flexibility exercise program can lead to an increase in vital capacity and chest expansion and has a positive effects in relieving symptoms and restoring thoracic mobility.

목적: 본 연구는 건강 행동을 설명하기 위해 새롭게 떠오르고 있는 시간적 자기조절 이론에 대한 부분적인 검증으로, 운동 참여 정도에 따라 운동의 이득과 비용을 인지하는 시점에 차이가 있는지 확인하고 의도와 의도-행동 불일치에 있어서 조절효과를 나타내는 변인을 검증하는 것에 있다. 방법: 이를 위하여 단계적 변화모형의 운동 행동 변화 단계(Prochaska & Marcus, 1994)를 기준으로 계획, 준비, 행동, 유지 단계에 해당하는 20대 여성을 단계별로 25명씩 모집하여 총 100명을 대상으로 3가지 인지테스트를 실시하고 자료를 수집하였다. 수집된 자료는 SPSS 21.0을 이용하여 기술통계, 요인분석 및 신뢰도 분석, 상관관계 분석, 일원배치 분산 분석, 단순 회귀분석, 다중 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 결과: 첫째, 운동행동 단계와 관계없이 모든 집단에서 운동에 대한 비용을 이득 보다 먼저 인지하는 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 계획단계보다 유지단계에서 운동에 대한 이득을 인지하는 시점이 빨랐고, 이득과 비용을 인지하는 시간적 격차가 작은 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 운동의도가 의도-행동 불일치에 유의 한 부(-)적 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 즉 의도가 높아질수록 의도-행동 불일치는 낮아지는 것으로 확인되었다. 셋째, 의도가 의도-행동 불일치에 영향을 미치는데 있어서 Stroop test의 불일치 조건 반응시간, Tower of London의 total move score 및 initial time이 조절 효과를 나타냈다. 넷째, 의도가 의도-행동 불일치에 영향을 미치는데 있어서 자기통제의 하위요인인 자제력과 집중력은 조절 효과를 나타내지 않았다. 결론: 본 연구는 시간적 자기조절 이론의 바탕이 되는 시간적 특성을 운동 단계에 따라 살펴보고, 자기 조절능력을 자기 통제의 개념과 구분하여 검증하였다는 것에 의의가 있다. 시간적 자기 조절이론이 건강 행동에 대한 설명력을 높이고 다양한 연 구 분야에서 유용성을 확장해 나가기 위해선 추후 이론을 구성하는 변인들에 대한 추가적인 검토가 함께 이루어져야 할 것으로 사료된다.

본 연구는 유산소운동능력의 차이를 보이는 두 집단이 각각 로윙에르고미터 최대하 운동을 실시한 후 혈중 활성산소의 변화에 어떠한 차이를 나타내는지 구명하는데 목적이 있으며 연구대상으로는 조정 선수집단 6명과 비선수집단 6명을 대상으로 최대유산소운동능력을 검사한 후 각각의 목표심박수 85~90%를 적용하여 로윙에르고미터 운동을 실시하였고 운동 전, 직후, 10분, 20분, 차30분에 각각 채혈하여 활성산소의 변화를 분석하였다. 그 결과는 유산소운동능력의 차이에 따른 활성산소의 변화에서 집단과 시기 간 상호작용 효과는 유의한(p<.05) 차이를 나타내어 시기에 따른 변화의 양상이 집단 간 차이가 있었고 사후검증 결과 회복기 10분에서 20분 그리고 20분에서 30분 구간에서 유의한 차이가 나타났다. 결론적으로 인체에 부정적인 영향을 미치는 활성산소로부터 유산소운동능력이 우수한 조정선수집단이 비선수집단에 비해 긍정적인 회복 패턴을 보였다.