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Full-Text Articles in Movement and Mind-Body Therapies

Tai Chi And Mindfulness Training To Improve Balance In People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Community-Based Intervention Study, Julianna Eve Jun 2021

Tai Chi And Mindfulness Training To Improve Balance In People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Community-Based Intervention Study, Julianna Eve

Doctoral Dissertations

Introduction: Tai Chi and meditation have led to improved quality of life, and reduced fatigue and depressive symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Tai Chi interventions have successfully improved balance, however the few studies evaluating meditation impact on motor skill improvement have reported conflicting results. Benefits of meditation on improving alertness and attention have been reported, but it is unknown whether these benefits might extend to physical balance. Objective: determine the impact of an 8-week Tai Chi or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention on physical balance, psychosocial wellbeing, and sensorimotor function; and whether benefits are retained after …


The Use Of Mindfulness Meditation To Increase The Efficacy Of Mirror Visual Feedback For Reducing Phantom Limb Pain In Amputees, Nicolas Sebastian Mills May 2021

The Use Of Mindfulness Meditation To Increase The Efficacy Of Mirror Visual Feedback For Reducing Phantom Limb Pain In Amputees, Nicolas Sebastian Mills

Doctoral Dissertations

Phantom limb pain is a chronic pain condition that negatively impacts the lives of over half of amputees, and results in considerable morbidity. Currently, there is no gold standard for treatment for phantom limb pain. However, a frequently used intervention is the use of mirror visual feedback, in which the amputee watches the reflection of the adjacent non-amputated limb move and exercise. In the last few decades, mindfulness-based interventions have been increasingly used with individuals living with different types of chronic pain. This study attempts to discover if the addition of a mindfulness-based intervention, such as guided meditation, will augment …


Dynamic Simulation And Neuromuscular Control Of Movement: Applications For Predictive Simulations Of Balance Recovery, Misagh Mansouri Boroujeni May 2015

Dynamic Simulation And Neuromuscular Control Of Movement: Applications For Predictive Simulations Of Balance Recovery, Misagh Mansouri Boroujeni

Doctoral Dissertations

Balance is among the most challenging tasks for patients with movement disorders. Study and treatment of these disorders could greatly benefit from combined software tools that offer better insights into neuromuscular biomechanics, and predictive capabilities for optimal surgical and rehabilitation treatment planning. A platform was created to combine musculoskeletal modeling, closed-loop forward dynamic simulation, optimization techniques, and neuromuscular control system design. Spinal (stretch-reflex) and supraspinal (operational space task-based) controllers were developed to test simulation-based hypotheses related to balance recovery and movement control. A corrective procedure (rectus femoris transfer surgery) was targeted for children experiencing stiff-knee gait and how this procedure …