Physical Therapy Commons^™

Motor Strategy And Locomotor Adjustments In Children With And Without Down Syndrome While Negotiating Stairs, Huaqing Liang, Xiang Ke, Jianhua Wu

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Children with Down Syndrome (DS) often show impaired motor control, and walk with a slower speed and a shorter step length than typically developing (TD) children. When negotiating an obstacle, children with DS often stop for a longer duration, choose a more conservative crawling strategy and display a smaller toe clearance than their TD peers.

Development Of A Statement On Autonomous Practice: Practice Committee, Section On Geriatrics, Jason Hardage, Stacey Zeigler, Jennifer Blackwood, Tamara Gravano, Greg Hartley, Jill Heitzman, Joe Libera, Ken Miller

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Vision 2020 is the official vision statement of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Drafted by the APTA House of Delegates in 2000, this statement contains 6 elements: autonomous physical therapist practice, direct access, Doctor of Physical Therapy and lifelong education, evidence-based practice, practitioner of choice, and professionalism. Autonomous practice has been operationally defined by the APTA primarily through its characteristics: “Physical therapists accept the responsibility to practice autonomously and collaboratively in all practice environments to provide best practice to the patient/client. Autonomous physical therapist practice is characterized by independent, self-determined, professional judgment and action.” The Section on Geriatrics has …

Understanding Autonomous Practice, Tamara Gravano, Greg Hartley, Heather Mattingly, Joseph Libera, Sabrina Camilo, Jason Hardage

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

What is autonomous practice? As one of the elements of Vision 2020, au­tonomous practice is one whose mean­ing may not always be readily under­stood. The confusion can stem from the meaning of autonomy, which is sometimes misinterpreted to mean that the physical therapist (PT) practices in a vacuum, without coordinating and com­municating with other health care pro­viders. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, many PTs might be surprised to learn that they already prac­tice autonomously.

Teaching Professionalism: A Survey Of Physical Therapy Educators, D. Scott Davis

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

This study examined the opinions of physical therapy faculty relative to teaching and fostering professionalism in entry-level physical therapy education. A paper-and-pencil survey was mailed to a random sample of 318 physical therapy educators across the United States. Of the 318 surveys mailed, 166 participants (response rate, 52%) completed and returned the survey. Descriptive analysis revealed that 98% of the physical therapy educators view professionalism as an important component of a physical therapy curriculum. Eighty-nine percent of the respondents expressed concern about the professional behaviors of one or more of their entry-level students; however, based on the frequency of negative …

The Geriatric Residency Experience, Sabrina Camilo, Tamara Gravano, Karen Lagares, Gemma Longfellow

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

The Geriatric Residency in Physical Therapy program at St. Catherine's Rehabilitation Hospital and Villa Maria Nursing Center has graduated 4 residents since its inception in 2003. Recently, the 4 of us program graduates convened to talk about our experiences and discovered several similarities. We laearned about our individual reasons for choosing the residency, our experiences during the time we were residents, and our plans for continued professional development. But, of course, there were some differences that made the experience unique for each of us.

Visual-Vestibular Habituation And Balance Training For Motion Sickness, Rose Marie Rine, Michael C. Schubert, Thomas J. Balkany

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Background and Purpose. This case report describes physical therapy for motion sickness in a 34-year-old woman. The purpose of the report is twofold: (1) to provide an overview of the literature regarding motion sickness syndrome, causal factors, and rationale for treatment and (2) to describe the evaluation and treatment of a patient with motion sickness.

Case Description and Outcomes. The patient initially had moderate to severe visually induced motion sickness, which affected her functional abilities and prevented her from working. Following 10 weeks of a primarily home-based program of visualvestibular habituation and balance training, her symptoms were alleviated and she …

Head And Trunk Movement Responses In Healthy Children To Induced Versus Self-Induced Lateral Tilt, Donnalee Milette, Rose Marie Rine

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

The purpose of our study was to determine head and trunk movement responses that occur in healthy 7-year-old children during induced and self-induced lateral tilt. Twenty subjects, while tailor sitting on a tiltboard, participated in three trials of both induced and self-induced left and right lateral displacements. Measurements of neck and trunk lateral flexion; trunk counterrotation; and neck, trunk, and body anterior-posterior movement were obtained from slide transparencies made at three stages of tilt (original position, initial tilt, and full tilt). For each subject in the two test conditions, changes in these measurements between the stages of tilt were determined …