Hallux valgus (HV) is a common foot deformity of multifactorial etiology, but knowledge about the relative importance of genetics and environments on HV has been limited. In order to estimate genetic influences on HV, 1,265 adults, including 175 monozygotic twin (MZ) pairs, 31 dizygotic twin (DZ) pairs, and 853 first-degree singleton family members of the twins were included from the Healthy Twin study, a population-based twin-family cohort in Korea. All participants underwent foot examination and weightbearing radiographic assessment (anterior-posterior and lateral) in addition to a general health survey. Of the subjects, 208 (16.4%) were classified as HV (as HV angle >20°). The genetic influence on HV was estimated to be substantial; the heritability of HV was 0.51 (95% CI 0.42-0.59) and the heritability of HV angle was 0.47 (0.38-0.56), while contributions from shared environmental effects were negligible. These findings suggest that genetic factors play an important role in determining HV deformity.
Objective: Using biofeedback in instructing pelvic floor muscle (PFM) activation is a great method to provide information on muscle contraction. This study aimed to determine the immediate effectiveness of a mobile game-based instruction with an extracorporeal biofeedback device (EBD) to improve PFM contraction in healthy subjects. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Sixteen healthy subjects (4 men and 12 nulliparous women; age, 31±5 years) were enrolled. The subjects were randomly categorized into two groups, those who were to receive instructions on how to contract the PFM by using the EBD (n=7) and those who were to undergo a transabdominal ultrasonography (TAUS; n=9) with biofeedback. PFM function was measured as the displacement (mm) of PFM elevation by using the TAUS before and after the instructions in each group. Results: The EBD and TAUS groups showed a significant increase in the displacement of PFM elevation after the instructions from 5.93±4.03 mm to 7.62±3.77 mm and from 5.27±3.39 mm to 7.47±2.79 mm, respectively (p<0.05). No significant differences were found between the two groups. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that instructions for PFM contraction using the EBD and TAUS showed an immediate effect; however, no significant difference in effectiveness was observed between the two instruction methods. Therefore, not only can the TAUS method be used but the EBD method can also be used as a PFM instruction method for noninvasive procedures. However, further studies are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of training and exercise on larger sample sizes that includes patient populations with PFM dysfunction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.