People with tetraplegia tend to have sedentary lifestyle which prevents optimal participation in work and recreational activities. Thus, aim of the study is to determine the effect of diaphragmatic breathing techniques on perceived exertion and cardiovascular variables during resistance exercises performed by tetraplegic rugby athletes who use wheelchairs as their primary mode of mobility.
Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain disorder characterized by widespread pain. Recent hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of FM has primarily focused upon the concept of central sensitization (CS). The musculoskeletal system has been suggested to act as a potential source of pain contributing to CS, suggesting that in theory physical therapy, including manual therapy, may be useful in treating some of the pain associated with FM. Presently, no known cure exists for FM, and current primary care management may include a mixture of pharmacological treatments, as well as manual and physical therapy, including the use of aerobic and strengthening exercises. Objective: As manual and physical therapy are often conducted in conjunction with prescribed exercises, this article examines evidence in regard to the efficacy of employing physical exercise therapy within a manual/physical therapy clinical setting as a potential intervention for patients with FM. Methods: Databases and reference sections of original studies and systematic reviews on physical exercise therapy in FM were reviewed (for relevant literature from 2009 to 2014). The author was solely responsible for the selection of studies for inclusion based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following critical appraisal using The Critical Skills Appraisal Program (CASP), evidence ratings were applied to the studies using The Oxford Rating Scale developed by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) and The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) checklist. Results: The studies reviewed suggested that physical exercise therapy, including aerobic exercise (AE) and strength training, could benefit FM patients in terms of pain amelioration and improvement of range of motion (ROM), improving health-related quality of life (HQoL) by improving sleep patterns and reducing medication usage, as well as reducing depression and improving psychological wellbeing. Conclusion: There is evidence to support the use of physical exercise therapy as a therapy for FM sufferers. However, there remains a lack of certainty regarding the most efficacious exercise intervention, mainly due to the methodological constraints affecting the available studies, as well as the heterogeneity and lack of standardization with regard to available exercise-based treatment programmes for FM sufferers, which makes the act of comparing the studies available challenging. KeywordsFibromyalgia; Fibromyalgia Syndrome; Physical Therapy; Physiotherapy; Exercise Therapy; Physical Exercise Therapy
A review of the literature was conducted to assess the effects of a combined aquatic and land-based intervention versus the traditional land-based therapy only for female soccer players in rehabilitation post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Female soccer players have an increased tendency to experience ACL injuries because of the mechanism of injury as well as internal contributors of the female anatomy. Many protocols for rehabilitation have been released, but few studies have examined the effects of a combined aquatic and land-based program. Aquatic therapy has been shown to have many positive effects, including the allowance for early intervention, but is inconclusive for early re-entry for sport-specific activities. Peer reviewed journal articles and systematic reviews of ACL rehabilitation were initiated via electronic searches of AcademicOneFile, PubMed, PEDro, PTnow, EBSCOHost, Academic Premier, and CINAHL. Four reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted data, and applied quality criteria. Study quality was assessed by the levels of evidence ranking system, and the evidence synthesis ordered them in importance. Five systematic reviews, six randomized control trials, six case-controlled studies, and one literature review were included. All data was used to assess eight ACL rehabilitation components needed to return to sport-specific activities: pain management, ROM, edema control, muscular strength, neuromuscular function, and improved gait patterns. There was evidence to support the combination of aquatic and land-based therapy as a better intervention for achieving the goals of ROM and strength, and also showed evidence of improved edema control and pain management. These improvements have the potential to assist soccer players in returning to sport-specific activities, yet there was no consensus for a specific timeline for early re-entry into those activities. Recommendations for clinical practice are to consider adding early intervention aquatic therapy for earlier re-entry to sport-specific activities in female soccer players post ACL reconstruction as a safe intervention for improved ROM, strength, pain control, and edema control. Further research must be conducted to generalize these findings to a more diverse population, and for a timeline for re-entry to sport-specific activities.
The Japanese lifestyle includes activities with a greater range of hip motion, such as squat toilet and sitting on the floor. These activities increase the risk of hip dislocation for patients with total hip arthroplasty. However, research concerning the impact of Japanese lifestyle on quality of life for patients with total hip arthroplasty is limited. This cross-sectional study investigated lifestyle differences between two regions and quality of life related to Japanese lifestyle, controlling age and other covariates. Participants comprised 392 total hip arthroplasty patients with a postoperative period of one to seven years from major hospitals in northern (192 patients) and southern (200 patients) Japan. Participants were administered by the EQ-5D (assessing generic health-related quality of life), Oxford hip score (assessing hip-specific health condition), Japanese lifestyle difficulties (squat toilet, sitting on the floor, etc.) and lifestyle at home. The southern hospital sample retained more of a Japanese lifestyle compared to the northern hospital sample. Nearly 50% of participants reported some level of difficulty related to the Japanese squat toilet, although only a low percentage had it at home. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to predict the quality of life, and the final model retained the pain and function of the Oxford hip scores and Japanese squat toilet difficulty. The result indicates that physical environments outside of the house have an impact on quality of life for THA patients in Japan. Some aspects of the Asian lifestyle require a greater range of motion of the hip joint. In non-Western countries, regional differences in lifestyle and physical environments outside of their home need to be taken into consideration in discharge planning and rehabilitation. Further multinational comparison of the Asian lifestyle via prospective research is necessary, controlling pre-operative conditions.
The aim of this project is to design an infrared (IR) monitor to detect and measure the amount of infrared radiation, to control the treatment time of the IR physiotherapy, and to provide a tool to determine standard doses for different cases. The problem was the absence of the quality control tools of the infrared physiotherapy devices in Sudan that led to inappropriate treatment, complains and decrease in patient satisfaction. The patient safety is human-dependent; it can lead to severe burns when the patient exposes to IR radiation more than the required treatment time. The proposed solution for this issue is a design of a monitor of IR physiotherapy, which was done by using both software (BASCOM) and hardware (microcontroller atmega 8) tools, a control system which enables and controls the input power that inters the IR lamp is implemented, and an IR sensor which provide feedback from the IR lamp to monitor the amount of IR radiation. The result of the project was an IR physiotherapy monitor, which has the ability to monitor 80 percent of the lamp’s chosen intensities and control the infrared radiation intensity, dose, and time to ensure the patient safety. KeywordsHeat physiotherapy; Infrared Physiotherapy; Monitors
Measurement of handgrip strength is commonly performed by physiotherapists to measure baseline deficiency in hand muscle power, to monitor progress during rehabilitation, and to document outcome after rehabilitation. The present study deals with the trends of handgrip strength (both dominant and non-dominant) of randomly selected 2167 Indian students (1101 male and 1066 female) aged 6- 25 years collected from various schools, colleges and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India, and its correlations with demographic characteristics. Handgrip strength was measured by standard technique. In results, statistically significant differences (p<0.003-0.001) of dominant and non-dominant handgrip strength were found in all the age groups, except 6,7, 11,12,13 years between the male and female students. Both in male and female students, the increase in dominant and non-dominant handgrip strength were continuous until 13 years of age, after which male students were significantly stronger than female students. The dominant handgrip strength was found to have significantly positive correlations (p<0.05-0.01) with high and moderate socio-economic status, height and body weight of the subjects.
