Pilates Reformer exercises for fall risk reduction in older adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Pilates exercises using a Reformer on measures of fall risk, balance and mobility, self-efficacy, and active range of motion in adults age 65 and over at risk for falls compared to a control group.

Design: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Methods: Fifty-five subjects (27 Pilates intervention, 28 control; 38 females, 17 males; mean age 77.

Advancing Physical Therapy Practice through Curriculum Revision: The Malawi Experience.

Challenged health systems are a motivation for health education reform. Although resources-limited areas cover our planet, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest disease burden, yet the lowest health-care provider and medical school density of any region in the world. Malawi is among the most under-resourced countries in the world.

Pediatric physical therapists' use of support walkers for children with disabilities: a nationwide survey.

Purpose: This study investigated pediatric physical therapists' use of support walkers (SWs) for children with disabilities.

Methods: An 8-page survey was mailed to 2500 randomly selected members of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association. Respondents to the survey included 513 pediatric physical therapists who were users of SWs.

Lung volume reduction surgery and pulmonary rehabilitation improve exercise capacity and reduce dyspnea during functional activities in people with emphysema.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the therapeutic effects of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) and pulmonary rehabilitation on levels of dyspnea during functional activities in patients with diffuse emphysema.

Methods: Fifteen subjects who had undergone LVRS participated in this study. A visual analog scale (VAS) Activity Dyspnea Scales (VADS) measurement tool developed for this study was determined reliable in 10 subjects.

Improved health-related quality of life after lung volume reduction surgery and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Purpose: It has been hypothesized that lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) and pulmonary rehabilitation improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis by examining the long-term functional consequences and general health status of patients with emphysema who have undergone LVRS and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Methods: Forty-nine subjects with severe emphysema, aged 51 to 84 years old, post-LVRS and pulmonary rehabilitation participated in this study.

Multifactorial intervention with balance training as a core component among fall-prone older adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to measure the effectiveness of A Matter of Balance, a small-group based balance program, on muscle strength, gait, balance, and fall risk among older community-dwelling adults at risk for falls. A secondary aim was to measure the effects of the program on actual fall rates over the 3-month study.

Methods: Twenty-three older adults were randomly assigned to either an experimental group that participated in a 12-week small-group based balance program or a control group.

Effect of service-learning on knowledge about older people and faculty teaching evaluations in a physical therapy class.

The major purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge, misconceptions, and bias regarding aging among graduate physical therapy students and to determine whether service-learning modified any of these variables. A cohort of 40 students in a graduate physical therapy program was randomly divided into an experimental (service-learning) or control (no service-learning) group. General knowledge and attitudes about aging were measured by Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz I.