Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Experience Of Meditation, And Its Effects On Attention, For Adults With Stroke Or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Three-Part Dissertation With Qualitative And Quantitative Evidence, Cheryl Carrico

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Impairment of attention is common after stroke; is a defining characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and has been shown to correlate significantly with difficulties in daily life for individuals with these conditions. More research is needed to establish effective interventions addressing impaired attention in such cases. Meditation is not a standard-of-care intervention for this purpose but may have therapeutic potential. Meditation has been broadly defined as an activity which has self-regulation of attention as its main aim. In other words, it can be considered a training of attention. To shed light on the therapeutic potential of meditation, including …

Design And Analysis Of A 3d-Printed, Thermoplastic Elastomer (Tpe) Spring Element For Use In Corrective Hand Orthotics, Kevin Thomas Richardson

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

This thesis proposes an algorithm that determine the geometry of 3D-printed, custom-designed spring element bands made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for use in a wearable orthotic device to aid in the physical therapy of a human hand exhibiting spasticity after stroke. Each finger of the hand is modeled as a mechanical system consisting of a triple-rod pendulum with nonlinear stiffness at each joint and forces applied at the attachment point of each flexor muscle. The system is assumed quasi-static, which leads to a torque balance between the flexor tendons in the hand, joint stiffness and the design force applied to …

Development Of An Eeg Brain-Machine Interface To Aid In Recovery Of Motor Function After Neurological Injury, Elizabeth Salmon

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Impaired motor function following neurological injury may be overcome through therapies that induce neuroplastic changes in the brain. Therapeutic methods include repetitive exercises that promote use-dependent plasticity (UDP), the benefit of which may be increased by first administering peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) to activate afferent fibers, resulting in increased cortical excitability. We speculate that PNS delivered only in response to attempted movement would induce timing-dependent plasticity (TDP), a mechanism essential to normal motor learning. Here we develop a brain-machine interface (BMI) to detect movement intent and effort in healthy volunteers (n=5) from their electroencephalogram (EEG). This could be used in …

Predictors Of Outcome Following Standardized Rehabilitation For Patients With Shoulder Pain, Stephanie D. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Shoulder dysfunction is frequently treated and persistent symptoms are common. Differential diagnosis of shoulder injuries can be challenging and knowledge of a diagnosis alone does not appear to be enough information to predict outcomes. Determination of a set of factors that predict outcome would assist clinicians in making the most effective treatment decision for patients with shoulder pain. The purposes of this dissertation were to investigate patient-clinician agreement in an orthopedic population of patients with shoulder pain and to determine what combination of factors best predicts positive patient-reported outcome following standardized rehabilitation in patients with shoulder pain.

In the first …

Developing The Rehabilitation Education For Caregivers And Patients (Recap) Model: Application To Physical Therapy In Stroke Rehabilitation, Megan M. Danzl

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Patient and caregiver education is recognized as a critical component of stroke rehabilitation and physical therapy practice yet the informational needs of stroke survivors and caregivers are largely unmet and optimal educational interventions need to be established. The objective of this dissertation was to develop a theory and model of “Rehabilitation Education for Caregivers and Patients” (RECAP) in the context of physical therapy and stroke rehabilitation, grounded in the experiences and perceptions of stroke survivors, their caregivers, and physical therapists.

Qualitative research methods with a novel grounded theory approach were used. Potential constructs of RECAP were identified from existing research. …

Environmental Influences On Occupational Therapy Practice, Camille L. Skubik-Peplaski

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Rehabilitation hospitals serve to foster a client’s independence in preparation to return home after an injury or insult. Having space in rehabilitation environments that is home-like and supportive for each client can facilitate participation in occupations and assist in learning and practicing the skills needed to transition to home. Yet, typically occupational therapists provide interventions to clients in therapy gyms with exercise and impairment based equipment. Currently the stroke population is changing and identifying the optimal rehabilitation environment is imperative to guide occupational therapy practice. This dissertation contains three studies relating to the rehabilitation environment and occupational therapy interventions. The …

The Effect Of Joint Mobilization On Functional Outcomes Associated With Chronic Ankle Instability, Matthew C. Hoch

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Ankle sprains are among the most common injuries sustained by physically active individuals. Although ankle sprains are often considered innocuous in nature, a large percentage of individuals experience repetitive sprains, residual symptoms, and recurrent ankle instability following a single acute sprain; otherwise known as chronic ankle instability (CAI). In addition to repetitive ankle trauma, those with CAI experience reductions in functional capacity over the life span. This indicates that current intervention strategies for CAI are inadequate and require further investigation.

The objective of this dissertation was to explore differences in walking and running gait parameters between individuals with and without …