Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Stress Matters: A Case Report In Occupational Therapy For Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment, Amy Driga, Naomi Dolgoy, Julie Hunley

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: This case report details occupational therapy (OT) for a woman with breast cancer experiencing cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI), referred to OT for memory strategies.

Method: Preliminary subjective and cognitive screenings were completed with further/finer assessment diarized.

Results: While the cognitive aspect of CRCI is often addressed via OT, in this case, stress was the most prevalent barrier to function reported. Stress was identified as: impacting occupational engagement, CRCI presentation, interfering with return-to-work goals, and accentuated given the COVID-19 pandemic. A common cancer-specific stress screening tool appeared inadequate in identifying the impact and interplay of stress on function, necessitating a …

Addressing Occupational Performance Deficits In A Religious Setting: A Pediatric Case Report, Bryan M. Gee, Daniel Leatham

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The purpose of this pediatric case report is to document how occupational therapy assisted a family with a child who has a diagnosis of ASD and the religious clergy increase the child’s participation in activities in the religious context.

Method: The pediatric case report uses an exploratory approach to explore the process of evaluating challenging psychosocial behaviors and implementing contextual and personal strategies to increase participation in meaningful occupations.

Results: As a result of the occupational therapy recommendations and follow-up consultations, the client demonstrated a reduction in behaviors that were a barrier to her participation in …

Occupational Therapy’S Psychosocial Role For Young Children Transitioning Out Of Foster Care, Patrick J. Walker, Bryan M. Gee, Sharon Leonard

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Unmet needs for children in the foster care system lead to hardships with social participation, healthy relationships, and occupational engagement. Despite an understanding of these needs, there is minimal research on occupational therapy’s role for young children transitioning from foster care back to their biological parents.

Method: A single case report was completed via occupational-based interventions focused on psychosocial development, such as emotional regulation and appropriate social skills. All nine interventions were intended to be provided via 45-min individual treatment sessions followed by biological parent coaching for 15 min with strategies such as role-playing, sensory techniques, and trauma-informed …

Occupational Therapy In Secondary Transition: A Case Report, Latoya Harvey, Susan Zapf, Sandra E. Groger

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Introduction: This case report aims to inform the occupational therapy profession of best practice by providing an example of the profession’s role in secondary transition for students with disabilities.

Method: This qualitative case report examines the value of occupational therapy during transition in the life of one student with a disability. Six weeks of coaching and collaboration were provided to facilitate student engagement to enhance independent living skills, work-related skills, and self-determination. Pre-test and post-test results of the Roll Evaluation of Life Activities (REAL), the Goal-Oriented Assessment of Lifeskills (GOAL), the Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), interviews, informal discussions, …

Occupational Therapy Enhancing Psychosocial Factors: Through The Lens Of Case Reports, Bryan M. Gee

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Exploring Dating As An Occupation For Young Heterosexual Women In Ireland, Karen Mccarthy, Jeanne Jackson

Occupational Therapy | Faculty Scholarship

Purpose – Dating is a meaningful occupation for many single people. The occupation of dating has transformed considerably in Ireland due to recent changes in Irish culture and the advent of online dating technology. The purpose of this study was to explore the complexities and intricacies of dating in an Irish context.

Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was used and data were collected using semi-structured interviews with ten heterosexual women (age 24-34) living in urban areas of Ireland. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006).

Findings – Dating did not fully resonate with their experience, …

An Investigation Of Popular Recovery Methods In Volleyball Players, Timber Terrell

Student Theses and Dissertations

Volleyball athletes are required to perform high force jumping skills throughout practice and competition which sometimes results in acute muscle soreness. Athletes and coaches are seeking novel recovery methods to enhance jumping performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two recovery methods: compression therapy and cupping therapy. During compression therapy, athletes place pneumatic sleeves on their legs following practice. During cupping therapy, a cup device is placed on various locations on the legs and a small suction is applied. Six college volleyball athletes jumping performance and range of motion was measured on three days following …

Pediatric Mtbi: Perceptions Of Michigan General Education Teachers, Kayleigh Smith, Delaney Eckstein, Alyson Peters, Tanveer Mangat

Masters Theses

Background: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), also known as concussion, is the most common head injury in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to develop evidence about teachers’ knowledge of mTBI, their experiences with mTBI, and return-to-learn protocols.

Methods: A mixed-methods survey was emailed to 567 Michigan Public School superintendents. Employing snowball sampling, superintendents were requested to distribute the electronic survey within their school districts.

Results: Fifty-three participants responded to the survey and met the inclusion criteria (N=53). Respondents were not confident with recognizing signs and symptoms of mTBI, but knowledgeable, particularly with recognizing physical symptoms more …

Direction Of Attentional Focus In Prosthetic Training: Current Practice And Potential For Improving Motor Learning In Individuals With Lower Limb Loss, Szu-Ping Lee, Alexander Bonczyk, Maria Katrina Dimapilis, Sarah Partridge, Samantha Ruiz, Lung-Chan Chien, Andrew Sawers

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Objective:

Adopting an external focus of attention has been shown to benefit motor performance and learning. However, the potential of optimizing attentional focus for improving prosthetic motor skills in lower limb prosthesis (LLP) users has not been examined. In this study, we investigated the frequency and direction of attentional focus embedded in the verbal instructions in a clinical prosthetic training setting.

Methods:

Twenty-one adult LLP users (8 female, 13 male; 85% at K3 level; mean age = 50.5) were recruited from prosthetic clinics in the Southern Nevada region. Verbal interactions between LLP users and their prosthetists (mean experience = 10 …

Advancing Academic Capacity In Physical And Rehabilitation Medicine To Strengthen Rehabilitation In Health Systems Worldwide: A Joint Effort By The European Academy Of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Association Of Academic Physiatrists, And The International Society Of Physical And Rehabilitation Medicine, Walter R Frontera, Gerold Stucki, Julia P Engkasan, Gerard E Francisco, Christoph Gutenbrunner, Nazirah Hasnan, Jorge Lains, Yusniza Mohd Yusof, Stefano Negrini, Zaliha Omar, Linamara Rizzo Battistella, Gwen Sowa, Henk Stam, Jerome Bickenbach, European Academy Of Rehabilitation Medicine, Association Of Academic Physiatrists, International Society Of Physical And Rehabilitation Medicine

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Behavioural Practice Targeted At The Motor Action Selection Network After Stroke, Jill C. Stewart, Jessica F. Baird, Stacy L. Fritz, Julius Fridriksson Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Motor action selection engages a network of frontal and parietal brain regions. After stroke, individuals activate a similar network, however, activation is higher, especially in the contralesional hemisphere. The current study examined the effect of practice on action selection performance and brain activation after stroke. Sixteen individuals with chronic stroke (Upper Extremity Fugl–Meyer motor score range: 18–61) moved a joystick with the more-impaired hand in two conditions: Select (externally cued choice; move right or left based on an abstract rule) and Execute (simple response; move same direction every trial). On Day 1, reaction time (RT) was longer in Select compared …

Occupational Therapy Newsletter, Summer 2022, Occupational Therapy Department

News, Magazines and Reports

Highlights: Letter from Department Chair and Program Director Dr. Sharon McCloskey -- 20th year program celebration slideshow -- Alumna Anastasiya Akay advocates for orphans in Ukraine -- Faculty focus on Amanda Wheeler (PhD, OTR/L) -- Dr. Sheelagh Schlegel (DrHSc, MPH, OTR/L, CHES, CAPS) facilitates patient simulations -- Dr. Lola Halperin (Ed.D., OTR/L) presents at the ConnOTA and AOTA conferences and participates in the Dean's Speaker Series -- Dr. Sharon McCloskey (Ed.D., MBA, OT/L, DipCOT, CTP) presents "Understanding the Impact of Trauma and ACE's on Learning and Participation in Schools" -- Pilot social simulation training program for occupational therapy students -- …

The Haunted House Experience: Developing A Home Health Assessment Training Utilizing An Interprofessional, Interinstitutional Virtual Simulation, Angel Holland Dpt, Edd, Pamela Degravelles Phd, Rn, Debbie Knight Pharmd, Karen Dickinson Md, Kathryn Neill Pharmd, Duston Morris Phd, Wendy Ward Phd

Faculty Research ​and Publications

To meet the interprofessional education needs of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, universities transitioned to virtual options. For many universities, this transition was challenging and time-consuming. The Arkansas Interprofessional Education Consortium (ARIPEC) combined resources to create a novel learning experience for students with a focus on the skill of home assessment. An interinstitutional, interprofessional faculty project team was developed to create a learning experience, with each institution responsible for a portion of the virtual simulation development. This paper describes the process for creation and implementation of an interprofessional, interinstitutional virtual learning experience to support the growth of healthcare students across …

A Low-Cost Virtual Coach For 2d Video-Based Compensation Assessment Of Upper Extremity Rehabilitation Exercises, Ana Rita Coias, Min Hun Lee, Alexandre Bernardino

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Background: The increasing demands concerning stroke rehabilitation and in-home exercise promotion grew the need for affordable and accessible assistive systems to promote patients' compliance in therapy. These assistive systems require quantitative methods to assess patients' quality of movement and provide feedback on their performance. However, state-of-the-art quantitative assessment approaches require expensive motion-capture devices, which might be a barrier to the development of low-cost systems.Methods: In this work, we develop a low-cost virtual coach (VC) that requires only a laptop with a webcam to monitor three upper extremity rehabilitation exercises and provide real-time visual and audio feedback on compensatory motion patterns …

Effect Of Pitching Restrictions And Mound Distance On Youth Baseball Pitch Counts., Hailey Mair, Nicholas A Kenney, Timothy L Uhl, L Robert Ullery, Robert G Hosey

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that higher pitch counts are directly related to a greater incidence of elbow and shoulder pain among youth baseball pitchers.

PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of different pitching restriction rules on the number of pitches thrown in youth baseball leagues. We hypothesized that more pitches would be thrown in leagues with inning restrictions versus leagues with pitch count restrictions as well as in leagues with a longer mound distance (from pitching mound to home plate).

STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

METHODS: Pitch count data were collected for …

Abobotulinumtoxina Efficacy And Safety In Children With Upper Limb Spasticity Previously Treated With Botulinum Toxin, Edward Dabrowski, Mauricio R. Delgado, Joyce Oleszek, Nigar Dursun, Jorge Carranza Del-Rio, Marcin Bonikowski, Benjamin Regnault, Simon Page, Ann Tilton

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Introduction: Primary endpoint analysis of this phase 3 study confirmed abobotulinumtoxinA (aboBoNT-A 8 U/kg and 16 U/kg) significantly reduced hypertonia versus the 2 U/kg low-dose control and was generally well tolerated (Delgado, et al, 2021). However, the impact of previous botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections on treatment outcomes remains largely unexplored.

Methods: We present subgroup analyses of a phase 3 study conducted in children (aged 2-17) with cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] Levels I-IV) and spasticity in ≥1 upper limb. In the first treatment cycle, 210 children were randomized to treatment with aboBoNT-A 2 U/kg, 8 U/kg or …

Switching Adult Patients With Spasticity From Onabotulinumtoxina To Abobotulinumtoxina: A Real-World Data Analysis Across Three Us-Based Treatment Centers, Nate Way, Edward Dabrowski, Mitchell Paulin, Martin Taylor, John Madden, Amandeep Mann, Jonathan Bouchard

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Introduction: The therapeutic impact of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) as first-line treatment for adult focal spasticity is well established across numerous therapeutic guidelines. However, relatively little real-world evidence exists to inform clinician decision-making when considering switching patients between BoNT-A products. This 5-year retrospective study aims to illustrate the safe transitioning of patients from onabotulinumtoxinA (ONA) to abobotulinumtoxinA (ABO) therapy in US centers that have considerable experience with BoNT-A usage in adults with spasticity.

Methods: Chart data from patients with upper limb spasticity (ULS), lower limb spasticity (LLS), or upper and lower limb spasticity (ULS+LLS) aged >18 years were collected …

Cost-Effectiveness Of High-Intensity Training Vs Conventional Therapy For Individuals With Subacute Stroke, T. George Hornby, Miriam Rafferty, Daniel Pinto, Dustin D. French, Neil Jordan

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

This investigation estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness of high-intensity training (HIT) compared with conventional physical therapy in individuals with subacute stroke, based on the additional personnel required to deliver the therapy.

Design

Secondary analysis from a pilot study and subsequent randomized controlled trial.

Setting

Outpatient laboratory setting.

Participants

Data were collected from individuals with locomotor impairments 1-6 months poststroke (N=44) who participated in HIT (n=27) or conventional physical therapy (n=17).

Interventions

Individuals performing HIT practiced walking tasks in variable contexts (stairs, overground, treadmill) while targeting up to 80% maximum heart rate reserve. Individuals performing conventional therapy practiced impairment-based and functional …

Contributions Of Semantic And Phonological Working Memory To Narrative Language Independent Of Single Word Production: Evidence From Acute Stroke, Rachel Zahn, Tatiana T Schnur, Randi C Martin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neuropsychological case studies have provided evidence that individuals with semantic, but not phonological, working memory (WM) deficits have difficulty producing phrases containing several content words. These findings supported the claim of a phrasal scope of planning at the grammatical formulation stage of production, where semantic WM supports the maintenance of lexical-semantic representations as they are inserted into slots in phrasal constituents. Recent narrative production results for individuals at the acute stage of stroke supported the role for semantic WM in phrasal elaboration while suggesting a role for phonological WM at a subsequent phonological encoding stage in supporting fluent, rapid speech. …

Using Noise For The Better: The Effects Of Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation On The Brain And Behavior, Onno Van Der Groen, Weronika Potok, Nicole Wenderoth, Grace Edwards, Jason B. Mattingley, Dylan Edwards

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV X (X) XXX-XXX 2021.- Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) is a non-invasive electrical brain stimulation method that is increasingly employed in studies of human brain function and behavior, in health and disease. tRNS is effective in modulating perception acutely and can improve learning. By contrast, its effectiveness for modulating higher cognitive processes is variable. Prolonged stimulation with tRNS, either as one longer application, or multiple shorter applications, may engage plasticity mechanisms that can result in long-term benefits. Here we provide an overview of the current understanding of the effects of tRNS on the brain and behavior and …