Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Development And Testing Of A Gyroscope-Based Neck Strengthening Rehabilitation Device, Nicole D. Devos

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Neck pain can be debilitating, and is experienced by the majority of people at some point over the course of their life. Resistance training has been shown to have significant improvement in pain or disability for patients. There are few options available for telerehabilitation, and the use of gyroscope stabilizers is proposed for this use. A biomechanics model of a head--neck--gyroscope system was created. In order to also model the dynamics of such a system, this work proposes a blended method using the Denavit--Hartenberg (DH) convention, popular in the field of robotics, with the Lagrangian mechanics approach to analyze an …

The Signs And Symptoms Of Discogenic Low Back Pain, Joe J. Putos

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The signs and symptoms of low back pain (LBP) associated with disc herniation (DLBP) and its underlying mechanism(s) are not well supported. One theory proposes that some low back pain (LBP) is the result of a disc herniation compressing adjacent tissues innervated with nociceptors. The theory proposes that spinal manipulation (SM) and/or mobilizations (SMOB) can reduce the size and position of the herniation, and relieve pain and improve range of motion. There is no research to support or negate the theory even though clinical evidence supports its plausibility.

In this three-part study we examined clinical practices that have an anecdotal …

Physiotherapists Description Of Patient-Centered Care, And Barriers And Facilitators Experienced To Implementation, Maclean Jordan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Patient-centered care (PCC) is a growing standard for healthcare delivery due to the benefits to patient autonomy. Lacking a cohesive definition in the physiotherapy literature, it is also lacking in implementation. Employing interpretive description with semi-structured interviews, the goal was to understand how physiotherapists drawn from private for-profit clinics in Canada describe PCC, and barriers and facilitators to providing it. Results included requiring person-centered communication in PCC, seeing Health holistically, centering the patient in care, and being a skill that becomes clearer with practice experience. Barriers included: lack of practitioner reflexivity, patient not desiring self-directed care, and limited access to …

Clinical Care Of Masters Athletes: A Health Needs Assessment, Princess A. Ulona

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Little is known about the current state of clinical care that Masters Athletes (MAs) receive, their perceptions, and whether they meet their health needs. A 22-item online health needs assessment (HNA) survey was conducted to investigate the characteristics of clinical care received by MAs and determine their perceived health needs. 80 MAs completed our survey. In assessing three key categories of care, less than 40% of MAs reported receiving Pre-Participation Evaluation (PPE), Medical Monitoring, and Injury Management as part of their standard routine care. Dissatisfied MAs reported unmet needs due to a lack of educated clinicians, lack of accessibility to …

Development And Validation Of The Pain Resilience And Optimism Scale (Pros), Wonjin Seo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Numerous self-report questionnaires have been used in pain research to explore patients' experiences. However, these questionnaires often employ negatively worded items that can potentially worsen patients' distress. In response to the emergence of positive psychology, this thesis aimed to develop a new questionnaire that adopts a positive and strengths-focused approach, incorporating resilience, to replace the negative items found in existing tools such as the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). First, the effectiveness of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in measuring resilience following trauma was assessed through a systematic review using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments …