Physiotherapy Commons^™

Effectiveness Of Hydrotherapy As An Adjunct Treatment For The Management Of Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema In Women Following Breast Cancer Surgery: A Systematic Review, Eleanor Bills, Matthew Delsar, Steven O'Donnell, Alexandra Rice, Cory Stone, Saravana Kumar

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Cancer is a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Of all cancers, breast cancer commonly ranks amongst the top three. Surgical intervention for breast cancer is common and a possible side effect of this is breast cancer related lymphoedema (BCRL). Women with breast cancer related lymphoedema commonly have regional limb swelling and pain, which can negatively impact mental and social well-being as well as upper limb function. Hydrotherapy is therapeutic modality which may be used as an adjunct to self-management strategies after the intensive phase of lymphoedema management. Yet despite its popularity, recent research has questioned its …

Occupational Therapy And Physiotherapy Education And Workforce In Anglophone Sub-Saharan Africa Countries, Augustine O. Agho, Emmanuel John

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries are faced with the challenge of educating a critical mass of occupational therapists (OTs) and physiotherapists (PTs) to meet the growing demand for health and rehabilitation services. The World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) and World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) have argued for the need of graduate-level training for OTs and PTs for decades. However, very few studies have been conducted to determine the availability of OT and PT training programs and practitioners in SSA countries.

Methods: Initial data were collected and compiled from an extensive literature search conducted using MEDLINE and …

Pattern Of Alteration In Foot Mechanics When Carrying Loads Unilaterally In Hand, Deepashini Harithasan, Baharudin Omar, Aatit Paungmali

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

PURPOSE: Carrying weight in one hand is a common functional activity. This study investigated the effects of incremental loads carried in one hand unilaterally and its influence on the foot mechanics [plantar pressure, maximum force and contact area]. METHOD: Twenty healthy individuals were tested, in standing and walking, while carrying different weights (no load, 5 kg, 7.5 kg and 10 kg) using their right hand. ANCOVA was conducted separately for the right and left leg to address the effect of incremental loads on the foot mechanics within each leg with navicular drop index and Q angle as covariates. Paired t …

A Novel Approach To The Safe And Effective Mobilization Of A Super-Obese Patient: A Case Report, Jessica Anaf, Amy Wigmore, Kathy Stiller

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The incidence of obesity is rising worldwide, as is the presentation of these patients to the acute hospital setting. As a result of their complex nature, including medical co-morbidities, psychosocial issues, and healthcare resource limitations, management of these patients requires a coordinated and intensive multi-disciplinary approach. Although there are considerable data reporting the surgical management of obese patients, there is very limited literature regarding non-surgical interventions, including approaches to safe and effective mobilization. Methods: A case report is presented of a 55-year-old super-obese male transferred to a major tertiary referral healthcare centre for management of his overall medical condition …

Identification And Intervention For Action Planning Deficits In Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, Swati M. Surkar

Theses & Dissertations

The primary purpose of this investigation was to describe and quantify action-planning deficits during goal-directed movements in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP). Three specific topics were addressed: brain activation, kinematics, and the use of visual input. First, we assessed prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during complex goal-directed actions in children with HCP. The outcome suggested that children with HCP have higher PFC activation than age matched typically developing (TD) children during action planning, potentially due to the difficulty in allocating attentional resources for simultaneously processing the cognitive (i.e., attention, memory, information processing) and motor demands of the goal-directed task. Reduced …

Evaluating Cardiovascular Dysfunction During Increased Activity And Exercise Rehabilitation Following Incomplete Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury In The Adult Rat., Kathryn A. Harman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in whole-body dysfunction. While the majority of SCI research is focused on improving locomotor function after injury, cardiovascular (CV) disease continues to be the leading cause of morbidity in the chronic SCI patient population. The combination of injury-induced destruction of autonomic pathways, maladaptive plasticity within lumbosacral circuits, and the progressive decline in physical fitness contribute to the poor CV status of SCI individuals. Currently, there is little emphasis on implementing appropriately-timed acute rehabilitation techniques aimed to curtail maladaptive remodeling and improve CV outcomes. Furthermore, no pre-clinical or clinical studies have investigated the most appropriate time-course …

Specialized Medical Home For Patients With Spinal Cord Injury, Mendel Kupfer Md, Marci Ruediger Pt, Ms, Norah V. Dixon Ma

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Reliability Of Clinical Evaluators Of Spasticity In Patients With Stroke, Tiffany Alvino, Shiney David, Chelsea Gendvil

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Spasticity is characterized by hyperexcitable stretch reflexes with amplitude increases in response to velocity dependent passive movement and resistance. Spasticity is the result of abnormal function of segmental and suprasegmental neuronal circuits. The objective of this study was to determine any positive correlation between three clinical evaluators of spasticity (i.e., the pendulum test, the patellar tendon tap test (PTT), and the Modified Ashworth scale) in their reliability to assess spasticity in people post-stroke. It was hypothesized that the use of force movement sensors along with surface electromyography increases the reliability of the standardized clinical tests. The results show that all …

Do Running Kinematics Change On The Alter-G Treadmill? [2016], Brittany Lavaute

Master's Theses

The Alter-G lower body positive pressure treadmill, also known as the antigravity treadmill, provides a unique means of exercising for rehabilitation patients and low-impact training in athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction effect of four different treadmill weighted conditions and three different running velocities (2.68 m.s-1, 3.13 m.s-1, and 3.58 m.s-1) on the kinematic variables of step length, step rate, contact time, and flight time on the Alter-G treadmill (AG) and on the regular treadmill (TM). Fifteen participants completed two separate days of testing. All individuals ran at four different conditions (100%, 80%, 60%, and …

Recurring Ankle Injuries In Dancers, Alexis Jawny

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research, obtained from various Journals of Dance Medicine and Science, is to identify the cause of recurring ankle injuries in the dance community. Ankle injuries are the most common type of injury making up 50% of injuries in dancers. The main cause of recurring ankle injuries is improper diagnosing and then leading to the wrong treatment plan. The research focusses on how to prevent these improper diagnoses and what the dancer and specialty care professional (orthopedics, physical therapists, and rehabilitative medicine) can do to decrease the number of ankle injuries occurring and reoccurring in the dance …

A Pilot Investigation Of The Effect Of Postural Control Strategies And Balance In Children With Unilateral Lower-Limb Amputation, Mark Geil

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Physical Therapy Residency Programs, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Water First Aid Is Beneficial In Humans Post-Burn: Evidence From A Bi-National Cohort Study, Fiona M. Wood, Michael Phillips, Tom Jovic, John T. Cassidy, Peter Cameron, Dale Edgar, Steering Committe Of The Burn Registry Of Australia And New Zealand (Branz)

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: Reported first aid application, frequency and practices around the world vary greatly. Based primarily on animal and observational studies, first aid after a burn injury is considered to be integral in reducing scar and infection, and the need for surgery. The current recommendation for optimum first aid after burn is water cooling for 20 minutes within three hours. However, compliance with this guideline is reported as poor to moderate at best and evidence exists to suggest that overcooling can be detrimental. This prospective cohort study of a binational burn patient registry examined data collected between 2009 and 2012. The …

Using A Community Of Practice To Evaluate Falls Prevention Activity In A Residential Aged Care Organisation: A Clinical Audit, J Francis-Coad, C Etherton-Beer, C Bulsara, D Nobre, A Hill

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objective This study evaluates whether a community of practice (CoP) could conduct a falls prevention clinical audit and identify gaps in falls prevention practice requiring action.

Methods Cross-sectional falls prevention clinical audits were conducted in 13 residential aged care (RAC) sites of a not-for-profit organisation providing care to a total of 779 residents. The audits were led by an operationalised CoP assisted by site clinical staff. A CoP is a group of people with a shared interest who get together to innovate for change. The CoP was made up of self-nominated staff representing all RAC sites and comprised of staff …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …