No abstract

Psychiatric problems have been discussed concerning epileptic children and they are still controversial as to whether it is characteristic to epilepsy or not. We analyzed the behavioral problems both in the normally developed children with epilepsy and the normal control group with the same behavioral score and then investigated the differences between epileptic children with normal development and those with retardation. The study disclosed that the epileptic children had problems in almost all fields such as emotional disturbances, daily life activity and human relationship and these were associated with the development and control of seizures. The retarded children had the disorders more frequently than the normally developed epileptic children.

To clarify whether hot pack stimulation has utility as a movement training pretreatment. [Participants and Methods] The knee extension strength of 20 healthy males was measured at angular velocities of 60 and 180˚/s with and without a thermal stimulus comprising wet heat treatment. [Results] At an angular velocity of 60°/s, total strength and the integrated muscle strength value significantly increased after 15 min of heat stimulation. When heat stimulation was provided at an angular velocity of 180°/s, these values significantly increased after 9 min compared to those of the initial evaluation time. [Conclusion] Hot pack stimulation is thought to be useful as a movement training pretreatment, by promoting muscle contraction through heat stimulus.

This study examined the influence of the step height on the shoulder and pelvic girdles when ascending a step. [Participants and Methods] Seventeen healthy males initially stood still, and then ascended a step as a task. The step height was set at 10 or 20 cm. For measurement, a 3-dimensional motion analysis device and ground reaction force meter were used. The vertical component of the ground reaction force showed a bimodal curve. Based on this, the total measurement time was divided into various periods to calculate the amounts of change in the shoulder and pelvic girdle angles in the horizontal and frontal planes. [Results] Within the period from placing the leading leg on the step and moving the body forward and upward to taking the following leg off the ground, the pelvic girdle rotated in the horizontal plane toward the following leg when the step height was 10 cm, and toward the leading leg when it was 20 cm. [Conclusion] When ascending a higher step, the pelvic girdle rotates toward the leading leg, possibly to compensate for the increased vertical distance.