Other Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Biomechanical Effects Of Exercise-Based Interventions In Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Lara De Vecchi Machado

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP) is the leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide and represents a complex, multifactorial, and heterogeneous condition. It is characterized by substantial interindividual variability in muscle activation patterns, lumbo-pelvic coordination, and movement strategies. Although exercise is widely recommended as a first-line intervention and its clinical benefits are well established, the biomechanical mechanisms underlying functional improvement remain fragmented in the literature and are rarely synthesized quantitatively.

This dissertation conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to investigate the biomechanical effects of exercise-based interventions in individuals with CNLBP. A total of 39 studies were included and …

Leveraging Clinical Standards To Improve The Translational Relevance Of Therapies For Experimental Spinal Cord Injury, Aaron L. Silverstein

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

Efforts to improve treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) often use animals to develop effective therapeutics, intending to improve the survival and the quality of life of persons with SCI. Over half of all SCIs in the United States occur at the cervical level and often cause locomotor deficits and life-threatening breathing dysfunction. Thus, my dissertation is focused on this important patient population.

After beginning with a description of translational research and surveying SCI from a clinical standpoint, I turned to describe experimental models of cervical SCI and more detailed neuroimmunological findings relevant to my work. Then, I conducted a …

Development And Clinical Validation Of The Sensor-E Exoskeleton For Objective Hand Function Assessment In Stroke Rehabilitation, Madison Bates

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Hand function is often impaired following neurological trauma or in conditions such as stroke, limiting independence and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Current clinical assessments rely heavily on subjective rating scales that lack the resolution to detect subtle changes in motor performance, which can limit access to rehabilitation. Recent advances in wearable technologies highlight the potential for hand-worn devices to provide objective, real-time measures of hand function. However, most systems focus solely on kinematics and rarely capture both movement and exerted force. Moreover, integration into rehabilitation frameworks and brain-computer interface (BCI) protocols remains limited. To address …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of A Progressive Mobility Protocol Among Adult Icu Patients, Clayton Chroust

DNP Projects

Background: Many intensive care unit (ICU) patients are critically ill and require ventilator support, and they often do not receive any progressive mobility interventions until after they are liberated from the ventilator or receive transfer orders out of the ICU. Current literature suggests that patients in the ICU face deconditioning, increased ventilator days, development of deep vein thrombosis, pressure ulcers, pulmonary embolism, muscular atrophy, and increased days in the ICU which can be attributed to a lack of mobility. Current evidence-based research identifies that utilization of a progressive mobility protocol is one way to improve patient outcomes and reduce …

“Your Legs Don’T Look All That Good” An Analysis Of Impoliteness And Politeness In Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injuries In The Workplace, Grace Kozal

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Background: Social communication disorders are a common outcome from traumatic brain injury (TBI). This social communication disorder can be seen through impolite speech acts during conversation. While politeness is a social norm for workplace discourse, instances of impoliteness may have poor consequences. This research explores the use of impoliteness in persons with TBI within computer generated work-based conditions.

Methods: Language samples from the Voicemail Elicitation Task (VET) and Feedback/Advice Spoken Task (FAST) were transcribed word-for-word. Transcripts from all 62 participants were coded for impoliteness using a developed Impoliteness Codebook and were analyzed to identify significant differences in the number of …

The Health Literacy Practices Of Rehabilitation Providers Of Perioperative Orthopedic Education, Allen Keener

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Health literacy is the ability to utilize information to make decisions about one’s health or the health of others. It is estimated that a large percentage of the population has inadequate health literacy, yet healthcare professionals, including rehabilitation providers often do not have procedures in place for assessing and addressing the health literacy of their patients. Related to orthopedic patients, a large portion of the interventions are educational in nature. Therefore, it is important that the health literacy of orthopedic patients be considered when addressing their needs perioperatively. There is little currently published related to health literacy among rehabilitation providers …

Physical And Psychosocial Factors Related To Firefighter Musculoskeletal Disorders, Jennifer Ellen Tinsley Kubala

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Career firefighters must perform physically and psychologically challenging duties in unpredictable and dangerous conditions. Previous investigations have found that firefighters suffer nearly 4 times the recorded musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and workplace injuries compared to private and public sector workers, and take approximately 1.5 days longer to return to normal work. Thus, the burden of firefighter MSD experiences has been a growing area of exploration. The few investigations that have concurrently examined physical and psychosocial consequences experienced by firefighters have found a positive relationship between increased occupational stress reports and MSD experiences. However, these investigations, as well as those that individually …

Exploration Of Burn Survivors’ Experiences With Nutrition During The Rehabilitation Phase Of Burn Injury Recovery: A Qualitative Study, Alyaa M. Zagzoog

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Approximately 500,000 people in the United States are affected by a burn injury and seek care every year. With medical innovation, however, the burn injury survival rate has increased to 97% in the United States. Burn survivors undergo two phases of recovery: acute and rehabilitation.With advances in burn treatment and care, the focus has shifted from the expectation of survival to improving outcomes. Nutritional care, including assessment and education, plays a major role in burn survivors’ wellness, facilitating wound healing and promoting recovery, but nutritional guidelines and polices appear limited during the rehabilitation phase,with literature suggesting nutritional assessment has historically …

Humor Matters: An Adapted Multiple Case Study Exploring Music Therapists’ Perspectives Of Humor With Older Adults, Caleb M. Posey

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Humor is a ubiquitous human experience and a skill retained in older adulthood. It is also an integral but elusive therapeutic tool with numerous benefits and risks to well-being. Therapeutic humor – the application of humor to client well-being – is an emerging area of study. However, scant music therapy literature on humor is available. The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to explore the use and function of humor in music therapy with older adults from the perspectives of experienced music therapists. There were three research questions: (1) how do music therapists describe their use of humor with older …

The Experience Of Meditation, And Its Effects On Attention, For Adults With Stroke Or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Three-Part Dissertation With Qualitative And Quantitative Evidence, Cheryl Carrico

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Impairment of attention is common after stroke; is a defining characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and has been shown to correlate significantly with difficulties in daily life for individuals with these conditions. More research is needed to establish effective interventions addressing impaired attention in such cases. Meditation is not a standard-of-care intervention for this purpose but may have therapeutic potential. Meditation has been broadly defined as an activity which has self-regulation of attention as its main aim. In other words, it can be considered a training of attention. To shed light on the therapeutic potential of meditation, including …

Evaluating The Microbiome To Boost Recovery From Stroke: The Embrs Study, Tyler Hammond

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

Accumulating evidence suggests that gut microbes modulate brain plasticity via the bidirectional gut-brain axis and may play a role in stroke rehabilitation. A severely imbalanced microbial community has been shown to occur following stroke, causing a systemic flood of neuro- and immunomodulatory substances due to increased gut permeability and decreased gut motility. Here we measure post-stroke increased gut dysbiosis and how it correlates with gut permeability and subsequent cognitive impairment.

We recruited 12 participants with acute stroke, 12 healthy control participants, and 18 participants who had risk factors for stroke, but had not had a stroke. We measured the gut …

Patient And Therapist Perceptions Of Respiratory Functioning Due To Spinal Cord Injury: Implications For Music Therapists, A'Marie Dotson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Decreased respiratory functioning is a common symptom of spinal cord injury (SCI) and can impact individuals’ personal, professional, and social lives. In spite of this, researchers have not explored the use of music in the lives of individuals with SCIs or music’s role in their healthcare professionals’ treatment plans to improve respiratory functioning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how decreased respiratory functioning affects individuals with SCIs and healthcare professionals through a multiple case study design. Participants were two individuals with SCIs and three healthcare professionals (physical therapist, recreational therapist, and music therapist) who worked with …

Cognitive-Motor Interactions In Gait And Postural Control And Cortical Network Neurocorrelates, Nathan Morelli

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

The ability to mitigate performance decrements during the concurrent completion of cognitive and motor tasks (i.e., dual task (DT)) deteriorates in patients with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). It is theorized that the long-term sequelae of mTBI are due to the return to full activity prior to neurophysiologic healing. To mitigate the negative outcomes associated with mTBIs, translational clinical research of neurophysiologic recovery is of paramount importance for both athletic and non-athletic populations. Despite the well-known health consequences, clinical decisions regarding neurophysiologic recovery and return to activity remain problematic for clinicians. Return to activity decisions are currently based on normalization …

Evaluation Of A Concussion Management And Discharge Education Training Module For Emergency Department Nurses, Carmen Frede

DNP Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to improve the Emergency Department (ED) nurses’ knowledge on identifying patients at risk for concussions and delivering effective concussion discharge education using an educational training intervention.

Methods: This project used a descriptive, non-randomized pre-post survey design. Participation involved three stages: a pre-education survey to assess baseline concussion education knowledge, an educational intervention consisting of a narrated PowerPoint presentation, and a post-education survey to evaluate knowledge on concussion discharge education. The intervention was delivered online via the UK Canvas educational platform.

Results: The majority of nursing staff participants were female (97%) and had a …

Prospective Assessment Of Return To Pre-Injured Levels Of Activity, Aaron D. Sciascia

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Determining return to pre-injured levels of play following athletic injury can be challenging. The current practice of making decisions following rehabilitation as to whether or not a patient has returned to pre-injured levels of activity is potentially inaccurate because initial assessments of perceived physical capability are performed at a time of relative dysfunction or are based on patient recall. Since there is no true baseline of perceived and physical function prior to injury it is difficult to determine if an athlete has return to baseline or is simply better than they were at the time of injury. Therefore, it is …

Biomechanical Analysis Of Race Walking Compared To Normal Walking And Running Gait, Jaclyn D. Norberg

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Human locomotion is phenomenon that is extraordinarily complex. It is evident that a complete description of locomotion involves consideration of kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity of the extremities in all of their various movements. Race walking (RW) is a form of upright locomotion that differs from normal walking and running by its form dictated by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF). Despite the similarities to both normal walking (NW) and running (RU), RW has not been the subject of equally intensive investigations.

This study explores the comprehensive biomechanics of race walking and how it compares to NW and RU. A …

Let’S Play: Understanding The Role And Significance Of Digital Gaming In Old Age, Julie A. Skalsky Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Despite a marked increase in the use of digital games among older persons, there is insufficient research that provides insight into the gaming experiences of this population. A major demographic shift within the senior gaming market has ushered in a new perspective on the use of digital games as a tool for physical and cognitive health, and improved socialization. It is proposed that individual notions of play, which are developed over the life course, influence digital game play engagement and interaction preferences, and contribute to well-being. This study explored how self-perceptions of play over the course of the senior gamer’s …

Assessing Candidacy For Intensive Language Therapy: A Preliminary Study, Jessica N. Bellamy

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

The goal of the present study was to examine changes in the speech and language performance of patients with chronic, non-fluent aphasia over the course of a three-hour group speech and language treatment session, a time allotment comparable to intensive therapy practices. Nine participants, (three groups of three), with chronic, non-fluent aphasia were seen for a single group therapy session three hours in length. Therapeutic activities were designed to be as similar as possible for each group of participants. Each participant was individually assessed before (time 1), during (time 2), and after (time 3) the group treatment session. Assessments included …

A Comparison Of Upper Extremity Function Between Female Breast Cancer Survivors And Healthy Controls: Typical Self- Report Of Function, Motion, Strength And Muscular Endurance, Mary Insana Fisher

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Many women who have experienced breast cancer (BC) report continued impairments in upper extremity (UE) function beyond the time required for normal healing after surgical treatment. Most research supporting this has not made comparisons between survivors of breast cancer (BCS) to a sample of healthy women. This lack of comparison to a healthy cohort prevents an understanding of whether continued deficits in UE function are due to normal aging or the BC treatment.

The purpose of this research was to compare quality of life (QOL) and UE function among long term breast cancer survivors and similar aged women without cancer. …

What Keeps Us Well? Professional Quality Of Life And Career Sustaining Behaviors Of Music Therapy Professionals, Shane C. Swezey

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Self-care can be seen as not only critical for individual professionals, but also for the growth of the helping professions and the quality of care which clients receive. The purpose of this study was to investigate use of career-sustaining behaviors and the levels of professional quality of life in music therapy professionals. This study investigated research questions regarding use of career sustaining behaviors and levels of professional quality of life, the relationship between these variables, the differences in the use of career sustaining behavior by demographics, and the use of music as a self-care strategy.

An online survey was sent …

Effect Of Lower Body Positive Pressure On Cardiovascular Response At Various Degrees Of Head Up Tilt, Vladimir Ilyich Kostas

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Various models of simulated weightlessness and resulting cardiovascular effects have been researched in the last 50 years of space exploration. Examples of such models are the Alter-G (Alt-G) treadmill used for body unweighting and head-up-tilt (HUT) model each providing similar cardiovascular effects, but differing in their stimulation of vestibular centers . Advantages of using the Alt-G include: use of lower body positive pressure (LBPP) to simulate hypogravity, it acts as a countermeasure to alleviate negative cardiovascular effects of standing and provides a constant vestibular stimulus. In addition, the Alt-G shorts themselves may be providing a certain degree of LBPP, acting …