Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Physical Therapists Providing Smoking Cessation Education: Attitudes And Potential In A Rural Setting, James J. Laskin

University Grant Program Reports

The primary objective of this pilot study is to focus on physical therapists practicing in a rural setting; where 65% of the Montana population resides. Physical therapists are a key provider of healthcare service and entry into the healthcare system. In this proposed study we want to 1) assess the current state of smoking cessation being offered by physical therapists, 2) determine the viability of physical therapists to provide smoking cessation counseling based on their knowledge, skills and perceptions, 3) try to understand the patients’ perspective regarding a physical therapist providing these services and 4) identify the barriers to physical …

Self-Esteem In Second Life: An Inworld Group Intervention For Women With Disabilities, Margaret A. Nosek, Susan Robinson Whelen, Rosemary B. Hughes, Erin Porcher, Giselle Davidson, Thomas M. Nosek

Rural Institute Journal Articles

We are developing and investigating the feasibility of a self-esteem enhancement intervention in Second Life for women with physical disabilities. We adapted the curriculum of a previously tested workshop intervention to include features unique to this environment. Results of the beta test were very positive. Everyone involved showed considerable enthusiasm for exploring the new world of SL. The group leaders were challenged to resolve technical problems on every occasion, but these diminished and were perceived as manageable as the intervention progressed. Beta testers gave positive ratings to the information presented, organization, and usefulness of the intervention and found it very …

Effects Of Voluntary Breathing On Force Responses To Electrical Stimulation (Es) Of Finger Extensors : A Pilot Study, Shang Li, W. H. Park, Elizabeth Ikeda, Charles Leonard

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

Voluntary breathing can influence motor functions of non-respiratory skeletal muscles, e.g., finger muscles. The influence was proposed to be mediated by the ventilation-associated enhancement on corticospinal excitability of the finger muscles, possibly including spinal mechanisms. Force responses to electrical stimulation include spinal mechanisms. The purpose was to investigate the potential spinal mechanism mediating the voluntary breathing effects on responses of finger extension forces to electrical stimulation. A single-pulse electrical stimulation of the same intensity was delivered to the extensor digitorum communis (EDC) during voluntary breathing (forced inspiration, IN and force expiration, OUT) and normal breathing (Norm) across various submaximal levels …

Myotonometric Measurements Of Muscle During Changes In Gravitational Forces, Charles Leonard, Daniel L. Feeback, James Sykes, Eric Kruger

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

Goal: Assess operational characteristics and reliability of the Myotonometer, a portable medical device that quantifies muscle tone and strength, while gravitational forces are changing.

Correlation Between Impairment And Motor Performance During Reaching Tasks In Subjects With Spastic Hemiparesis, Charles Leonard, Kelsey A. Gardipee, Jennifer R. Koontz, John-Henry Anderson, Scott A. Wilkins

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

Objective: The main purposes of this study were to examine, in subjects with chronic hemiparesis following a stroke: (i) the correlations between tests of muscle tone, stiffness, spasticity, paresis and co-contraction, and (ii) the correlations of these tests and measurements of impairment to upper extremity motor performance.

Design: Prospective, cross-sectional, correlation matrix using sample of convenience.

Subjects: Thirteen subjects with chronic hemiparesis secondary to a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) were tested.

Methods: Subjects were assessed using the Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Motor Assessment, modified Ashworth scale, deep tendon reflexes, and muscle characteristics that included quantification of muscle stiffness, paresis and co-contraction during …

Early Quadriceps Strength Loss After Total Knee Arthroplasty : The Contributions Of Muscle Atrophy And Failure Of Voluntary Muscle Activation, Ryan L. Mizner, Stephanie C. Petterson, Jennifer E. Stevens, Krista Vandenborne, Lynn Snyder-Mackler

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

While total knee arthroplasty reduces pain and provides a functional range of motion of the knee, quadriceps weakness and reduced functional capacity typically are still present one year after surgery. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the role of failure of voluntary muscle activation and muscle atrophy in theearly loss of quadriceps strength after surgery.

Comparison Of Surface Electromyography And Myotonometric Measurements During Voluntary Isometric Contractions, Charles Leonard, Jason S. Brown, Timothy R. Price, Susan A. Queen, Eugene L. Mikhailenok

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

Objectives: Muscle stiffness increases during muscle contraction.The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the correlation between myotonometric measurements of muscle stiffness and surface electromyography (sEMG) measurements during various levels of voluntary isometric contractions of the biceps brachii muscle. Subjects: Eight subjects (four female; four male), with mean age of 30:6 ± 8:23 years, volunteered to participate in this study. Methods: Myotonometer and sEMG measurements were taken simultaneously from the right biceps brachii muscle.Data were obtained: (1) at rest, (2) while the subject held a 15 lb (6.8 kg) weight isometrically and, (3) during a maximal voluntary …

Abuse Assessment Screen–Disability (Aas-D): Measuring Frequency, Type, And Perpetrator Of Abuse Toward Women With Physical Disabilities, Judith Mcfarlane, Rosemary B. Hughes, Margaret A. Nosek, Janet Y. Groff, Nancy Swedlend, Patricia Dolan Mullen

Rural Institute Journal Articles

An interview questionnaire was presented to a multiethnic sample of 511 women, age 18–64 years, at public and private specialty clinics to determine the frequency, type, and perpetrator of abuse toward women with physical disabilities. The four-question Abuse Assessment Screen–Disability (AAS-D) instrument detected a 9.8% prevalence (50 of 511) of abuse during the previous 12 months. Using two standard physical and sexual assault questions, 7.8% of the women (40 of 511) reported abuse. The two disability-related questions detected an additional 2.0% of the women (10 of 511) as abused. Women defining themselves as other than black, white, or Hispanic (i.e., …

Examination And Management Of Spasticity And Weakness, Charles Leonard

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

ln this paper information pertaining to the teaching, within a MS physical therapy curriculum, of the concepts of "spasticity" and "weakness" is presented.These concepts are taught in 2 required and 1 elective course, which span the 2-year program. Students are expected to develop both physical mastery of the skills necessary to treat, confidently and efficiently, as well as the ability to critically analyze each examination and intervention procedure. Four questions are used to guide the students as they learn the material pertaining to examination and intervention. (1) What is the theoretical rationale? (2) Is there basic science evidence that is …

Antagonist Muscle Inhibition During Voluntary And Automatic Movements: Implications For Clinical Intervention, Charles Leonard, Charles Leonard, T. Matsumoto, P. M. Diedrich, J. A. Mcmillan

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

Various rehabilitation techniques encourage eliciting automatic reactions in the hope that muscle activations elicited in this way will influence voluntary movement. Unlike voluntary movements that consist of willed initiation and involvement of descending corticofugal and and basal ganglia pathways, automatic postural reactions resulting from external perturbations primarily involve peripheral receptors arising from the vestibular apparatus, muscles, joints, and eyes. We were interested to determine whether voluntary and automatic movements, which are initiated very differently, involved similar temporal activation of muscles and the same pattern of reciprocal inhibition between agonist and antagonist motor neuron pools.

Afferent Convergence From Divergent Sources Appears To Enhance The Spastic Patient's Ability To Inhibit Antagonist Motoneurons During An Agonist Contraction, Charles Leonard, P. M. Diedrich, T. Matsumoto, G. Kerr

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Faculty Publications

Spasticity and excessive muscular cocontraction during movement are common impairments following upper motor neuron (UMN) lesions. For example, during voluntary ankle dorsiflexion, individuals with spastic type cerebral palsy (CP) do not inhibit the antagonist triceps surae motoneuron pool.