Twenty-two university students with unilateral functional instability of the ankle participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. Subjects in both groups were trained to stand on the affected limb on an ankle disk. In group 1, two pieces of 1-cm wide nonelastic adhesive tape were applied to the skin around the lateral malleolus from the distal third of the lower leg to the sole of the foot before the training sessions. Subjects in group 2 participated in the training sessions without the application of the adhesive tape. Training was performed for 10 minutes a day, five times per week, for a period of 10 weeks. Subjects were tested for postural sway while standing on the affected limb before, during, and after the training period. In group 1, postural sway values decreased significantly after 4 weeks compared with the pretraining performance, and they were within the normal range after not more than 6 weeks of training. In group 2, the values did not improve significantly compared with the pretraining performance until after 6 weeks of training, and they were not within the normal range until after 8 weeks of training. The findings suggest that the 2-week earlier correction of postural sway in group 1 was due to an increased afferent input from skin receptors that were stimulated by the traction of the adhesive tape.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the diversity in infant crawling and examine the quantitative regularity in crawling variations necessary for the acquisition of walking in infants with typical development. [Participants and Methods] Infants with no neurological or orthopedic problems participated in this study. Using Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, crawling was simultaneously filmed from six different angles. Filming was continued until the acquisition of independent walking. The crawling movement in the video was coded. We considered the number of different completed codes as the number of variations and examined the cumulative number during the filming period in each participant. [Results] Nineteen infants completed the study. The pattern of change in the cumulative number of variations with increasing age (in days) varied between cases. Although the cumulative number of crawling variations at the time of acquisition of independent walking was inconsistent, it was negatively correlated with the crawling start age (in days). [Conclusion] Diversity exists in infant crawling. Infants who start crawling at a younger age tend to express more variation, whereas infants who start crawling when older tend to express less variation.

[Purpose] We developed criteria for crawling motion analysis, for the purpose of understanding motor learning processes from changes in crawling motion, and investigated their reliability. [Subjects and Methods] Ten examiners (4 with experience, 2 novices, and 4 trainees) used a video recording of the crawling motion during 6-months to code the movements using the analysis criteria on two occasions. The reliability was ascertained using the levels of intra-and inter-examiner agreement, and the variation number. [Results] With the exception of the novices, the levels of agreement of the code and variation number were confirmed to be sufficiently reliable. The results also suggest that prior training increase the reliability.[Conclusion] The results suggest the method we have developed is objective.

We examined here the effect of the elbow joint posture on elbow flexor fatigability and strength during isometric contraction. Nine healthy subjects, who gave informed consent, participated in the present study. The subjects were seated in a chair with the shoulder joint at 0°, and the shoulders, pelvis, and thigh were immobilized by straps. The elbow joint posture was positioned at 30, 60, 90 and 120° of elbow flexion. First, subjects produced maximal elbow flexion as a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) in each elbow joint posture. A myodynamometer was used to measure muscular strength. Secondly, the subjects performed 50% MVC effort for over 60 seconds with visual feedback. The surface electromyograms of the biceps brachii and brachioradialis muscles were recorded. The muscle fatigue was characterized by median power frequency (MDPF) calculated from the power spectrum of surface electromyograms using autoregression models. MDPF were calculated for each section, then 60 seconds was divided into each six sections consisting of 10 seconds. Findings of the present study are: 1) the elbow joint posture requiring the maximum strength is 90°; and 2) MDPF decreased over time in both muscles, and the rate of reduction tended to increase with flexion angle. These findings suggest that the elbow joint posture that demonstrates the maximum muscular strength differs from the one which does not cause muscle fatigue easily. When therapist determines training posture, it is necessary to take this point into consideration.

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Self Esteem Inventory (SEI) for use in Japan. Internal consistency and split-half for the scales' reliability, criterion-related validity and construct validity were tested on 244 primary school children. At the same time, the subjects responded to the Father, Mother and Child Relationship Inventory (FMCI) and the General Anxiety Test (GAT) questionnaires. Cronbach's α coefficient for each of the above three scales was 0.84, 0.94, and 0.93, respectively, and the split-half was 0.80, 0.91, and 0.85, respectively, indicating satisfactory reliability. No difference was observed between male and female for the SEI or the FMCI but a significant difference was observed between the sexes in the GAT results (p<0.01). Criterionrelated validity was supported by significant correlation of the SEI and the FMCI (r=0.49, p<0.01), and of the SEI and the GAT (r= 0.50, p<0.01). The results of factor analysis, however, showed construct validity to be extremely low, negating the validity of the Japanese version of the SEI and indicating room for further study. The results also demonstrated a need to clarify the constructs for self-esteem.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to reconsider the crawling of infants by focusing on their repertoire.[Subjects] The subjects were 8 healthy infants aged 5-8 months who were using a Child Care Support Center.[Methods] The crawling of the infants on two types of floor (normal and unstable floor) was recorded on video, and analyzed for the motion of the head and trunk, the limbs, the movement of the center of gravity, and the driving force. The number of the repertoires of crawling was noted after agreement by three researchers.[Results] The repertories of crawling increased, and then decreased with experience of crawling.[Conclusion] Our results suggest that motor learning in infants' crawling progresses from random to rational movements, and that the process is repeated during development.

To examine the validity of the predictive formulas based on the angle information of the segment center of mass and moments of inertia, and to propose a joint moment estimation method. [Participants and Methods] Twenty nine young healthy adults were divided into two groups: the Creation group (20 adults) was needed to create the prediction formulas, and the Verification group (9 adults) was needed to verify the formulas. By monitoring the Creation group, the angular information from inertial motion sensors and moments of inertia of each limb were used to estimate actual ankle joint moment and knee joint moment. Thereafter, the actual joint moments was derived from the Verification group and compared to the predicted values via Pearson correlations. [Results] Good to excellent correlations were obtained between the actual joint moments of the two groups for most of the motions. [Conclusion] It is suggested that the predictive formulas created from the angle information of the segment center of mass and moments of inertia can be used for an approximate estimation of the lower limb joint moments in the sagittal plane and more clinically useful tools need to be considered in the future.

The present study was an investigation of motives for entering physical therapy school in terms of understanding students' awareness and attitude. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the resulting correlation coefficients between scores representing identity, moratorium, self-esteem, physical therapist image, and motives for entering school. Furthermore a path diagram was prepared centering on motives for entering school. We found that physical therapist image and moratorium were related to motives for entering school (R 2 =0.152, p<0.01). The data also suggested that moratorium is an important factor in relation to motives for entering school, while identity did not exhibit a significant correlation in contributing to such motivation. The factors that may be responsible for this result remain unexplained, and it is necessary to consider subscales for each category in order to allow more detailed analysis.