This study evaluates the use of a wheelchair balance board. The balance board was created as a sensory stimulation tool for users with various disabilities. It was originally designed to create vestibular stimulation for the person after they were loaded on. This study was used as a way to test if the balance board could be used for other things such as physical therapy and exercise. Ten able-bodied individuals were used to show the functionality of the device. They were asked to perform six different abdominal exercises while the muscle activity of their rectus abdominis and external obliques was measured using EMG electrodes. The exercises performed included: abdominal crunch, reverse crunch, full vertical crunch, torso twist, seated crunch, and sitting abdominal bend down. The last three exercises were performed on both stable ground and on the wheelchair balance board. This study found that the balance board did not cause any negative effects in terms of the abdominal muscle activation. In some cases it actually increased the muscle activation compared to the stable and floor exercises. There were no cases where the balance board caused a decrease in the amount of muscle activation in comparison to the floor exercises. The highest values for any muscle group activated in the entire study was found to be on the balance board during the sitting abdominal bend down. This demonstrates that the balance board shows promise as a tool for stimulating muscles not traditionally activated for people in a wheelchair.

Title: Evaluation of the effect of exercise according to the Propriofoot concept and the methodology of Sensorimotor Training by Janda and Vávrová on foot pressure distribution Objectives: In this thesis the following three goals were set: First, to find out if and how does the percentual foot pressure distribution between the left and right foot in standing change after a four-week long exercise according to either the methodology of Sensorimotor training by Janda and Vávrová or the Propriofoot concept. Second, if and how will the segmental foot load change. Third, if the prospective changes of foot load will agree or differ between the two groups. Methods: A pilot study for quantitative research using experimental scientific method was conducted, with two groups consisting of ten members each, aged thirty to fifty and diagnosed with flat foot. At the beginning, all probands underwent diagnostic measurement using the "Plantograf V10" device. Then they attended a four-week long individual therapy with an exercise plan created according to one of the two methods in consideration. At the end the probands were again measured by the same device. Entrance and control measurements obtained for each participant and both groups were evaluated, compared and statistically analyzed. Results: Analysis of the...