Effectiveness of a Novel Implementation of the Otago Exercise Program in Rural Appalachia.

Background And Purpose: Despite evidence that falls can be prevented with specific exercise interventions such as the Otago Exercise Program (OEP), translation of these programs into practice is limited in rural and medically underserved areas. The Community Health and Mobility Partnership (CHAMP) addresses this problem through a community-based implementation of the OEP in rural Appalachia where medical resources are scarce. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the CHAMP on physical performance and balance confidence in community-dwelling older adults.

Characteristics Associated with Improved Physical Performance among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in a Community-Based Falls Prevention Program.

This was a retrospective analysis of quasi-longitudinal data from an ongoing, community-based falls prevention program. The purpose was to identify participant characteristics predicting improvement on physical performance measures associated with falls risk. Community-dwelling older adults ≥60 years old participated in a community-based implementation of the Otago Exercise Program (OEP).

Recovery of paretic lower extremity loading ability and physical function in the first six months after stroke.

Objectives: To evaluate poststroke recovery of paretic lower extremity loading, walking ability, and self-reported physical function; and to identify subject characteristics associated with recovery.

Design: Inception cohort study, with testing at monthly intervals from 1 to 6 months poststroke.

Setting: Medical center and research laboratory.

Comparison of gluteus medius muscle electromyographic activity during forward and lateral step-up exercises in older adults.

Background: Step-up exercises often are suggested for strengthening the hip abductor muscles and improving balance in older adults. Little is known, however, about whether the forward or lateral version of these exercises is best for activating the hip abductor muscles.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the electromyographic (EMG) amplitude of the gluteus medius (GM) muscles bilaterally during forward and lateral step-up exercises.

Step Test scores are related to measures of activity and participation in the first 6 months after stroke.

Background: The Step Test (ST) is a measure of dynamic standing balance and paretic-lower-extremity motor control in patients with stroke. Little is known about the extent to which impairments assessed by the ST relate to activity and participation during stroke recovery.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between ST scores and measures of activity and participation during the first 6 months after stroke.

Measurement of paretic-lower-extremity loading and weight transfer after stroke.

Background: Weight bearing through, or "loading" of, the paretic lower extremity and transfer of weight from one lower extremity to the other are important impairment-level goals of stroke rehabilitation. Improvements in these limb-loading and weight-transfer abilities have been shown to relate to improved performance of many functional activities. Unfortunately, valid and practical clinical measures of paretic-lower-extremity loading and weight transfer have not been identified.

Effects of different concurrent cognitive tasks on temporal-distance gait variables in children.

Purpose: The study was designed to investigate the influence of three different concurrent cognitive tasks on gait characteristics in five- to seven-year-old children.

Methods: Twenty-seven subjects, 16 boys and 11 girls, between the ages of 5.0 and 7.

Effects of a dynamic versus a static prone stander on bone mineral density and behavior in four children with severe cerebral palsy.

Purpose: In this case series, we examined how two types of prone stander affected bone mineral density and behavioral variables in four children of preschool age with severe cerebral palsy.

Methods: In phase one, four children of preschool age participated in an eight-week standing program, standing for 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Two children stood in a conventional stander, and two stood in a new type of motorized (dynamic) stander that provides intermittent weight bearing.

Effects of an increased number of practice trials on peabody developmental gross motor scale scores in children of preschool age with typical development.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of an increased number of practice trials on scores on the Gross Motor Scale of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) among preschoolers who are typically developing. Performance-based assessment tools such as the PDMS generally allow for limited practice.

Methods: Nineteen children between the ages of 48 and 68 months participated in the study.