Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reliability Of Clinical Evaluators Of Spasticity In Patients With Stroke, Tiffany Alvino, Shiney David, Chelsea Gendvil

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Spasticity is characterized by hyperexcitable stretch reflexes with amplitude increases in response to velocity dependent passive movement and resistance. Spasticity is the result of abnormal function of segmental and suprasegmental neuronal circuits. The objective of this study was to determine any positive correlation between three clinical evaluators of spasticity (i.e., the pendulum test, the patellar tendon tap test (PTT), and the Modified Ashworth scale) in their reliability to assess spasticity in people post-stroke. It was hypothesized that the use of force movement sensors along with surface electromyography increases the reliability of the standardized clinical tests. The results show that all …

Language-Mixing In Discourse In Bilingual Individuals With Non-Fluent Aphasia, Avanthi Paplikar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Language-mixing (LM) as defined by Chengappa (2009, p. 417) is an “intra-sentential phenomenon referred to as the mixing of various linguistic units (morphemes, words, modifiers, phrases, etc.), primarily from two participating grammatical systems”. LM is influenced by grammatical, environmental, and social constraints (e.g., Milroy & Wei, 1995; Bhat & Chengappa, 2005). Researchers have suggested that LM in patients with aphasia is a communicative strategy used to achieve successful exchanges between speakers; the effectiveness of this mixing, however, had yet to be demonstrated quantitatively.

In the current study we investigated whether LM is present in bilingual speakers with aphasia, and if …

Multi-Digit Coordination In Absence Of Cutaneous Sensory Feedback During Grasping Tasks, Christina Gioeli, Kerry Mcpartlan, Emily Reid, Matthew Turturro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Motor learning and adaptation to object properties and task requirements requires integration of cutaneous sensory feedback with motor commands. Joint mechanics constantly change, with individual joints or muscles compensation so performance output is the same per task. Effects of mixed cutaneous sensory feedback on multi-digit coordination is not well understood. Investigators sought to determine the influence absent cutaneous sensory feedback has on motor learning and adaptation, and how the CNS coordinates multi-digit mechanical output to adapt to manual tasks, with partially intact digital sensory feedback. 19 participants were randomly assigned for three-digit anesthesia administration (TIM- thumb, index, middle; TRL- thumb, …

Paired Associative Transspinal And Transcortical Stimulation Produces Bidirectional Plasticity Of Human Cortical And Spinal Motor Pathways, Luke Dixon, Mohamed Ibrahim, Danielle Santora

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anatomical, physiological, and functional connectivity exists between primary motor cortex (M1) and spinal cord neurons. Paired associative stimulation (PAS) produces enduring changes in M1 based on the Hebbian principle of associative plasticity. The present study aims to discover immediate neurophysiological changes on human corticomotor pathways by pairing noninvasive transspinal and transcortical stimulation via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We delivered paired transspinal and transcortical stimulation for 40-min at precise interstimulus intervals with TMS being delivered after (transspinal-transcortical PAS) or before (transcortical-transspinal PAS) transspinal stimulation. Transspinal-transcortical PAS markedly decreased intracortical inhibition, increased intracortical facilitation and M1 excitability with concomitant decreases of motor …

The Efficacy Of Motor Imagery Training On Range Of Motion, Pain And Function Of Patients After Total Knee Replacement, Noorelhoda Mahmoud, Marc A. Razzano Jr., Karen Tischler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the potential of motor imagery training and investigated the role of motor imagery instructions (audio) to improve knee range of motion after a total knee replacement. The participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental motor imagery group (n=4) or a control group (n=6). Both groups performed specific exercises to improve their knee range of motion and strengthen their muscles. Participants in the Motor Imagery group performed a motor imagery training exercise for a knee flexion stretch on the stairs prior to performing the actual exercise. The motor imagery group demonstrated a significantly greater increase in …

Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Survey To Assess Inclusion In Dpt Curricula In The United States, Michael Erickson, Paul Nasri, David Perrotto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study is to assess the current level of inclusion of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Doctor of Physical Therapy curricula in the United States. This survey provides self-reported data regarding the challenges associated with incorporating TCM into the curriculum. All 228 CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education) accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs were included in this survey instrument. A College of Staten Island (CSI) Human & Animal Protection Office (HARPPO) approved survey was e-mailed to the chairperson of each DPT program and respondent data was stored via a secure Survey Monkey® online …

Physiopathology And Intervention In Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review, Justin Gelesky, Dylann C. Germann, Amanda Percaccio, Rachelle Schick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic illness in the adult population affecting an estimated 27 million individuals with a yearly health care cost of over $150 billion (CDC, 2014; Lawrence et al., 2008). The pathological osteoarthritic process results in the progressive degradation of articular cartilage due to chemical and biological imbalances within a joint (Weiland et al., 2005). These imbalances are not well understood and neither are the biomechanical joint changes that occur as a result. Due to these limitations, treating and monitoring this condition is a challenge to clinicians and the processes are currently …