Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

A Case Report: Paraplegia Secondary To A Failed Lumbar Fusion, Nicole Jefferson

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: Low back pain is one of the most common symptoms that individuals experience around the world. The total cost for low back pain in the United States are over a billion dollars per year. Although an ample amount of research has been done looking into the epidemiology and treatment of back pain, many people are still suffering from lack of effective treatments.

Case Description: The purpose of this case report was to describe a patient who was post lumbar surgery to evaluate and examine the benefits of physical therapy. The patient in this case report was …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Therapy Interventions On A Patient Who Underwent A Spinal Thoracic Abscess Removal: A Case Report, Natalie Gleason

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: An epidural abscess comes from an infection of the central nervous system. In this patient's case he had a spinal thoracic abscess removed that was pushing against his spinal cord. The purpose of this case report is to assess the patient's outcome after therapy implementation. The goal was to see how effective the interventions were for the patient.

Case Description: The patient was a 63-year-old male who underwent surgery to remove a thoracic epidural abscess that was causing paraplegia. He was coming to outpatient physical therapy 2 months before I started my clinical treating him. …

The Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale And Its Use In Assessing Confidence In Elderly Community-Dwellers Attending The Stepping On Program, Sierra Heeren

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Introduction: Stepping On is a 7-week comprehensive fall program aimed at reducing falls for the community-dwelling elderly. Participants are educated on balance and strengthening exercises, and the influence medications, visions, inclement weather, etc. has on safety and falls.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to utilize the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) and survey results to determine if attendance of Stepping On improves balance confidence. Secondly, this research sought out to discover if increased balance confidence relates to decreased fall risk.

Methods: Participants of this were included 13 individuals initially (with one participant joining the …

Effectiveness Of Cognitive Timed Up And Go Test In Assessing Fall Risk In The Older Adult, Cory Sailer

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Introduction: Falls are a common and devastating injury for the older adult. Fall programs, such as the Stepping On program, are used to educate, strengthen, and sequentially reduce the number of falls its participant's endure. The Stepping On program is a multifactorial fall prevention program that addresses: balance and strength exercises, visual impairments, home modifications, pharmacologic effects, and even assistive devices. One aspect that has been found to be influential on fall risk is cognition, in particular executive functioning during ambulation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to screen participants of the Stepping On program for unknown …

Evaluation Of Fall Risk, Functional Mobility And Quality Of Life Changes Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Parkinson's Disease Participating In A Community Exercise Program, Gabrielle Dahl, Elizabeth Hermanson, Laura Nelson, Kayla Selinger

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Purpose/Hypothesis: Falls are evident in the older population and are a common and disabling feature of Parkinson Disease (PO). The benefits of activity are well known to decrease balance deficits and increase overall quality of life in the older adult population. In addition highly challenging exercises have been suggested to increase neuroplasticity in individuals with PD. The effect of challenging exercises on clinical outcomes in a structured Physical Therapy setting is documented in literature; however, the effect of a community based program is not well documented. Our pilot study examined the effect of a community exercise program on improving …

Effectiveness Of The 30 Second Chair Stand Test In Reducing The Fall Risk Of Community Dwelling Older Adults Participating In The Stepping On Program, Corissa Kruse

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Stepping On is a seven week fall prevention program that utilizes education and exercise. The purpose of this study is to see if the participants of Stepping On can show a decrease in fall risk through the use of the 30 Second Chair Stand Test (30sCST), a functional assessment tool used to assess fall risk. This study looked at a group of 14 females (M=87 y/o) at an assisted living facility, who met the program's qualifications (community dwelling individuals and ≥ 65 y/o) and attended the Stepping On program. Only eight participants were tested using the 30sCST at Week 1 …

Identifying The Factors That Affect The Job Satisfaction Of Early Career Notre Dame Graduate Physiotherapists, Eleni Bacopanos, Susan Edgar

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objective: Previous studies have highlighted the short career intentions and high attrition rates of physiotherapists from the profession. The aim of this study was to examine the job satisfaction and attrition rates of early career physiotherapists graduating from one Western Australian university.

Methods: A self-administered online survey was conducted of 157 Notre Dame physiotherapy graduates (2006-2012), incorporating a job satisfaction rating scale.

Results: Results showed that lowered job satisfaction was related to working in the cardiorespiratory area of physiotherapy and working in multiple jobs since graduation. The majority of graduates did not predict a long-term career in …

Top 10 Research Questions To Promote Physical Activity In Bipolar Disorders: A Consensus Statement From The International Organization Of Physical Therapists In Mental Health, D Vancampfort, S Rosenbaum, M Probst, J Connaughton, C Du Plessis, T Yamamoto, B Stubbs

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Research has only recently started to consider the importance and applicability of physical activity (PA) for people with bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of the current study is to highlight 10 pertinent PA research questions in people with BD.

Methods: The International Organization of Physical Therapy in Mental Health executed a consultation with all National organizations (n=13) to identify the most salient questions to guide future research on PA in BD.

Results: We identified the following 10 questions: (1) What are the benefits of PA for people with BD? (2) What are the most prominent safety issues for PA …

Physiotherapy For Pain And Disability In Adults With Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Crps) Types I And Ii (Review), K. M. Smart, Benedict Wand, N. E. O'Connell

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a painful and disabling condition that usually manifests in response to trauma or surgery. When it occurs, it is associated with significant pain and disability. It is thought to arise and persist as a consequence of a maladaptive pro-inflammatory response and disturbances in sympathetically-mediated vasomotor control, together with maladaptive peripheral and central neuronal plasticity. CRPS can be classified into two types: type I (CRPS I) in which a specific nerve lesion has not been identified, and type II (CRPS II) where there is an identifiable nerve lesion. Guidelines recommend the inclusion of a …

Physiotherapy Students' Perceptions And Experiences Of Clinical Prediction Rules, G Knox, S Snodgrass, T Stanton, D Kelly, B Vicenzino, B Wand, D Rivett

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: Clinical reasoning can be difficult to teach to pre-professional physiotherapy students due to their lack of clinical experience. It may be that tools such as clinical prediction rules (CPRs) could aid the process, but there has been little investigation into their use in physiotherapy clinical education. This study aimed to determine the perceptions and experiences of physiotherapy students regarding CPRs, and whether they are learning about CPRs on clinical placement.

Design: Cross-sectional survey using a paper-based questionnaire.

Participants: Final year pre-professional physiotherapy students (n=371, response rate 77%) from five universities across five states of Australia.

Results: S …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Factors Influencing The Job Satisfaction And Career Development Of Physiotherapists In Private Practice, J Davies, S Edgar, J Debenham

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate factors contributing to job satisfaction at different career stages, among private practice physiotherapists in Australia.

Design: Qualitative case study design utilising focus groups.

Participants: Sixteen participants allocated to 3 focus groups: new graduates (n = 6), post graduates (n = 5) and practice owners (n = 5).

Main outcome measures: Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and a thematic analysis was undertaken to determine themes and subthemes from each focus group.

Results: The key themes identified within each focus group included the role of peer support and …

Local Anaesthetic Sympathetic Blockade For Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, N O'Connell, B Wand, W Gibson, D Carr, F Birklein, T Stanton

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: This review is an update of a previously published review in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2005, Issue 4 (and last updated in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013 issue 8), on local anaesthetic blockade (LASB) of the sympathetic chain to treat people with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Objectives:To assess the efficacy of LASB for the treatment of pain in CRPS and to evaluate the incidence of adverse effects of the procedure.

Search methods: For this update we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2015, Issue 9), MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), LILACS …

Do Physiotherapists Have The Skill To Engage In The "Psychological" In The Bio-Psychosocial Approach?, J Connaughton, W Gibson

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Purpose: To describe a cross-sectional exploration of attitudes of physiotherapists in general practice in Western Australia toward psychiatry and mental illness, how often they treat people with mental illness, their perceptions of how well their undergraduate education prepared them to work with these people, and their opinions about what further education would enable them to provide best practice care.

Methods: A questionnaire that included questions about participants’ demographic information, personal experiences with mental illness, the ATP-30, and open-ended questions about their preparedness to work with people with mental illness was distributed through 110 email contacts to physiotherapy departments in Western …

'It Promoted A Positive Culture Around Falls Prevention': Staff Response To A Patient Education Programme—A Qualitative Evaluation, A Hill, N Waldron, J Francis-Coad, T Haines, C Etherton-Beer, L Flicker, K Ingram, S Mcphail

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand how staff responded to individualized patient falls prevention education delivered as part of a cluster randomised trial, including how they perceived the education contributed to falls prevention on their wards.

Design: A qualitative explanatory study.

Methods: 5 focus groups were conducted at participatory hospital sites. The purposive sample of clinical staff (including nurses, physiotherapists and quality improvement staff ) worked on aged care rehabilitation wards when a cluster randomised trial evaluating a patient education programme was conducted. During the intervention period, an educator, who was a trained health professional and not …

Demonstration Of The Test-Retest Reliability And Sensitivity Of The Lower Limb Functional Index As A Measure Of Functional Recovery Post Burn Injury: A Cross-Sectional Repeated Measures Study Design, M Ryland, T Grisbrook, F Wood, M B. Phillips, D Edgar

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Background: Lower limb burns can significantly delay recovery of function. Measuring lower limb functional outcomes is challenging in the unique burn patient population and necessitates the use of reliable and valid tools. The aims of this study were to examine the test-retest reliability, sensitivity, and internal consistency of Sections 1 and 3 of the Lower Limb Functional Index-10 (LLFI-10) questionnaire for measuring functional ability in patients with lower limb burns over time.

Methods: Twenty-nine adult patients who had sustained a lower limb burn injury in the previous 12 months completed the test-retest procedure of the study. In addition, the minimal …

Assessing Knowledge, Motivation And Perceptions About Falls Prevention Among Care Staff In A Residential Aged Care Setting, Jo-Aine Hang, Jacqueline Francis-Coad, Bianca Burro, Debbie Nobre, Anne-Marie Hill

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Falls are a serious problem in residential aged care settings. The aims of the study were to determine the feasibility of surveying care staff regarding falls prevention, and describe care staff levels of knowledge and awareness of residents' risk of falls, knowledge about falls prevention, motivation and confidence to implement falls prevention strategies. A custom designed questionnaire was administered to care staff at one site of a large residential aged care organization in Australia. The survey response was 58.8%. Feedback from staff was used to inform the administration of the survey to the wider organization. Seven (29.2%) care staff reported …

Assistive Technology Provision By Occupational Therapists : A Process And Tools For Managing Clients With Spinal Cord Injury, Ikechukwu Anthony Igbo

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Occupational therapy focuses on complex dynamic relationships between people, occupations and environments. For clients with spinal cord injuries (SCI), a way of improving the connection between these three aspects is by providing assistive technology (AT). A fundamental issue identified by consumers regarding AT provision was abandonment, which is caused by a mismatch between aspects of the person, the assistive product, and characteristics of the environment. One solution is engaging collaboratively with clients and recognizing individual needs, thereby allowing therapists to meet clients’ occupational expectations and provide clients with increased functional independence. During this capstone project, barriers to AT provision were …

Factors Influencing The Use Of Evidence-Based Practice Among Physiotherapists And Occupational Therapists In Their Clinical Work, Sofi Fristedt, Kristina Areskoug Josefsson, Ann-Sofi Kammerlind

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a process through which research is applied in daily clinical practice. Occupational therapists (OTs) and physiotherapists (PTs) are expected to work in line with EBP in order to optimise health care resources. This expectation is too seldom fulfilled. Consequently, research findings may not be implemented in clinical practice in a timely manner, or at all. To remedy this situation, additional knowledge is needed regarding what factors influence the process of EBP among practitioners. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that influence the use of EBP and the experienced effects of the …

Therapy Options For Winged Scapula Patients: A Literature Review, Samantha L. Normand

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Winged scapula is a condition characterized by lateral or medial protrusion of the scapula caused by nerve damage leading to muscular paralysis. The purpose of this systematic review of literature is to evaluate the current research literature related to the effectiveness of therapy options for winged scapula. Eleven peer reviewed English language research articles published from 1998 to present were included for evaluation. Study results revealed positive therapeutic outcomes for physical therapy and scapular bracing. Results also showed positive outcomes for the use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and acupuncture for the treatment of nerve related conditions similar to winged …

Occupational Therapy Ph.D. Overview, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Physical Therapy Tdpd Curriculum, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Physical Therapy Overview, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Training In Management Of Postpartum Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions: A Literature Review, Rebecca S. Tanner

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women can face a wide range of pelvic floor dysfunctions following pregnancy, ranging from urinary incontinence to pelvic pain. Unfortunately, these problems are not routinely checked for in postpartum check-ups and women do not always bring it to the physician’s attention. Strengthening of the pelvic floor muscles may be able to help women prevent these disorders and improve these women’s lifestyles.

The purpose of this thesis was to review and analyze different trials to determine if different pelvic floor dysfunctions (urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic girdle pain) can be treated using pelvic floor muscle training in the postpartum. After …

The Effects Of Resistance Training Frequency On Muscle Hypertrophy And Strength In Healthy Trained Individuals: Literature Review, Alexander C. Boivin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of increased resistance training frequency on strength and hypertrophy in trained individuals. Six Studies were deemed eligible based on the inclusion exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria for this review were healthy trained individuals. “Trained” refers to over one year of resistance training experience. Exclusion Criteria were study’s that examined either untrained or obese individuals as participants. The evidence indicates a dose-response trend in frequency. Resistance training each muscle group twice a week may be superior compared to once per week. Further more, resistance training each muscle group three times a …

Sport Commitment And Purchase Intentions Of Intercollegiate Boxing Coaches And Participants, Lamar Reams

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The current study analyzed the sport commitment and purchase intentions of club level intercollegiate boxers and coaches. Participants at United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association ( USIBA) member institutions ( N = 155) completed an online survey answering questions regarding their sport commitment and future equipment purchase intentions. Multivariate analysis discovered significant sport commitment differences among boxers and coaches, Wilk's Lambda =.838, F ( 7, 125) = 3.46, p

An Initiative To Build Research Capacity Within A Physiotherapy Department: Hits And Misses Over A 20-Year Period, Kathy Stiller, Naomi Haensel

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Building research capacity within a busy clinical allied health department is important but can be limited by time, resources and expertise. In 1995, a role was created in our Physiotherapy Department whereby an individual with an interest and expertise in clinical research was identified and a proportion of their workload (12 hours/week) designated to fulfil a research co-ordination role. The aim of this role was to foster research and build research capacity within the Physiotherapy Department. This paper reports the achievements associated with this initiative to highlight its successes, difficulties and failures. Method: A retrospective descriptive review of research …

Examining The Relationship Between Throwing Injuries Sustained In Adolescent Baseball Players And Use Of An Injury Prevention Smartphone Application "Throw Like A Pro", David S. Grove

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Objective: To describe the use rate of the injury prevention smartphone app “Throw Like a Pro” (TLP), and determine the relationship between use of the app and throwing injuries in adolescent baseball players.

Design and Setting: The smartphone application TLP was distributed to adolescent baseball players. Instruction was given on correct use of the application. Stretches, exercises, and application features were demonstrated to subjects. Data on use and injuries was compiled through self-reported surveys.

Subjects: A convenience sample of adolescent baseball players (n=20) aged 13-18 from the Babe Ruth Little League organization in Missoula, Montana were selected.

Measurements: A modified …

Altered Cerebellar Circuitry Following Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury In Adult Rats, Nishant P. Visavadiya, Joe E. Springer

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Faculty Publications

Cerebellar function is critical for coordinating movement and motor learning. However, events occurring in the cerebellum following spinal cord injury (SCI) have not been investigated in detail. We provide evidence of SCI-induced cerebellar synaptic changes involving a loss of granule cell parallel fiber input to distal regions of the Purkinje cell dendritic tree. This is accompanied by an apparent increase in synaptic contacts to Purkinje cell proximal dendrites, presumably from climbing fibers originating in the inferior olive. We also observed an early stage injury-induced decrease in the levels of cerebellin-1, a synaptic organizing molecule that is critical for establishing and …

Non-Medical Use Of Cognitive Enhancing Prescription Medications Among Occupational Therapy And Speech Language Pathology Health Care Students: A Pilot Study, Randy P. Mccombie, Hannah Slanina

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: This research was designed to serve as a pilot study to generate baseline data on non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) for cognitive/academic enhancement purposes among students representing two healthcare professions, Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Language Pathology (SLP) and to assess students’ opinions regarding whether use of these medications constitutes academic “cheating.” Introduction: NMUPD, such as Adderall ® or Ritalin ®, to reduce fatigue, improve memory, and increase concentration to ultimately improve grades has increased among college students in recent years, with estimated use put as high as 35% on some campuses. These drugs appear to be readily …

An Explorer In A Cardboard Land: Emotion, Memory, And The Embodied Experience Of Doing Jigsaw Puzzles, Angela Cora Garcia

Natural & Applied Sciences Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how playing a game or engaging in a leisure activity provides the participant with an experience which integrates physical, mental, and emotional elements. I use an autoethnographic approach to study the process of completing jigsaw puzzles. The main focal point of the paper is the connection between engagement in a physical activity (completing a puzzle) and how the mind works and where it goes during the performance of that activity. The goal of the paper is to illustrate the connections between action and thought, and to show how one of the benefits, …