Background and objectives: Studies on the effects of an equine riding simulator (ERS) program on back pain, spinal alignment, and isokinetic moments in subjects with chronic low back pain (CLBP) remain limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in elderly women with CLBP who participate in an ERS program. Materials and Methods: The 80 participants were all women aged 61–84 years who were randomly assigned to either the control group (CON) or ERS group (ERSG). ERS exercise was performed for a duration of 12 weeks (three times each week). The degree of pain was measured using the Oswestry Disability Index and the visual analog scale. Body composition and spinal alignment were measured using bioelectrical impedance and raster stereography. The isokinetic moments of trunk extensor and flexor were measured before and after the training period. Results: The ERSG showed a significant decrease in back pain compared to the CON. There was a significant decrease in levels of fat in the ERSG, although no differences were shown in terms of muscle mass. However, there was an increased basal metabolic rate (BMR) in the ERSG. Spinal alignment in the ERSG significantly improved. The peak torques of the trunk extensor in the ERSG were also significantly increased. Conclusion: It can be inferred that the ERS exercise can decrease fat and improve the trunk extensor strength through increased BMR, leading to better spinal alignment and reducing back pain in elderly women with CLBP.

Tensiomyography (TMG) is an injury detecting tool for muscle group imbalances and/or side-to-side asymmetries. It is liable to detect to measure contractile properties and mechanical responses based on muscle belly displacement. Although other previous papers have well suggested the methods for examining the several muscle groups using TMG, a detecting method for the imbalances in low back muscles has not been investigated, and no review papers have been compiled. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize the theories of the previous studies observed using TMG and to briefly summarize its usefulness by performing simple experiments on the left and right regions of the erector spinae muscles, which may be a problem using TMG for patients with low back pain.

Background and objective: This study investigated the therapeutic effect of applying local body vibration (LBV) with built-in vibroacoustic sound on patients who had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four participants were randomly classified into a LBV group (LBVG; n = 11) or a non-LBV group (nLBVG; n = 13). Both groups received the same program; however, the LBVG received LBV. Psychological measures included pain, anxiety, and symptoms; physiological measures included systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, heart rate (HR), breathing rate (BR), sympathetic activation (SA), parasympathetic activation (PSA), range of motion (ROM), and isokinetic muscle strength at Weeks 0, 4, and 8. Results: Among the psychophysiological variables, pain, anxiety, symptoms, SBP, BR, and SA were significantly reduced in both groups, whereas HR, PSA, isokinetic peak torque (PT) of the knee joint, and ROM were significantly improved only in the LBVG. Comparing both groups, a significant difference appeared in pain, symptom, SA, PSA, isokinetic PT, and ROM at Weeks 4 and 8. Conclusions: The results indicate that the LBV intervention mitigated the participants’ pain and symptoms and improved their leg strength and ROM, thus highlighting its effectiveness.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether equine riding affects static or dynamic mechanical contractions on the thighs and trunk muscles in inactive women. METHODS: Participants consisted of 30 women with a mean (SD) age of 21.06 (0.44) years. They were randomly allotted as follows: equine group (EQG, n= 15) and control group (CON, n= 15). Two types of muscle contraction properties in their thighs and trunk were measured through a tensiomyography (static muscle tester) and an isokinetic device (dynamic muscle tester), respectively. Using the body weights of EQG and CON as covariates, a 2-way between-groups multivariate analysis of covariance was used to investigate group differences in the mechanical quantification of the thighs and trunk. RESULTS: The effectiveness of 8 weeks of equine riding was hardly observed in a static muscle test, whereas in the dynamic muscle test, the dominant and non-dominant hip extensor/flexor, the dominant hip abductor/adductor, and trunk extensor in the EQG showed a significant increase, compared to no changes in the CON. CONCLUSIONS: This study did not find any particular differences in a static muscle test in inactive women, but showed improvements in the dynamic mechanical properties of the thighs and trunk, which are major muscle groups related to spinal alignment.

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