scholarly journals Immediate Effects of Aquatic Therapy on Balance in Older Adults with Upper Limb Dysfunction: An Exploratory Study

Author(s):  
Maria Graça ◽  
José Alvarelhão ◽  
Rui Costa ◽  
Ricardo J. Fernandes ◽  
Andrea Ribeiro ◽  
...  

Background: Aquatic physiotherapy has been shown to be effective in developing balance, strength, and functional reach over time. When dealing with immediate effects, the literature has concentrated more on the body’s physiological response to the physical and mechanical properties of water during passive immersion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a single 45-min active aquatic physiotherapy session on standing balance and strength, and its relationship with functional reach in persons 55 years and older with upper limb dysfunction. Methods: The intervention group (n = 12) was assessed before and after a single aquatic physiotherapy session, while the control group (n = 10) was evaluated before and after 45 min of sitting rest. Functional assessment was made using the visual analogue pain scale (points), step test (repetitions), functional reach test (cm), and global balance-standing test on a force platform (% time). A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was applied (p < 0.05). Results: The intervention group showed non-significant improvements between measurement before and after the intervention: Pain: 6.2 ± 1.9 vs. 5.2 ± 2.3 cm, steps: 7.0 ± 2.0 vs. 7.4 ± 1.8 repetitions, reach: 9.1 ± 2.8 vs. 10.4 ± 3.8 cm, and balance: 61.7 ± 5.9 vs. 71.3 ± 18.2% time in balance on the platform. The control group showed fewer changes but had better baseline values. A comparison between groups with time showed no significant differences in these changes. Conclusions: No significant immediate effects were found for one session of aquatic physiotherapy applied to patients older than 55 years with upper limb dysfunction.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Wareńczak ◽  
Przemysław Lisiński

Abstract Background: The aim of the study was to conduct a long-term evaluation of whether total hip replacement permanently affects the quality of postural reactions and body balance. Material and methods: The unilateral Total Hip Replacement (THR) group consisted of 30 subjects (mean age: 69.4). The control group consisted of 30 healthy subjects (mean age: 68.8). The force platform and functional tests such as Timed Up and Go, 3m walk test, Functional Reach Test, 30s Chair Stand Test, Step Test and Berg Balance Scale were used to assess dynamic balance. Results: Subjects from the study group exhibited significantly increased time (p=0.002) and distance (p=0.012) in the tests performed on the force platform compared to the control group. We also observed worse balance and functional test scores in the THR group: Timed Up and Go test (p<0.001), 3m walk test (p<0.001), Functional Reach Test (p=0.003), 30s Chair Stand Test (p=0.002) and Step Test (operated leg: p<0.001, non-operated leg: p=0.002). The results obtained in the Berg Balance Scale tests were not significantly different between the groups (p=0.597). Conclusions: Our research shows that total hip replacement permanently impairs patients’ dynamic balance and functionality in certain lower-extremity activities. Keywords: balance, total hip replacement, gait, muscle strength


Author(s):  
Guilherme Henrique de Lima Matias ◽  
◽  
André dos Santos Costa ◽  
Romulo Maia Carlos Fonseca

Objective: To verify the effect of recreational soccer on bone mineral density and sarcopenia in the elderly. Methods: Fourteen elderly people aged 65.9 ± 3.4 years were selected. They were separated into two groups: the intervention group and the control group; the intervention group played recreational soccer for 12 weeks on two days of the week. Assessments were performed for bone mineral density and body muscle mass before and after the intervention. For statistical analysis, the repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc test was used. Results: After 12 weeks, there was a significant change in bone mineral density in the region of the total femur (p = 0.020). Analyzing the participants’ sarcopenia, no significant results were found after the intervention period. Conclusion: Playing recreational soccer causes a significant improvement in the total femur and maintains bone regions in the spine, whole body, and femoral neck. Also, it promotes a removal from the threshold for sarcopenia screening in the elderly.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Ahmad Raeissadat ◽  
Leyla Sedighipour ◽  
Safura Pournajaf ◽  
Reza Vahab Kashani ◽  
Shahram Sadeghi

Objectives.To determine the effect of weighted kypho-orthosis (WKO) on improving balance in women with osteoporosis. In this nonrandomized controlled clinical trial, 31 patients with osteoporosis were included. The patients were assigned to two groups: (1) control group who received 4-week home-based daily exercise program including weight bearing, back strengthening, and balance exercises and (2) intervention group (WKO) who performed aforementioned exercises and wore WKO for one hour twice a day. Patients were assessed using clinical balance tests (timed up and go test, functional reach test, and unilateral balance test) before and 4 weeks after start of treatment.Results.Functional reach and timed up and go test were improved significantly in both groups compared to baseline. The improvement in intervention group was more significant in comparison to control group (P<0.05).Discussion.Posture training with WKO together with exercise program improved two clinical balance tests in women with osteoporosis.Conclusion.Posture training support (PTS) applied as WKO together with back extension exercises can be prescribed as an intervention in elderly women in order to reduce the risk of falling.


Author(s):  
Ulfa Nur Rohmah ◽  
Muhammad Amin ◽  
Makhfudli Makhfudli

Introduction: Dyspnea becomes important to treat Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients that had an impact on the limitations of daily activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Upper Limb Exercise and  Respiratory Muscle Stretch Gymnastics combination on dyspnea among COPD patients. Methods: The design of this study was a quasi-experiment. The population was patients who diagnose COPD by spirometry in Surabaya City and Bangil Regency. The total sample was 56 respondents divided into 28 in the intervention group, and 28 in the control group used consecutive sampling. The independent variables were the combination of Upper Limb Exercise and Respiratory Muscle Stretch Gymnastics. The dependent variable was dyspnea. Data were collected using the mMRC Dyspnea Scale. Interventions were given three times a week for a month.  Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test to analyzed before and after and Mann Whitney Test to determine between the intervention group and the control group. Results: The result showed that the intervention group was significant differences between dyspnea before and after the intervention with a value of 0.001 (p <0.05), but the control group was not with a value of 0.160 (p>0.05). There were differences in dyspnea values between the intervention group and the control group with a value of 0.004 (p <0.05). Conclusions: the combination of Upper Limb Exercise and Respiratory Muscle Stretch Gymnastics has been shown to reduces dyspnea with COPD patients so that patients can perform as complement pharmacological therapy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Nakano ◽  
Shin Murata ◽  
Teppei Abiko ◽  
Masashi Sakamoto ◽  
Dai Matsuo ◽  
...  

Objective. The aim of this randomized controlled study was to investigate the effects of insoles with a toe-grip bar on toe function and standing balance in healthy young women. Methods. Thirty female subjects were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group wore shoes with insoles with a toe-grip bar. The control group wore shoes with general insoles. Both groups wore the shoes for 4 weeks, 5 times per week, 9 hours per day. Toe-grip strength, toe flexibility, static balance (total trajectory length and envelope area of the center of pressure), and dynamic balance (functional reach test) were measured before and after the intervention. Results. Significant interactions were observed for toe-grip strength and toe flexibility (F=12.53, p<0.01; F=5.84, p<0.05, resp.), with significant improvement in the intervention group compared with that in the control group. Post hoc comparisons revealed that both groups showed significant improvement in toe-grip strength (p<0.01 and p<0.05, resp.), with higher benefits observed for the intervention group (p<0.01). Conversely, no significant interaction was observed in the total trajectory length, envelope area, and functional reach test. Conclusions. This study suggests that insoles with a toe-grip bar contribute to improvements in toe-grip strength and toe flexibility in healthy young women.


2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1011-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Morioka ◽  
Hiroyuki Fujita ◽  
Makoto Hiyamizu ◽  
Hiroshi Maeoka ◽  
Atsushi Matsuo

Objective: To determine whether plantar perception training using a hardness discrimination task efficiently improves stabilization of standing posture balance in the old old as well as the very old. Design: A randomized two-group parallel controlled trial. Setting: Nursing homes. Participants: Forty-six elderly persons 75 years of age or older living in nursing facilities were randomly assigned evenly to either an intervention or a control group. Intervention: The intervention group was given a task to discriminate hardness differences while standing on foam rubber of different levels of hardness, while the control group was given the task to simply remain standing on foam rubber. The tasks were imposed for 10 successive days. Outcome measures: Outcome assessment was made by determinations of centre-of-gravity sway in the standing position and the Functional Reach Test. Results: Planter perception was significantly improved and centre-of-gravity sway in the standing position was also significantly reduced in the intervention group after the intervention. In the control group, however, there were no significant changes in perception or in sway ( P < 0.01) There was a significant difference in the Functional Reach Test values between the two groups: an increment of 12.3 ± 10.1 cm in the intervention group vs. 2.3 ± 5.8 cm in the control group ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: These results suggested that plantar perception exercises might efficiently stabilize standing postural balance in the old old as well as the very old.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Collado-Mateo ◽  
Francisco J. Dominguez-Muñoz ◽  
Jose C. Adsuar ◽  
Eugenio Merellano-Navarro ◽  
Narcis Gusi

Background Exergames are a new form of rehabilitation that combine the characteristics of physical exercise and the benefits of non-immersive virtual reality (VR). Effects of this novel therapy in women fibromyalgia are still unknown. The objective was to evaluate the effects of exergame-based intervention on mobility skills, balance and fear of falling in women with fibromyalgia. Methods This study was a randomized controlled trial with concealed allocation. Seventy-six women with fibromyalgia were divided into two groups: the exercise group received an eight week intervention based on exergames, while the control group continued their usual activities. Mobility skills were evaluated using the timed up and go test, while balance was assessed using the functional reach test, and the CTSIB protocol. Fear of falling was evaluated on a scale of 0–100 (0, no fear; 100, extreme fear). Measurements were performed before and after the intervention. A repeated-measures linear mixed model was used to compare the effects of the intervention between the two groups. Results The exercise group was significantly quicker than the control group in the timed up and go test (MD, −0.71; 95% CI [−1.09–0.32]; p < 0.001). There were also significant improvements in functional reach and a reduced fear of falling (MD, 4.34; 95% CI [1.39–7.30]; p = 0.005 and MD, −9.85; 95% CI [−0.19–−0.08]; p = 0.048, respectively). Discussion The improved TUG observed herein was better than the smallest real difference. Based on the results on mobility skills, balance and fear of falling, exergames may be an effective tool as a therapy for women with fibromyalgia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 204062232110052
Author(s):  
Jeremy Chambord ◽  
Lionel Couzi ◽  
Pierre Merville ◽  
Karine Moreau ◽  
Fabien Xuereb ◽  
...  

Aims: To assess the effect of a pharmacist-led intervention, using Barrows cards method, during the first year after renal transplantation, on patient knowledge about their treatment, medication adherence and exposure to treatment in a French cohort. Methods: We conducted a before-and-after comparative study between two groups of patients: those who benefited from a complementary pharmacist-led intervention [intervention group (IG), n = 44] versus those who did not [control group (CG), n = 48]. The pharmacist-led intervention consisted of a behavioral and educational interview at the first visit (visit 1). The intervention was assessed 4 months later at the second visit (visit 2), using the following endpoints: treatment knowledge, medication adherence [proportion of days covered (PDC) by immunosuppressive therapy] and tacrolimus exposure. Results: At visit 2, IG patients achieved a significantly higher knowledge score than CG patients (83.3% versus 72.2%, p = 0.001). We did not find any differences in treatment exposure or medication adherence; however, the intervention tended to reduce the proportion of non-adherent patients with low knowledge scores. Using the PDC by immunosuppressive therapy, we identified 10 non-adherent patients (10.9%) at visit 1 and six at visit 2. Conclusions: Our intervention showed a positive effect on patient knowledge about their treatment. However, our results did not show any improvement in overall medication adherence, which was likely to be because of the initially high level of adherence in our study population. Nevertheless, the intervention appears to have improved adherence in non-adherent patients with low knowledge scores.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215145932110291
Author(s):  
Atsuko Satoh ◽  
Yukoh Kudoh ◽  
Sangun Lee ◽  
Masumi Saitoh ◽  
Miwa Miura ◽  
...  

Introduction: To evaluate fall-prevention rehabilitative slippers for use by self-caring, independent older adults. Materials and Methods: This assessor-blinded, randomized, and controlled 1-year study included 59 self-caring, independent participants (49 women) who attended day services. The mean age of participants was 84.0 ± 5.3 years. Participants were randomly selected from 8 nursing homes. We tested slippers top-weighted with a lead bead (200, 300, or 400 g). Intervention group participants walked while wearing the slippers for 10-20 min, 1-3 days/week at the day service center. Fall risk was measured using the Berg Balance Scale and the Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) before and at 3-month intervals after the intervention/control phase. Results: After 12 months, the intervention group demonstrated significant improvement. Berg Balance and POMA compared to the control group ( p < .05 p < .01, respectively). Mobility scores improved significantly for both measurements in the intervention group before and after ( p < .01), but the control group had significantly lower scores. Discussion: Overall, falls decreased in the intervention group from 10 to 7, and control group falls increased from 9 to 16 ( p = .02). No adverse events related to the intervention were reported. Conclusions: Rehabilitation training slippers may reduce falls in older adults.


Author(s):  
Asieh Mehdipour ◽  
Parvin Abedi ◽  
Somayeh Ansari ◽  
Maryam Dastoorpoor

Abstract Objectives Postmenopausal women are at greater risk of depression. Depression may negatively affect the quality of life of women. An emotional freedom technique (EFT) is an evidence-based therapy combining cognitive and exposure components with acupressure. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of EFT on depression in postmenopausal women. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial in which 88 women with mild to moderate depression recruited from a menopausal clinic in Ahvaz, Iran, and randomly assigned into two groups of EFT (n=44) and control for sham therapy (n=44). Women in the EFT group received two sessions of training and asked to continue EFT for 8 weeks, one time per day. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI2) completed by women before and after the intervention. The control group received training on sham acupressure points similar to the intervention group. Data collected using a demographic and BDI2. Women requested to complete the BDI2 before and after the intervention. The independent t-test, chi-square, and ANCOVA were used to analyze data. Results The mean depression score in the intervention group reduced from 20.93 ± 4.6 to 10.96 ± 4.38 in comparison to the control group that reduced from 19.18 ± 2.79 to 17.01 ± 6.05 after intervention (p=0.001). After the 8 week intervention, the frequency of moderate depression decreased from 56.8 to 9.35% in the intervention and from 50 to 29.5% in the control group. In total, 63.4 and 34.15% in the intervention and control groups were free of depression respectively after the intervention (p<0.001). Conclusions The results of this study showed that using EFT for 8 weeks could significantly reduce the mean score of depression in postmenopausal women. Using this method in public health centers for postmenopausal women is recommended.


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