Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Impact Of Social Distancing On Older Adults And Senior Organizations To Better Adapt Towards A New Normal, Salina Jivan

San Marcos, Summer 2020

COVID-19 brought about social distancing mandates that posed as a new barrier to meaningful social participation in the community. The purpose of this project was to understand the impact of social distancing on older adults and senior organizations to better inform the role of OT in helping seniors adapt towards a new normal within the community. A qualitative study and needs assessment were performed through phone interviews with seniors and organizations that support them from around the United States. Themes highlighted seniors desire for social contact and cautious return to the community once mandates are lifted. Both seniors and organizations …

Optimal Interventions To Address Drop Foot And Increase Gait Speed In Stroke Populations, Christopher Tran, Tommy Ngo, Dana Hazlett, Ethan Jung, Faris Alshammari

San Marcos, Summer 2020

Background: The mechanism of stroke or cerebral vascular accident (CVA) is an interruption of blood flow to the brain, which can result in many different neuromuscular impairments including drop foot. There is limited research focusing on comparative interventions for gait improvement in early stroke.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the various physical thereapy interventions to benefit patients with drop foot following a single stroke.

Methods: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted within the PubMed and ProQuest databases. This study examined papers assessing conventional physical therapy for stroke patients with drop foot who had their 1st stroke …

Remedying Healthcare Disparities Affecting The Black Community, Savonna Reed

San Marcos, Summer 2020

The purpose of this literature review is to determine how black communities are being impacted by racial/social determinants of cardiovascular health, and to investigate potential healthcare solutions to eliminate these disparities.

As physical therapists, we commonly treat patients following lumbar spinal fusion surgery. Post-op outcomes have been found to be impacted by racial disparities in decision making in whether care providers offer surgical care, differences in access to care due to socioeconomic barriers, and differences in attitudes towards surgical care among ethnic groups.

Review of current literature has revealed that more research should be done to establish ways of remedying …

The Effectiveness Of Home Health Physical Therapy Following Diagnosis Of Acute Respiratory Failure Secondary To Covid-19: A Case Report, Desiree Lyall, Maura Owens

San Marcos, Summer 2020

The purpose of this case study is to describe the effects of home health physical therapy involving gait training, respiratory exercises, disease process education and rehabilitation exercises for strength, endurance and balance in the treatment of a 73 year-old, male patient with a diagnosis of acute respirtory failure secondary to Covid-19.

For a patient with a diagnosis of acute respiratory failure secondary to Covid-19 diagnosis home health physical therapy was an effective treatment option to facilitate return to prior level of function. This case study supports previous research and recommended treatment guidelines for the effectiveness of gait training, respiratory exercises, …

The Effectiveness Of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback In Conjunction With Traditional Treatment For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome In A 25-Year-Old Female: A Case Report, Sepehr Rezaei

San Marcos, Summer 2020

Introduction: Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a complex condition that causes pain, tingling sensation, hypesthesia, muscle atrophy, weakness, and edematous changes in the upper quadrant (UQ) and down upper extremity (UE). ^3,7,8,16,17 TOS is due to compression of neurovascular bundles in the interscalene triangle, costoclavicular space, and under pectoralis minor and caused by trauma, congenital malformations such as a cervical rib, and abnormal/poor postures from muscle imbalances.^3,7,8,16,17 Interventions for TOS can consist of correcting posture by addressing muscle imbalance, decreasing tone and muscle tightness and rib mobilization, and in rare cases, rib resection. ^{3,7,8,13,16,17} However, there is limited research …

Occupational Therapy’S Role In Addressing Sex And Intimacy For Individuals With Progressive Neuromuscular Disorders, Lindsay N. Richards, Becki Cohill, Katrhyn Ellis, Susan Macdermott

San Marcos, Summer 2020

Individuals with progressive neuromuscular disorders (PND); specifically, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Huntington’s Disease (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) often face physical, psychological, and social challenges related to sex and intimacy. Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are experts in activity analysis and are equipped with unique knowledge of performance skills and client factors to address deficits in occupational performance.

Though there is literature presenting the effects of PND on sexual occupations, a gap exists as it relates to qualitative data from the perspective of the individual and their partners. A mixed-methods survey was conducted examining the lived experience of …

Analysis Of Physical Therapy Interventions Vs. Kinesio Taping For Relieving Low Back Pain, Amanda Orr

San Marcos, Summer 2020

Introduction/Background: This topic focuses on the utilization of kinesio taping (KT) to assist with decreasing pain in the low back. According to Shipton, low back pain has gone up by more than 50% since 1990. These factors are attributed to smoking, obesity, sedentary occupations, and to low socioeconomic status.Globally, in 2016, it is said that low back pain contributed 57.6 years to disability and the prevalence peaks around the ages of 35-55 years according to the World Health Organization.

Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to compare research articles between KT with physical therapy interventions as compared …

The Occupation Of Training Service Dogs: A Therapeutic Intervention For Combat Veterans With Ptsd, Denae A. Padilla, Jessica De Brun

San Marcos, Summer 2020

There are few interventions that present opportunities to engage in meaningful occupation (Kashiwa et al., 2017) to help Veterans reintegrate into the civilian lifestyle that create a desire to participate and attend therapy (Goetteret al., 2015).

The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of training service dogs as an occupation and means of social support for combat Veterans living with PTSD with the following objectives:

• explore an occupation basedintervention that addresses low retention rates in occupational therapy.
• teach coping mechanisms and provide social support as a by-product to training service dogs in order to assist in reintegration …

Dressing Skills For Children With Cerebral Palsy [Research Plan], Diane Mellin, Jenna Oberg, Amber Torgerson, Charlene Yuson

San Marcos, Summer 2020

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical dysfunction in children. Because there is damage to their cortex and corticospinal tracts, children who have cerebral palsy have difficulty in precise grasping and fine motor control, affecting their activities of daily living and quality of life (Ouyang et al., 2020).

The purpose of this study will be to develop an OT intervention using threading techniques that will help children with cerebral palsy dress independently without using adaptive clothing. This study will utilize a quasi-experimental design with the subjects as their own control. Pre- and post-tests will be administered for each child …