Brain-Hand Function Relationships Based on Level of Grasp Function in Chronic Left-Hemisphere Stroke.

Background And Objective: The biomarkers of hand function may differ based on level of motor impairment after stroke. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between resting state functional connectivity (RsFC) and unimanual contralesional hand function after stroke and whether brain-behavior relationships differ based on level of grasp function.

Methods: Sixty-two individuals with chronic, left-hemisphere stroke were separated into three functional levels based on Box and Blocks Test performance with the contralesional hand: Low (moved 0 blocks), Moderate (moved >0% but <90% of blocks relative to the ipsilesional hand), and High (moved ≥90% of blocks relative to the ipsilesional hand).

Effect of positive social comparative feedback on the resting state connectivity of dopaminergic neural pathways: A preliminary investigation.

Positive social comparative feedback is hypothesized to generate a dopamine response in the brain, similar to reward, by enhancing expectancies to support motor skill learning. However, no studies have utilized neuroimaging to examine this hypothesized dopaminergic mechanism. Therefore, the aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the effect of positive social comparative feedback on dopaminergic neural pathways measured by resting state connectivity.

Key participant characteristics influencing completion of a phase II cardiac rehabilitation program: A cross-sectional analysis.

Study Objective: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are effective at reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors, yet programs in the United States (US) have poor participation and completion. The current study evaluates characteristics related to completion and drop-out for CR participants.

Design: A cross-sectional study design compared participants who completed the program (finishers) and those did not finish (non-finishers).

Factors Contributing to Physical Therapist Attrition: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Physical therapists (PTs) report job satisfaction when delivering autonomous, high-quality care, but they also experience work-related stress, burnout, and emotional exhaustion. Retaining experienced and skilled clinicians is important. However, a subset of PTs are choosing to voluntarily leave clinical practice (i.

A Scoping Review of the Predictive Qualities of Walking Speed in Older Adults.

Background And Purpose: Walking speed (WS) is an easily assessable and interpretable functional outcome measure with great utility for the physical therapist providing care to older adults. Since WS was proposed as the sixth vital sign, research into its interpretation and use has flourished. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify the current prognostic value of WS for the older adult.

Effects of positive social comparative feedback on motor sequence learning and performance expectancies.

Introduction: Positive social comparative feedback indicates to the learner that they are performing better than others. While this type feedback supports motor skill learning in some tasks, the effect of social comparative feedback on implicit motor sequence learning remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of positive social comparative feedback on the learning of and expectancies for a motor sequence task.

Effect of behavioural practice targeted at the motor action selection network after stroke.

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.

Measuring Gait Parameters from Structural Vibrations.

Measuring gait parameters (e.g. speed, cadence, step duration) accurately is invaluable for evaluation during treatment of older adults who struggle with disability onset, disease progression, balance, and injurious falls.

Cultural Adaptation of the Reducing Disability in Alzheimer's Disease (RDAD) Protocol for an Intervention to Reduce Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Thailand.

Background: The Reducing Disability in Alzheimer's Disease (RDAD) program is an evidence-based intervention found to be feasible for implementation in community settings in the United States, and effective in reducing depression, one of the major behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).

Objective: The goal of the study is to culturally adapt the RDAD for persons with dementia living in community settings of Thailand.

Methods: Key adaptation steps included: 1) assess the community, 2) understand/select the intervention, 3) consult with experts/stakeholders, 4) decide what needs to be adapted, 5) adapt the original program, 6) train staff, and 7) pilot test the adapted materials.

Active Participation of Care Partners in a Physical Activity Intervention Alongside People with Stroke: A Feasibility Study.

This study investigated the feasibility of a physical activity intervention for people with stroke and their care partners and the role social support plays in physical activity adherence. The study used a single-group, pretest-posttest design with follow-up. Participants were adults with chronic stroke and their care partners.

Normalized Isometric Shoulder Strength as a Predictor of Ball Velocity in Youth Baseball Players.

Background: Despite increased awareness of factors related to athletic performance and injury prevention, youth and adolescent baseball players continue to report injuries at alarming rates. Upper extremity muscle strength is an integral part of physical assessment and injury prevention in baseball players, however minimal data exists in youth populations. Changes in anthropometric measures, inherent in physically developing athletes, have been shown to impact strength measures, however normalization methodology is rarely reported.

Upper and Lower Limb Motor Function Correlates with Ipsilesional Corticospinal Tract and Red Nucleus Structural Integrity in Chronic Stroke: A Cross-Sectional, ROI-Based MRI Study.

Background: Structural integrity of the ipsilesional corticospinal tract (CST) is important for upper limb motor recovery after stroke. However, additional neuromechanisms associated with motor function poststroke are less well understood, especially regarding the lower limb.

Objective: To investigate the neural basis of upper/lower limb motor deficits poststroke by correlating measures of motor function with diffusion tensor imaging-derived indices of white matter integrity (fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD)) in primary and secondary motor tracts/structures.

Health Promotion and Wellness in Neurologic Physical Therapy: Strategies to Advance Practice.

Background And Purpose: Neurologic physical therapy (PT) can assist people with neurologic conditions and injuries to optimize their health and well-being by addressing barriers at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. The purpose of this special interest article is to provide consensus-driven strategies to address barriers to implementing health promotion and wellness (HPW)-related neurologic PT practice.

Summary Of Key Points: Environmental scan, literature review, and expert input were used to determine barriers and develop strategies.

We Don't Know Our Own Strength: A Survey of Strength Training Attitudes, Behaviors, and Knowledge in Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Students.

Objective: Strength training is frequently utilized by physical therapists; however, there has been discussion about whether physical therapists utilize strength training adequately. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the strength training attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge of physical therapists and physical therapy students and to determine how participant characteristics influenced knowledge scores.

Methods: An anonymous survey was created in 3 rounds.

Physical Activity in De Novo Parkinson Disease: Daily Step Recommendation and Effects of Treadmill Exercise on Physical Activity.

Objective: People with Parkinson disease (PD) have low physical activity (PA) levels and are at risk for cardiovascular events. The 3 purposes of this study were to determine a step threshold that corresponds to meeting aerobic PA guidelines, determine effects of treadmill exercise on PA, and quantify the relationship between changes in daily steps and fitness.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the Study in Parkinson's Disease of Exercise trial, which randomized participants to high-intensity treadmill exercise, moderate-intensity treadmill exercise, or usual care for 6 months.

Implementation Science in Thailand: Design and Methods of a Geriatric Mental Health Cluster-Randomized Trial.

Background: Thailand has a rapidly aging population yet lacks evidence for effective and scalable evidence-based psychosocial interventions to support persons living with dementia and their family caregivers. In this study of a culturally adapted and evidence-based clinical program (Reducing Disabilities in Alzheimer's Disease [RDAD]), designed to reduce behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in older adults, the authors test the hypothesis that an implementation support strategy, Getting To Outcomes (GTO), would produce better implementation and clinical outcomes compared with usual implementation of RDAD in Thailand.

Methods: The study uses a hybrid type III cluster-randomized design to compare eight geographical districts that receive training on both implementing the RDAD clinical intervention and on GTO implementation support strategies (intervention arm) with eight other districts that receive the same RDAD training but without training in GTO implementation support strategies (control arm).

Walking speed measurement technology: A review.

Purpose Of Review: This article presents an overview of the main technologies used to estimate gait parameters, focusing on walking speed (WS).

Recent Findings: New wearable and environmental technologies to estimate WS have been developed in the last five years. Wearable technologies refer to sensors attached to parts of the patient's body that capture the kinematics during walking.

Feasibility of integrating survivors of stroke into cardiac rehabilitation: A mixed methods pilot study.

Background: Survivors of stroke are often deconditioned and have limited opportunities for exercise post-rehabilitation. Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR), a structured exercise program offered post-cardiac event in the United States (U.S.

Predictors of Daily Steps at 1-Year Poststroke: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background And Purpose: Walking has the potential to improve endurance and community participation after stroke. Obtaining ≥6000 daily steps can decrease subsequent stroke risk. Early identification of those prone to low daily steps could facilitate interventions that lead to increased walking and improved health.

Integrating Survivors of Stroke Into Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Improves Endurance and Functional Strength.

Background Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a structured exercise program prevalent in the United States for people with cardiovascular disease that has been shown to increase cardiovascular endurance and improve quality of life. Despite similar cardiovascular risk factors, stroke is not among the covered diagnoses for CR. The purpose of this study was to examine the participant impact of integrating survivors of stroke into the exercise portion of an existing hospital-based CR program through measures of physical function and other health impacts and through qualitative evaluation of participant perception.

Demographic and Admission Predictors of Students with Perceived Difficulty in Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs.

Background: Admission committees have the difficult task of selecting candidates with the greatest likelihood of success for their programs and the profession. Because of limitations in defining the successful candidate, we attempted to predict who will become a "student with perceived difficulty" within a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) program using data available during the time of application.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 479 students from three entry-level DPT programs.

Targeted Engagement of the Action Selection Network during Task-Oriented Arm Training after Stroke.

Action selection (AS), or selection of an action from a set of alternatives, is an important movement preparation process that engages a frontal-parietal network. The addition of AS demands to arm training after stroke could be used to engage this motor planning process and the neural network that supports it. The purpose of this case series is to describe the feasibility and outcomes associated with task-oriented arm training aimed at engaging the AS behavioral process and the related neural network in three individuals with chronic stroke.

Yoga for everyone: a qualitative study of a community yoga class for people with disability.

: People with mobility impairments face increased barriers to physical activity. The study aimed to understand the lived experiences of individuals with disability who are regular participants in the Yoga for Everyone class to inform future research, intervention and community programs.: A phenomenological qualitative approach utilized semi-structured interviews and class observations.

Stepping After Stroke: Walking Characteristics in People With Chronic Stroke Differ on the Basis of Walking Speed, Walking Endurance, and Daily Steps.

Background: What contributes to free-living walking after stroke is poorly understood. Studying the characteristics of walking may provide further details that guide interventions.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine how the walking characteristics of bouts per day, median steps per bout, maximum steps per bout, and time spent walking differ in individuals with various walking speeds, walking endurance, and daily steps and to identify cutoffs for differentiating ambulators who were active versus inactive.

The six-minute walk test as a fall risk screening tool in community programs for persons with stroke: a cross-sectional analysis.

: Persons with stroke have increased risk for recurrent stroke. Group exercise programs like cardiac rehabilitation might reduce this risk. These programs commonly use the six-minute walk test to measure aerobic capacity.