Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reliability Of Two Alternative Methods For The Standard Mid-Thigh Isometric Pull, Duane A. Williams, Courtney D. Hall, Patsy Cantor, Jennifer Williams, N. Brown, Ryan Dulling, Ogechi Egbujor

Courtney D. Hall

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of two new alternative portable methods for measuring maximal isometric force measures while performing the standard mid-thigh pull. One method, the bar grip method, required the use of the trunk and upper extremity muscles, while the second method, the pelvic belt method, did not. Both methods demonstrated good test-retest reliability via randomized repeated measures over 24-36 hours. Interestingly, the pelvic belt method generally demonstrated average maximal forces up to 65% higher than the bar method. There was a good relationship between both methods. These new alternative methods could provide strength …

Interdisciplinary Approach To Dizziness: Roles Of Audiology And Physical Therapy, Faith W. Akin, Courtney D. Hall, Kristal M. Riska

Courtney D. Hall

Dizziness is one of the most common reasons patients seek medical care, and because there are many causes of dizziness, management of these patients requires an interdisciplinary approach. Peripheral vestibular dysfunction is the most common cause of dizziness/vertigo diagnosed in specialty clinics. The purpose of this article is to present an interdisciplinary approach to the management of patients with vestibular dysfunction with a focus on the unique and overlapping contributions of audiology and physical therapy to vestibular assessment and rehabilitation.

A Prototype Head-Motion Monitoring System For In-Home Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy, Pamela T. Bhatti, Susan J. Herdman, Siddarth Datta Roy, Courtney D. Hall, Ronald J. Tusa

Courtney D. Hall

This work reports the use of a head-motion monitoring system to record patient head movements while completing in-home exercises for vestibular rehabilitation therapy. Based upon a dual-axis gyroscope (yaw and pitch, ± 500-degrees/sec maximum), angular head rotations were measured and stored via an on-board memory card. The system enabled the clinician to document exercises at home. Several measurements were recorded in one patient with unilateral vestibular hypofunction: The total time of exercise for the week (118 minutes) was documented and compared with expected weekly exercise time (140 minutes). For gaze stabilization exercises, execution time of 60 sec was expected, and …

Standing Balance And Spatiotemporal Aspects Of Gait Are Impaired Upon Nocturnal Awakening In Healthy Late Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Amanda L. Mcbean, Raymond P. Najjar, Ronald A. Schuchard, Courtney D. Hall, Cheng-Ann Wang, Ban Ku, Joseph M. Furman

Courtney D. Hall

Study Objectives: Nocturnal awakenings may constitute a unique risk for falls among older adults. We describe differences in gait and balance between presleep and midsleep testing, and whether changes in the lighting environment during the midsleep testing further affect gait and balance.

Methods: Twenty-one healthy, late middle-aged and older (64.7 ± 8.0 y) adults participated in this repeated-measures design consisting of four overnight laboratory stays. Each night, participants completed baseline visual acuity, gait, and balance testing. After a 2-h sleep opportunity, they were awakened for 13 min into one of four lighting conditions: very dim white light (< 0.5 lux); dim white light (∼28.0 lux); dim orange light (∼28.0 lux); and white room-level light (∼200 lux). During this awakening, participants completed the same sequence of testing as at baseline.

Results: Low-contrast …

Treatment For Vestibular Disorders: How Does Your Physical Therapist Treat Dizziness Related To Vestibular Problems?, Courtney D. Hall, Susan J. Herdman, Susan L. Whitney, Stephen P. Cass, Richard A. Clendaniel, Terry D. Fife

Courtney D. Hall

Dizziness is very common, but it is never normal. Dizziness can make performing daily activities, work, and walking difficult. Many people get dizzy when they turn their head, which can cause problems with walking and makes people more likely to fall. Most of the time dizziness is not from a life-threatening disease. Often dizziness is because of a disorder of the vestibular (or inner ear balance) system. People can get vestibular disorders from infections in the ear, problems with the immune system, medications that harm the inner ear, and rarely from diabetes or stroke because of a lack of blood …