scholarly journals Improved motor function with Bowen therapy for rehabilitation in chronic stroke: a pilot study

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Duncan ◽  
Patrick McHugh ◽  
Frank Houghton ◽  
Craig Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Complementary Therapy ◽  
Chronic Stroke ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Summary Scale ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Physical Health Summary ◽  
Bowen Therapy

INTRODUCTION: Bowen therapy is an established complementary therapy with anecdotal reports of effectiveness. However, there is limited published research to substantiate safety or effectiveness. This is a pilot study to explore the potential impact of Bowen therapy in chronic stroke. METHODS: A case series of 14 people with chronic stroke were offered 13 sessions of Bowen therapy over a three-month period. RESULTS: Motor assessments of the 13 people who participated showed improvements—gross motor function trended to improvement; SF-36 role-physical, physical health summary scale and total SF-36 scores showed statistically significantly improvements. However, grip strength reduced. CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study, Bowen therapy was associated with improvements in neuromuscular function in people with chronic stroke. At this stage of study, it is not possible to conclude that there is definite benefit; however the results suggest that exploration through further research is appropriate. KEYWORDS: Bowen Therapy; stroke; rehabilitation

Abstract W P135: Usability of a Virtual Reality Tool for In-Home Stroke Rehabilitation: A Case Series

Stroke ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Proffitt ◽  
Belinda Lange ◽  
Marisa Sevick
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Chronic Stroke ◽  
Occupational Performance ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Home Setting

Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. Exercise and activity in the chronic phase of stroke have shown to be beneficial in achieving and maintaining improvements in motor and ADL function. Interactive video games and virtual reality (VR) have also shown to be effective in improving motor function following stroke. We developed a prototype VR rehabilitation tool called Mystic Isle that uses the Microsoft Kinect sensor and a standard PC. The purpose of this case series was to explore the usability of Mystic Isle as a 5-week intervention to improve performance of client identified activities for adults (>21 years) with chronic stroke (>6 months post) in the home setting. Three participants with chronic stroke completed the five week intervention. Outcomes were measured at baseline, immediately pre-intervention (after a 2 week delay from baseline), and immediately post-intervention. The intervention was conducted in each participant’s home. The results of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure at baseline guided the choice of the virtual tasks for the intervention. The participants were instructed to complete 4 hours each week. The primary outcome was usability and feasibility of the intervention measured with the Game Experience Questionnaire, the System Usability Questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview. Primary outcome data were analyzed using a mixed methods grounded theory approach. Secondary outcomes included motor impairment, quality of life and occupational performance measured using standard clinical measures. Two of the three participants had very positive responses to the intervention and use of the VR tool in the home setting. All three participants demonstrated improvements in quality of life from pre- to post-intervention and improvements in motor function were scattered across participants. All participants expressed the desire to use the system in the future if improvements were made to increase the usability of the system for the home setting. They also spoke about how they attempted to integrate the game into their daily routine or schedule. A major barrier to use for all participants was a busy day that left them too fatigued to interact with the system and complete the intervention.

scholarly journals Symptom Cluster-Matching Antidepressant Treatment: A Case Series Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 526
Author(s):  
Sławomir Murawiec ◽  
Marek Krzystanek
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Symptom Cluster ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Cluster Matching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Effectiveness Studies

Despite treating depression with antidepressants, their effectiveness is often insufficient. Comparative effectiveness studies and meta-analyses show the effectiveness of antidepressants; however, they do not provide clear indications as to the choice of a specific antidepressant. The rational choice of antidepressants may be based on matching their mechanisms of action to the symptomatic profiles of depression, reflecting the heterogeneity of symptoms in different patients. The authors presented a series of cases of patients diagnosed with depression in whom at least one previous antidepressant treatment was shown to be ineffective before drug targeted symptom cluster-matching treatment (SCMT). The presented pilot study shows for the first time the effectiveness of SCMT in the different clusters of depressive symptoms. All the described patients obtained recovery from depressive symptoms after introducing drug-targeted SCMT. Once validated in clinical trials, SCMT might become an effective and rational method of selecting an antidepressant according to the individual profile of depressive symptoms, the mechanism of their formation, and the mechanism of drug action. Although the study results are preliminary, SCMT can be a way to personalize treatment, increasing the likelihood of improvement even in patients who meet criteria for treatment-resistant depression.

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