Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Pills And Spills: An Assessment Of Medications And Fall Risk In Older Patients, Kelly L. Covert, Courtney D. Hall

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Speed-Based Approach To Vestibular Rehabilitation For Peripheral Vestibular Hypofunction: A Retrospective Chart Review, Robert Alen Roller, Courtney D. Hall

ETSU Faculty Works

BACKGROUND: Current vestibular rehabilitation for peripheral vestibular hypofunction is an exercise-based approach that improves symptoms and function in most, but not all patients, and includes gaze stabilization exercises focused on duration of head movement. One factor that may impact rehabilitation outcomes is the speed of head movement during gaze stability exercises.

OBJECTIVE: Examine outcomes of modified VOR X1 exercises that emphasize a speed-based approach for gaze stabilization while omitting substitution and habituation exercises. Balance training focused on postural realignment and hip strategy performance during altered visual and somatosensory inputs.

METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 159 patients with vestibular deficits …

Physician Role In Physical Activity For African-American Males Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy For Prostate Cancer, Faustine Williams, Kellie R. Imm, Graham A. Colditz, Ashley J. Housten, Lin Yang, Keon L. Gilbert, Bettina F. Drake

ETSU Faculty Works

Purpose

Physical activity is recognized as a complementary therapy to improve physical and physiological functions among prostate cancer survivors. Little is known about communication between health providers and African-American prostate cancer patients, a high risk population, regarding the health benefits of regular physical activity on their prognosis and recovery. This study explores African-American prostate cancer survivors’ experiences with physical activity prescription from their physicians.

Methods

Three focus group interviews were conducted with 12 African-American prostate cancer survivors in May 2014 in St. Louis, MO. Participants’ ages ranged from 49 to 79 years, had completed radical prostatectomy, and their time out …

Standing Balance And Spatiotemporal Aspects Of Gait Are Impaired Upon Nocturnal Awakening In Healthy Late Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Amanda L. Mcbean, Raymond P. Najjar, Ronald A. Schuchard, Courtney D. Hall, Cheng-Ann Wang, Ban Ku, Joseph M. Furman

ETSU Faculty Works

Study Objectives: Nocturnal awakenings may constitute a unique risk for falls among older adults. We describe differences in gait and balance between presleep and midsleep testing, and whether changes in the lighting environment during the midsleep testing further affect gait and balance.

Methods: Twenty-one healthy, late middle-aged and older (64.7 ± 8.0 y) adults participated in this repeated-measures design consisting of four overnight laboratory stays. Each night, participants completed baseline visual acuity, gait, and balance testing. After a 2-h sleep opportunity, they were awakened for 13 min into one of four lighting conditions: very dim white light (< 0.5 lux); dim white light (∼28.0 lux); dim orange light (∼28.0 lux); and white room-level light (∼200 lux). During this awakening, participants completed the same sequence of testing as at baseline.

Results: Low-contrast …

Vestibular Rehabilitation For Peripheral Vestibular Hypofunction: An Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline, Courtney D. Hall, Susan J. Herdman, Susan L. Whitney, Stephen P. Cass, Richard A. Clendaniel, Terry D. Fife

ETSU Faculty Works

Background: Uncompensated vestibular hypofunction results in postural instability, visual blurring with head movement, and subjective complaints of dizziness and/or imbalance. We sought to answer the question, “Is vestibular exercise effective at enhancing recovery of function in people with peripheral (unilateral or bilateral) vestibular hypofunction?” Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed in 5 databases published after 1985 and 5 additional sources for relevant publications were searched. Article types included meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case control series, and case series for human subjects, published in English. One hundred thirty-five articles were identified as relevant to …

Treatment For Vestibular Disorders: How Does Your Physical Therapist Treat Dizziness Related To Vestibular Problems?, Courtney D. Hall, Susan J. Herdman, Susan L. Whitney, Stephen P. Cass, Richard A. Clendaniel, Terry D. Fife

ETSU Faculty Works

Dizziness is very common, but it is never normal. Dizziness can make performing daily activities, work, and walking difficult. Many people get dizzy when they turn their head, which can cause problems with walking and makes people more likely to fall. Most of the time dizziness is not from a life-threatening disease. Often dizziness is because of a disorder of the vestibular (or inner ear balance) system. People can get vestibular disorders from infections in the ear, problems with the immune system, medications that harm the inner ear, and rarely from diabetes or stroke because of a lack of blood …

Respiratory Therapists As Physician Extenders: Perceptions Of Practitioners And Educators, Shane Keene, Kristen L. Mchenry, Randy L. Byington, Mark Washam

ETSU Faculty Works

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of practicing respiratory therapists (RT) and respiratory care educators regarding the role of RTs serving as physician extenders. Methods: The survey instrument was an electronic questionnaire that consisted of 17 questions. Participation was voluntary and participants were selected through random and convenience sampling techniques. Results: Of 506 respondents, 234 were respiratory care educators. Overwhelmingly, the respondents held the Registered Respiratory Therapist credential (92.7%). Respondents were about equally split among three education levels: 31.7% associate degree, 31.7% bachelor’s degree, and 27.3% master’s degree. Of the respondents 62.45% had considered pursing …

Reliability Of Two Alternative Methods For The Standard Mid-Thigh Isometric Pull, Duane A. Williams, Courtney D. Hall, Patsy Cantor, Jennifer Williams, N. Brown, Ryan Dulling, Ogechi Egbujor

ETSU Faculty Works

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of two new alternative portable methods for measuring maximal isometric force measures while performing the standard mid-thigh pull. One method, the bar grip method, required the use of the trunk and upper extremity muscles, while the second method, the pelvic belt method, did not. Both methods demonstrated good test-retest reliability via randomized repeated measures over 24-36 hours. Interestingly, the pelvic belt method generally demonstrated average maximal forces up to 65% higher than the bar method. There was a good relationship between both methods. These new alternative methods could provide strength …

A Prototype Head-Motion Monitoring System For In-Home Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy, Pamela T. Bhatti, Susan J. Herdman, Siddarth Datta Roy, Courtney D. Hall, Ronald J. Tusa

ETSU Faculty Works

This work reports the use of a head-motion monitoring system to record patient head movements while completing in-home exercises for vestibular rehabilitation therapy. Based upon a dual-axis gyroscope (yaw and pitch, ± 500-degrees/sec maximum), angular head rotations were measured and stored via an on-board memory card. The system enabled the clinician to document exercises at home. Several measurements were recorded in one patient with unilateral vestibular hypofunction: The total time of exercise for the week (118 minutes) was documented and compared with expected weekly exercise time (140 minutes). For gaze stabilization exercises, execution time of 60 sec was expected, and …