Group exercise for balance in people with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Background: High-quality evidence shows that exercise helps people with Parkinson's disease improve functional abilities including balance. However, few studies have investigated whether the setting and format through which balance-focused exercise programs are provided matters. This systematic review investigated group exercise compared to individual exercise, and to no-exercise control (CTL), on clinical measures of balance for people with Parkinson's disease.

Three-Dimensional Instrumented Gait Analysis for Children With Cerebral Palsy: An Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline.

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) who walk have complex gait patterns and deviations often requiring physical therapy (PT)/medical/surgical interventions. Walking in children with CP can be assessed with 3-dimensional instrumented gait analysis (3D-IGA) providing kinematics (joint angles), kinetics (joint moments/powers), and muscle activity.

Purpose: This clinical practice guideline provides PTs, physicians, and associated clinicians involved in the care of children with CP, with 7 action statements on when and how 3D-IGA can inform clinical assessments and potential interventions.

The Prevalence of Tibiofemoral Knee Osteoarthritis Following Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy Is Variably Reported in General, and Over Time: A Systematic Review With a Minimum of 5-Year Follow-Up.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of tibiofemoral (TF) osteoarthritis (OA) following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) with a minimum follow-up of 5 years, to explore the prevalence of symptomatic TF OA, and to identify potential risk factors for the development of TF OA following APM.

Methods: An electronic search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, Pedro, AMED, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov.

Instrumented Gait Analysis (IGA) for Management of Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Needs Assessment Survey.

Purpose: This needs assessment survey identifies the priorities of the clinical and research communities involved with the use of instrumented gait analysis (IGA) for a clinical practice guideline on IGA use with children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Thirteen Likert scale questions asked about the importance of topics related to IGA. Other questions addressed respondents' demographics, experience with IGA, patient populations, and gait laboratory characteristics.

Management of lumbar spinal stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of rehabilitation, surgical, injection, and medication interventions.

Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) has a substantial impact on mobility, autonomy, and quality of life. Previous reviews have demonstrated inconsistent results and/or have not delineated between specific nonsurgical interventions.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of interventions in the management of LSS.

Instrumented gait analysis for management of gait disorders in children with cerebral palsy: A scoping review.

Background: The use of Instrumented Gait Analysis (IGA) for the clinical management of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) has increased in recent years. Previous systematic reviews have been completed to evaluate and summarize the evidence related to the efficacy of IGA in general. However, a focused summary of research studies on IGA for children with CP related gait disorders is needed.

The Relationship Between Performance of Sit-To-Stand From a Chair and Getting Down and Up From the Floor in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Background And Purpose: The ability to perform sit-to-stand from a chair and getting down and up from the floor, or the ability to safely perform a floor transfer are important transitional activities for independent living. The sit-to-stand maneuver is frequently performed by community-dwelling older adults and is routinely evaluated as a part of geriatric physical therapy assessment. Conversely, a floor transfer is rarely performed by older adults or addressed by clinicians, even when working with frail patients who live alone and are at high risk for falls.

Thoracic spine manipulation for the management of mechanical neck pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the role of thoracic spine manipulation (TSM) on pain and disability in the management of mechanical neck pain (MNP).

Data Sources: Electronic databases PubMed, CINAHL, Pedro, Embase, AMED, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov were searched in January 2018.

What makes a group fitness program for people with Parkinson's disease endure? A mixed-methods study of multiple stakeholders.

Objective: Identify key features of an enduring group exercise program for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) by exploring experiences of participants, student assistants and the exercise instructor through a convergent mixed methods design.

Methods: Fourteen people with PD (modified Hoehn & Yahr: 1-3.5) who regularly participated in a group exercise program (≥ 50% of classes for ≥ 1 year) were interviewed to explore their perceptions of the program.

Parkinson's Disease: Exploring Motives for Long-Term Adherence to a Group Exercise Program.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore why people with Parkinson's disease maintained attendance at a community group exercise program.

Design: Qualitative design was used for this study.

Methods: A purposive sample was used to recruit participants.

Characteristics of Older Adults Who Are Unable to Perform a Floor Transfer: Considerations for Clinical Decision-Making.

Background And Purpose: The ability to get down to and up from the floor or to perform a floor transfer (FT) is a vital and useful skill for older adults at risk of falling. Little is known about the health-related factors that separate older adults who can perform FT independently from those who cannot. Therefore, the specific aims of this cross-sectional study are to (1) describe and compare health-related factors among older adults who were independent, assisted, or dependent in FT performance; and (2) establish the parallel reliability between self-reported and actual performance of FT.

Reliability and Validity of the Floor Transfer Test as a Measure of Readiness for Independent Living Among Older Adults.

Background And Purpose: The ability to get up from the floor after a fall is a basic skill required for functional independence. Consequently, the inability to safely get down to and up from the floor or to perform a floor transfer (FT) may indicate decreased mobility and/or increased frailty. A reliable and valid test of FT ability is a critical part of the clinical decision-making process.

Physical Functioning After 1, 3, and 5 Years of Exercise Among People With Parkinson's Disease: A Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background And Purpose: Regular physical activity is thought to be crucial to maintaining optimal physical function in people with Parkinson's disease (PWP), and it may have neuroprotective effects. As with many medical treatments, exercise is most effective when performed consistently over a period of years. The primary aim of this study was to examine multiyear adherence to a community-based group exercise program for PWP.

Effectiveness of yoga for hypertension: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives. To systematically review and meta-analyze the effectiveness of yoga for reducing blood pressure in adults with hypertension and to assess the modifying influences of type and length of yoga intervention and type of comparison group. Methods.

Long-term group exercise for people with Parkinson's disease: a feasibility study.

Background And Purpose: Aerobic and strengthening exercises have been shown to benefit people with Parkinson's disease (PD) on the basis of highly structured, short-term, clinical protocols. This study extended previous research by investigating feasibility of an ongoing, community-based, group exercise program for people with PD on the basis of short-term (10 weeks) and long-term (14 months) data.

Methods: Twenty people with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages I to III) participated in at least one of four 10-week sessions.

Overground gait training for individuals with chronic stroke: a Cochrane systematic review.

Background And Purpose: : Overground gait training-observation and cueing of patient's walking pattern along with related exercises-forms a major part of rehabilitation services for individuals with chronic stroke in almost every setting. This report of a Cochrane systematic review assessed the effects of overground gait training on walking ability for individuals with mobility deficits subsequent to chronic stroke.

Data Sources: : We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Science Citation Index Expanded, http://www.

Overground physical therapy gait training for chronic stroke patients with mobility deficits.

Background: Overground gait training forms a major part of physical therapy services for chronic stroke patients in almost every setting. Overground gait training refers to physical therapists' observation and cueing of the patient's walking pattern along with related exercises, but does not include high-technology aids such as functional electrical stimulation or body weight support.

Objectives: To assess the effects of overground physical therapy gait training on walking ability for chronic stroke patients with mobility deficits.

Community health education: reaching ethnically diverse elders.

To address disparities in access to health care information, we developed a model program of community-based, health education workshops to be delivered in English and Spanish to older urban adults from diverse ethnic, cultural, and language backgrounds. The workshops were created through an interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty from seven health care professions and focused on three healthcare topics identified in Healthy People 2010: dementia and depression, stress reduction, and physical activity. The development of workshop content and structure, including didactic and interactive components, an approach to interdisciplinary student involvement, and program evaluation by clients and community center staff, are presented as a model for other educators.

Two simple methods for improving the reliability of joint center locations.

OBJECTIVE: A clinically oriented technique is proposed for evaluating the reliability of methods for estimating joint center locations from surface markers, as is an optimization method for estimating joint center locations during planar movements. DESIGN: Segment length variability is used as a measure of reliability, and three simple methods for locating joint centers are compared via repeated measures analysis. Rigorous evaluation is achieved by applying adjustment parameters to a data set, other than the one from which parameters were derived.