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Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Rehabilitation and Therapy

Neuromuscular Changes In Older Adults During The Lateral Step Task, Tatiana Bejarano Nov 2014

Neuromuscular Changes In Older Adults During The Lateral Step Task, Tatiana Bejarano

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Older adults may have trouble when performing activities of daily living due to decrease in physical strength and degradation of neuromotor and musculoskeletal function. Motor activation patterns during Lateral Step Down and Step Up from 4-inch and 8-inch step heights was assessed in younger (n=8, 24.4 years) and older adults (n=8, 58.9 years) using joint angle kinematics and electromyography of lower extremity muscles. Ground reaction forces were used to ascertain the loading, stabilization and unloading phases of the tasks. Older adults had an altered muscle activation sequence and significantly longer muscle bursts during loading for the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, vastus …


Interrater Reliability Of The Wolf Motor Function Test–Functional Ability Scale: Why It Matters, Susan V. Duff, Jiaxue He, Monica A. Nelsen, Christianne J. Lane, Veronica T. Rowe, Steve L. Wolf, Alexander W. Dromerick, Carolee J. Winstein Oct 2014

Interrater Reliability Of The Wolf Motor Function Test–Functional Ability Scale: Why It Matters, Susan V. Duff, Jiaxue He, Monica A. Nelsen, Christianne J. Lane, Veronica T. Rowe, Steve L. Wolf, Alexander W. Dromerick, Carolee J. Winstein

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background. One important objective for clinical trialists in rehabilitation is determining efficacy of interventions to enhance motor behavior. In part, limitation in the precision of measurement presents a challenge. The few valid, low-cost observational tools available to assess motor behavior cannot escape the variability inherent in test administration and scoring. This is especially true when there are multiple evaluators and raters, as in the case of multisite randomized controlled trials (RCTs). One way to enhance reliability and reduce variability is to implement rigorous quality control (QC) procedures. Objective. This article describes a systematic QC process used to refine …


Cancer Survivorship Care: An Emphasis On Rehabilitation Needs In Maine, Miranda Carlson, Nicole Christine, Charles Dowd, Cassandra Dawley, Irina Fedulow, Lisa Gerhardt, Erin Pike, Kaitlin Powers, Angela Serrani Oct 2014

Cancer Survivorship Care: An Emphasis On Rehabilitation Needs In Maine, Miranda Carlson, Nicole Christine, Charles Dowd, Cassandra Dawley, Irina Fedulow, Lisa Gerhardt, Erin Pike, Kaitlin Powers, Angela Serrani

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Papers

The first section of this report addresses the evidence of causation concerning impairments developed as a result of a cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. The second section investigates the evidence regarding rehabilitation and physical activity as an effective intervention in the prevention and treatment of impairments from cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. The third section discusses the underlying behavioral change theory for incorporation of our Cancer Survivorship Rehabilitation Algorithm (Appendix 1), which details our proposed use of rehabilitation and wellness services in the continuum of cancer care and includes an outline for a survivorship care plan. This section also discusses …


Identification Of Functional Parameters For The Classification Of Older Female Fallers And Prediction Of ‘First-Time’ Fallers, Niklas König Ignasiak Aug 2014

Identification Of Functional Parameters For The Classification Of Older Female Fallers And Prediction Of ‘First-Time’ Fallers, Niklas König Ignasiak

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Falls remain a challenge for ageing societies. Strong evidence indicates that a previous fall is the strongest single screening indicator for a subsequent fall and the need for assessing fall risk without accounting for fall history is therefore imperative. Testing in three functional domains (using a total 92 measures) were completed in 84 older women (60–85 years of age), including muscular control, standing balance, and mean and variability of gait. Participants were retrospectively classified as fallers (n = 38) or non-fallers (n = 42) and additionally in a prospective manner to identify first-time fallers (FTFs) (n = 6) within a …


The Effects Of Obesity On Human Ambulation: A Lower Joint Analysis, Laura Gilbert Apr 2014

The Effects Of Obesity On Human Ambulation: A Lower Joint Analysis, Laura Gilbert

Senior Honors Theses

The effects of obesity on the body are complex and numerous especially when combining the effects on an already multi-faceted and multi-systems action such as human ambulation. This study summarizes a wide range of research performed, which investigated the effects of obesity on human ambulation. The effects are broken down into categories including osteoarthritis, replacement surgery, center of mass, stepping cycle, muscular activation, and specifics of the hip, knee and ankle joints as well as foot changes. The overwhelming majority of studies have found obesity to negatively impact ambulation by shifting center of mass (COM), increasing metabolic cost, decreasing cadence …


Understanding Atp-Mediated Vasodilatation In Humans, Anne R. Crecelius, Frank A. Dinenno Apr 2014

Understanding Atp-Mediated Vasodilatation In Humans, Anne R. Crecelius, Frank A. Dinenno

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Negative results, cynicism, the piecing together of puzzles and integrating physiology with experimental approaches are all part of the inspiring and meandering journey on the path to understand ATP-mediated vasodilatation. While it is satisfying to be "right" as scientists, we know sometimes the most important progress occurs when data are surprising or contrary to our original hypothesis. The pursuit of explanations for unexpected findings often leads to the best advancements. The story of how our laboratory came to investigate the underlying vasodilatator pathways of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is an example of such a path to our current understanding.


Classifying Lower Extremity Muscle Fatigue During Walking Using Machine Learning And Inertial Sensors, Jian Zhang, Thurmon Lockhart, Rahul Soangra Mar 2014

Classifying Lower Extremity Muscle Fatigue During Walking Using Machine Learning And Inertial Sensors, Jian Zhang, Thurmon Lockhart, Rahul Soangra

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Fatigue in lower extremity musculature is associated with decline in postural stability, motor performance and alters normal walking patterns in human subjects. Automated recognition of lower extremity muscle fatigue condition may be advantageous in early detection of fall and injury risks. Supervised machine learning methods such as Support Vector Machines (SVM) have been previously used for classifying healthy and pathological gait patterns and also for separating old and young gait patterns. In this study we explore the classification potential of SVM in recognition of gait patterns utilizing an inertial measurement unit associated with lower extremity muscular fatigue. Both kinematic and …


Utility Of An Occupational Therapy Driving Intervention For A Combat Veteran, Sherrilene Classen, Miriam Monahan, Maria Canonizado, Sandra Winter Jan 2014

Utility Of An Occupational Therapy Driving Intervention For A Combat Veteran, Sherrilene Classen, Miriam Monahan, Maria Canonizado, Sandra Winter

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Many combat veterans are injured in motor vehicle crashes shortly after returning to civilian life, yet little evidence exists on effective driving interventions. In this single-subject design study, we compared clinical test results and driving errors in a returning combat veteran before and after an occupational therapy driving intervention. A certified driving rehabilitation specialist administered baseline clinical and simulated driving assessments; conducted three intervention sessions that discussed driving errors, retrained visual search skills, and invited commentary on driving; and administered a postintervention evaluation in conditions resembling those at baseline. Clinical test results were similar pre- and postintervention. Baseline versus postintervention …