Background: Limited research exists on the effects of both high and low frequency whole body vibration (WBV) on individuals with subacute lateral ankle sprains.
Hypothesis/purpose: To examine the difference in the effects of high and low frequency WBV on limits of stability (LOS) in adults with a subacute ankle sprain. It was hypothesized that WBV would improve effects on outcome variables for LOS as a component of dynamic balance.
Background: Despite the increased use of whole body vibration among athletes, there is limited literature on its acute effects within heterogeneous populations such as untrained adults or recreational athletes.
Hypothesis/purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of whole body vibration on vertical jump, power, balance, and agility for untrained males and females. It was hypothesized that there would be an effect on each outcome variable.
: To describe the use of sport simulation activities as a form of implicit motor learning training with a geriatric former athlete following a stroke.: An active 76-year-old former professional male softball player presented to outpatient physical therapy with medical history of right stroke with left hemiparesis 2 weeks following onset of symptoms of impaired balance, coordination, gait, and motor planning. Initial physical therapy included gait, balance, and coordination training.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Knee joint biomechanics requires an understanding of lower extremity (LE) segmental interactions. In some cases, knee pain may arise as a result of altered LE biomechanics; while in other cases, knee pain may stem from other causes, such as a peripheral nerve injury. : A 33-year-old woman presented via direct access for physical therapist (PT) examination with a chief complaint of left knee pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopment of professional behaviors in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students is an important part of professional education. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has developed the Professionalism in Physical Therapy Core Values Self-Assessment (PPTCV-SA) tool to increase awareness of personal values in practice. The PPTCV-SA has been used to measure growth in professionalism following a clinical or educational experience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sports Phys Ther
December 2017
Background: It is well known that eccentric and concentric exercise produce varied amounts of stress on the connective tissues. Diagnostic ultrasound has been used to measure these structural changes by observing fascicle length, angle, and thickness; however, there is a lack of evidence comparing the structural changes as it relates to eccentric, concentric, and stretching protocols.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of static stretching, eccentric, concentric, and a combination of eccentric/concentric exercises on structural changes of the muscle tendon unit at the inferior patellar pole utilizing the diagnostic ultrasound.
Background And Purpose: Screening for referral, regardless of setting, is the responsibility of all physical therapists. A serious condition that sports physical therapists may encounter is upper extremity (UE) deep venous thrombosis (DVT), which can result in the important and sometimes fatal complication of pulmonary embolism.
Case Description: A 22 year-old male right-hand dominant collegiate pitcher was referred for physical therapist evaluation and treatment secondary to acute right UE pain and swelling.
Background: Cervical spine manipulation (CSM) is a commonly utilized intervention, but its use remains controversial.
Purpose: To retrospectively analyze all available documented case reports in the literature describing patients who had experienced severe adverse events (AEs) after receiving CSM to determine if the CSM was used appropriately, and if these types of AEs could have been prevented using sound clinical reasoning on the part of the clinician.
Data Sources: PubMed and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health were systematically searched for case reports between 1950 and 2010 of AEs following CSM.
Physiother Theory Pract
August 2013
A frequently used technique to measure leg length (LL) is the supine tape measure method (TMM). However, radiographic imaging, more recently computed tomography (CT) scans, has been considered the most accurate. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the TMM for measuring LL compared to CT scans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: The potential adverse effects of static stretching on athletic performance are well documented, but still appears to be controversial, especially as they relates to sprinting. The prevalence of this practice is demonstrated by the number of competitive and recreational athletes who regularly engage in stretching immediately prior to sprinting with the mindset of optimizing their performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute static, dynamic, and ballistic stretching, and no stretching of the iliopsoas muscle on 40-yard sprint times in 18-37 year-old non-competitive, recreational runners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Barefoot running (BF) is gaining popularity in the running community. Biomechanical changes occur with BF, especially when initial contact changes from rearfoot strike (RFS) to forefoot strike (FFS). Changes in lumbar spine range of motion (ROM), particularly involving lumbar lordosis, have been associated with increased low back pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCritical thinking skills are increasingly necessary for success in professional health care careers. Changes in the contemporary healthcare system in the United States arguably make these critical thinking skills more important than they have ever been, as clinicians are required on a daily basis to evaluate multiple bits of information about patients with multiple-systemic health concerns and make appropriate treatment decisions based on this information. We believe the IJES, with its emphasis on engaging undergraduate and graduate students in research and scholarly activity, is a valuable resource for promoting the higher-order critical thinking skills necessary for preparing exercise science students with an interest in professional healthcare careers such as physical therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Orthop Sports Phys Ther
April 2010
Study Design: Case report.
Background: Lumbar spine nucleoplasty is a new surgical option for patients with disc pathology. There are no reports in the literature describing the role of physical therapy in postoperative lumbar nucleoplasty management.
Introduction: Body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) using high treatment frequency has been shown to improve gait after spinal cord injury (SCI). This case report describes the use of BWSTT at a very low treatment frequency.
Subject: The subject was a 19 y.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to revalidate the competencies that define the practice of sports physical therapy. Additionally, the study allowed for the comparison of responses of board certified specialists in sports physical therapy to respondents who were not specialists.
Methods: A survey instrument based the on American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties practice analysis template and The Guide to Physical Therapist Practice was developed by the Sports Specialty Council and a panel of subject matter experts in sports physical therapy.
J Am Acad Nurse Pract
February 2009
Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the impact of jazz dance class instruction on balance, cognition, and mood (specifically depression) in 13 healthy, community-dwelling, English-speaking older women with a mean age of 68.
Data Sources: Data were collected using self-report questionnaires (Folstein Mini Mental Status Examination [MMSE] and Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]), and the sensory organization test (SOT) for balance measurements (using the NeuroCom Smart Balance Master) was performed at three time periods in the study: time 1: between week 1 and week 2 of jazz class (baseline), time 2: between week 8 and week 9 of jazz class (midpoint), and time 3: after week 15 of jazz class (final measurement).
Conclusions: Differences in mean MMSE and GDS scores over time were not significant; however, SOT scores showed an increasing trend (p < .
The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the impact of a senior jazz dance class on static balance for healthy women over 50 years of age using the NeuroCom Smart Balance Master System (Balance Master). A total of 12 healthy women aged 54-88 years completed a 15-week jazz dance class which they attended 1 time per week for 90 min per class. Balance data were collected using the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) at baseline (pre), at 7 weeks (mid), and after 15 weeks (post).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreactivity stretching is commonly performed by athletes as part of their warm-up routine. However, the most recent literature questions the effectiveness of preactivity stretching. One limitation of this research is that the stretching duration is not realistic for most athletes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dynamic activity and dynamic activity/static stretching of the gastrocnemius muscle on vertical jump (VJ) performance. Additionally, muscle activity was recorded using electromyography. Thirteen healthy adults (7 men and 6 women) with a mean age of 26 +/- 4 years served as subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if workers' compensation (WC) and litigation status were associated with long-term functional limitation in patients with neck pain. Understanding what physical and psychologic variables are related to long-term functional limitation is an important aspect of clinical decision-making and understanding illness behavior in patients with neck pain.
Methods: Seventy-nine patients reporting neck pain participated in this study.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of static stretching of the gastrocnemius muscle on maximal vertical jump performance using electromyographic activity (EMG) of the gastrocnemius musculature to record muscle activation during vertical jump performance. Fourteen healthy adults (8 men and 6 women) aged 18-34 years, who were familiar with the vertical jumping task and had no lower extremity injuries or any bone or joint disorders within the past year, served as participants for this study. After a brief warm-up, participants performed the following sequence: (a) three baseline maximal vertical jump trials, (b) 15 minutes of quiet sitting and three 30-second bilateral static stretches of the gastrocnemius muscles, and (c) 3 maximal vertical jump trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of our study was to determine if any immediate changes in balance were discernable in college soccer players after a specially designed heading session. Eight male and two female skilled collegiate soccer players had a baseline balance pre-test using the Balance Master, followed by heading 20 balls kicked consecutively by a teammate from the touchline to a point near the goal, which was followed by a post-test using the same testing technique. Paired t-tests were used to compare balance ability between pre- and post-test conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this article is to describe the importance of motivation in enhancing the participation of obese children in exercise activities. Recognizing the different influence that are important determinants of exercise behavior in children may help pediatric nurse practitioners play a significant role in advising parents and others of the need to offer positive, constructive, and immediate feedback without being evaluative, critical, or demanding. By addressing the problems of obesity and low fitness levels early in the child's life, a significant step can be taken toward reversing the negative trends of this unhealthy and potentially dangerous condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough graduate physical therapy students are taught the principles of fitness for incorporation into their professional lives, they have difficulty finding the time to implement these principles during graduate school. The authors studied 3 successive classes of graduate physical therapy students at the beginning and ending of their respective programs. They found that the women's percentages of body fat were significantly greater over the period of the study.
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