ABSTRACT
Purpose: The present study aimed to determine the effect of dual-tasking on spatiotemporal characteristics in subjects with and without Anterior Cruciate Ligament Deficiency [ACLD] using linear dynamics
Methods: In this mixed model design study, spatiotemporal parameters were measured in 22 patients with ACLD [25.95 +/- 4.69 y] and 22 control subjects [24.32 +/- 3.37 y] while they were walking with different levels of gait velocity [high velocity, self-selected velocity, low velocity] in isolation or concurrently with auditory Stroop task. Coefficient of Variation [CV] was used to calculate variability of step length, step time and step width as dependent variables using custommade MATLAB code. Mixed model of analysis of variance and post hoc analyses were used for data analysis
Results: The results showed that interactions of group by gait velocity due to cognitive difficulty were not significant for all mentioned variables [P>0.05]. Group Interactions due to cognitive task difficulty were significant only in CV of step width [P=0.05]. Interactions of motor task difficulty by cognitive difficulty were significant for CV of step length, step time, and step width in all participants [P<0.05]. The main effects of gait velocity in all dependent variables were significant [P<0.05]
Conclusion: Results showed that step width variability is a more sensitive measure for detecting interaction of group due to cognitive task difficulty compared to variability of step length and step time. Future studies could test this hypothesis in ACL deficient subjects using different measures
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Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association of ultrasonography findings with pain, range of motion, disability, and pressure pain threshold in patients with upper trapezius myofascial pain syndrome
Methods: A total of 60 subjects with upper trapezius myofascial pain syndrome [mean age: 25.90 +/- 4.47 y; mean weight: 63.53 +/- 7.76 kg; mean height: 166.55 +/- 5.65 cm; and pain duration: 9.75 +/- 6.04 month] were selected with nonprobability convenient sampling method and examined. After methodological study, all participants were evaluated regarding their pain, cervical range of motion, functional disability, pressure pain threshold [PPT], maximum muscle and fascia thickness as well as strain ratio by the following instruments, respectively: visual analogue scale, goniometry, neck disability index, algometer, sonography, and sonoelastography
Results: The ICC values for intra- and inter-examiner reliability of variables were high to very high [0.72-0.96]. The correlation coefficients between pain [r=0.22], range of motion [r=0.11], disability [r=0.13], PPT [r=0.32], and maximum thickness of muscle were moderate. The correlation coefficients between pain [r=0.13], range of motion [r=0.23], disability [r=0.17], PPT [r=0.23] and maximum thickness of fascia were low. The correlation coefficients between pain [r=-0.65], range of motion [r=-0.23], disability [r=-0.41], PPT [r=0.71] were high. Values of betafor strain ratio and pain were -0.35 [P=0.01], range of motion, -0.14, [P=0.03]; disability, -0.19, [P=0.03]; and PPT, 0.41 [P<0.001]
Conclusion: Strain ratio of upper trapezius muscle in subjects with myofascial pain syndrome has strong correlation with pain, disability, and PPT. However, maximum muscle thickness and fascia of the upper trapezius are correlated with these variables poorly. PPT is the highly correlated factor with strain ratio
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Purpose: In approaching full trunk flexion [75%-80% of full flexion], myoelectric activity of lumbar erector spinae muscles is reduced or silenced; this response is known as flexion-relaxation phenomenon [FRP]. FRP is a shift in load sharing and spinal stabilization from active structures [erector spinae muscles] to passive ligamentous and articular structures. Static lumbar flexion under constant displacement or load, within the physiological range, elicits creep in lumbar viscoelastic tissues. During a short static lumbar flexion, significant changes are elicited in the muscular activity pattern of the FRP. Laxity in the passive tissues of the spine during prolonged spinal flexion disturbs the spinal stability. This study investigated the effects of Kinesio taping [KT] before and after periods of the static lumbar flexion on the timing of FRP for the erector spinae muscles
Methods: The research was conducted on 22 healthy female college students. The surface electromyographic silence and onset of the erector spinae muscle activities were measured in two states; before the static lumbar flexion and 10 minutes after the static lumbar flexion in two conditions [with and without KT]
Results: The results indicate that KT causes erector spinae muscles relaxation earlier in the flexion and later reactivated in the extension. In other words, KT increased flexion relaxation time in erector spinae muscles [P<0.05]. The results also indicate that 10 minutes static lumbar flexion will produce relaxation of the erector spinae muscles later during the forward bending activity and earlier reactivation during the extension [P<0.05]. Application of KT cannot compensate the effects of 10 minutes static flexion at the onset and the silence of flexion relaxation and over again creep causes FRP occurs later
Conclusion: According to the effects of KT before the creep in reducing the duration of the muscles activity, kinesio tape may be used in reducing muscle spasms and duration of erector spinae muscles activity. It may also improve FRP in the back and the people who are predisposed to the back pain and FRP has not seen in them. Therefore, the need for research on these subjects and other factors, such as the electrical activity of muscles is essential. Although the application of KT cannot substitute the effects of 10 minutes static flexion on the onset and the silence of flexion relaxation, it could be used for protection and reduction of using strained viscoelastic structures
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Objectives: To evaluate the reliability of head and trunk acceleration measured by MTx sensors during walking on Level and Irregular surfaces and to compare the differences between healthy young and old adults.
Methods: Participants were 20 young female university students and 20 non-faller elderly women in Iran, 2013. Two MTX sensors were used to measure head and trunk accelerations in the vertical [VT], anteriorposterior [AP], and medial-lateral [ML] directions while participants walked on a 7-meter walkway.
Results: ICC values in young group were higher as compared to non- faller elderly group; ICC was greater than 0.7 for 89.47% [34/38] of variables in young group and for 60.52% [23/38] in non- faller. Intersession reliability for upper trunk coordination indices in regular surface and in young group showed highest values as compared with other conditions in both groups, whereas the lowest intersession reliability was found in irregular floor surface indices in non-faller elderly group.
Discussion: The calculated ICC, SEM, CV%, MDC values suggest that the MTX sensors provide precise recordings and detect small changes in upper trunk accelerometric parameters. ICC values were influenced by the age and the floor condition. In healthy young, all ICC values in regular surface were higher than 0.7. Floor condition effect was noticeable in elderly especially in ML direction. During walking on irregular surface, ML acceleration, velocity and harmonic ratio in elderly showed lower repeatability.
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Lexical access is the process by which the basic conceptual, syntactical and morpho-phonological information of words are activated. Most studies of lexical access have focused on picture naming. There is hardly any previous research on other parameters of lexical access such as verbal fluency and analysis of connected speech in Persian normal participants. This study investigates the lexical access performance in normal speakers in different issues such as age, sex and education. The performance of 120 adult Persian speakers in three tasks including picture naming, verbal fluency and connected speech, was examined using "Persian Lexical Access Assessment Package". The performance of participants between two gender groups [male / female], three education groups [below 5 years / above 12 years / between 5 and 12 years] and three age groups [18 - 35 years / 36 - 55 years / 56 - 75 years] were compared. According to findings, picture naming increased with increasing education and decreased with increasing age. The performance of participants in phonological and semantic verbal fluency showed improvement with age and education. No significant difference was seen between males and females in verbal fluency task. In the analysis of connected speech there were no significant differences between different age and education groups and just mean length of utterance in males was significantly higher than females. The findings could be a primitive scale for comparison between normal subjects and patients in lexical access tasks, furthermore it could be a horizon for planning of treatment goals in patients with word finding problem according to age, gender and education
ABSTRACT
Knowledge about gender differences in intra-limb coordination during walking provides insight into the adaptability of central nervous system for controlling gait in older adults. We assessed the variability and phase dynamic of the intra-limb coordination in older men and women during walking. Twenty two older people, 11 female and 11 male, participated in this study. They were asked to perform walk on a treadmill at their preferred speed. Deviation phase and mean absolute relative phase values -indicators of variability and phase dynamic of intra-limb coordination, respectively- were calculated using the data collected by a motion capture system. We used independent sample t-test for statistical analysis. The results showed that women had a significant higher deviation phase in pelvis-thigh intersegmental relationships on both sides. Additionally, the mean absolute relative phase of left pelvis-thigh, thigh-shank and shank-foot were significantly different between men and women. While women showed a lower mean absolute relative phase in pelvis-thigh, men had a lower mean absolute relative phase in shank-thigh inter-segmental relationships. We suggest that gender could affect the intra-limb coordination variability and phase dynamic during walking in older people. This may be a reflection of the great adaptability of neuromuscular system to modify control strategies for walking in older women/ men
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The Percentage of vowel correct [PVC] is one of the indices in the development of articulation and phonological skills in children that can be measured with speech samples that could be extracted from the single word or connected speech tests. The aim of this study is to introduce the PVC scale in Persian speaking children and investigate its validity and reliability. This validation study was conducted on 387 monolingual Persian speaking children aged between 3-6, that were selected from 12 nurseries and kindergartens in north-western of Tehran. The instrument for measuring PVC was Phonological Picture naming Test which its Content Validity Ratio [CVR] was assessed by Speech Language Pathologists and linguists. The comparison PVC scores in with and without phonological disorders [using Independent t-tests] and the relationship of PVC scores with age [using Kruskal Wallis test] was used for determining construct validity of the scale. Test-retest and scoring rescoring were assessed, using Spearman's correlation coefficients, intra-class correlation coefficients [ICCs], standard errors of measurement [SEMs] and coefficients of variations [CVs]. Construct validity was confirmed with a significant difference between PVC scores of Children with and without phonological disorders [respectively: P<.001 and P<.05] and different age groups. Spearman's correlation coefficients, intra-class correlation coefficients [ICCs], standard errors of measurement [SEMs] and coefficients of variations [CVs] for test- retest respectively were [.65,.65,.48,.08] and for scoring-rescoring respectively were [.71,.69,.33,.08]. Results show that the PVC Scale is probably to be a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating articulation competence of Persian speaking children in clinical settings and research projects
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Altered movement strategy and postural control has been observed in Low Back Pain [LBP] patients. Objective of this study was to determine postural response following support surface translation, also correlations between postural response related measures and disability caused by LBP. 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients with recurrent non specific LBP participated in this study. They were instructed to stand on a moveable platform with each foot placed on a separate force plate. Platform was translated backward. Center of pressure [CoP] displacement data was derived and used for calculation of postural parameters. Reaction time, Latency, mean initial Velocity and peak displacement were used as measures of postural stability. Disability was assessed by the Oswestry Disability index [ODI] and Roland-Morris disability questionnaire [RMDQ]. Correlation between balance and disability measures were assesed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Subjects with LBP had delayed reaction time, prolonged Latency and slower velocity compared to healthy subjects. Also, correlation between CoP measurments and physical function were poor. This study reveald altered postural response against purturbation in patients with LBP and no association between CoP measures and disability
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aerobic exercise has been identified as the main treatment for type 2 diabetic patients. Such an exercise, however, is usually repined by some of patients who suffer from lack of stamina. Therefore, whole body vibration has recently been introduced as a passive intervention. The present study aimed at comparing how aerobic exercise and whole body vibration affect glycaemia control in type 2 diabetic males. Thirty diabetic males were divided into three groups, namely aerobic exercise [AE], whole body vibration [WBV], and control. Aerobic exercise schedule consisted of three walking sessions a week, each for 30-60 minutes and in 60-70% of maximum stock heartbeat. Vibration exercise was composed of 8-12-min stand-up and semi-squat positioning in frequency of 30 Hz and amplitude of 2 mm. Concentrations of fasting glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting glucose, and insulin were measured in the beginning of the trial, after the fourth week, and after the eighth week. After 8 weeks of exercise, no significant difference was detected in concentrations of fasting glycosylated hemoglobin and insulin between the groups [P=0.83, P=0.l2]. There were no significant differences in any of the variables between AE and WBV [p>0.05]. But a more significant decrease in fasting glucose was observed in exercise groups [AE and WBV] compared with control group [P=0.02]. The present study showed that AE and WBV identically stimulate metabolic system. Thus, it can be concluded that type 2 diabetic patients lacking stamina for aerobic exercise can opt for vibration exercise as an effective substitute
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Vibration , Blood Glucose , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/therapy , Glycated Hemoglobin , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Aging declines abilities and leads to increased risk offalling and subsequently poorer quality of life. The objective of this study was to identify a proper assessment for risk of falling among institutionalized elderly. In order to accomplish this aim, two functional assessment methods, Berg Scale and Tinetti Scale, were used and the validity indices of these methods were calculated. Prospective non-interventional methodological discriminative-validation study in order to make a comparative assessment of the discriminative validity of the two clinical assessment methods among the elderly people with/without history of falling. The frequency of falls within 6 months among institutionalized elderly individuals was prospectively studied. Finally, those having had two or more falls within 6 months were enrolled in the faller group and those having no falls within 6 months were enrolled in the non-faller group. Twenty-one women and 33 me [mean age: 75.79, standard deviation[SD]: 8.47, range: 61-98] independent in their daily activities and able to walk 10 meters using/without assistive devices volunteered to participate in the study with awareness. Background variables included age, gender, use/nonuse of assistive devices, height, weight, number ofthe drugs used, and number of the diseases; independent variable was history of falling; and dependent variables were the results of the two functional assessment methods. Independent T- test indicated a significant difference between the two groups of fallers and non-fallers in the mean scores on Berg Balance Scale [P=.0001] and Tinetti Scale[P=.0001]. The results of logistic regression test indicated much more discriminative validity for Berg Balance Scale test than Tinetti Scale test. Studying the validity of Berg Balance Scale assessment method showed that all validity indices should be regarded as bases for clinical decision
ABSTRACT
A cross-sectional non-experimental study.To collectively detect the reliability and feasibility of the five types of clinical tests that have been used to measure endurance of the trunk muscles in subjects with and without low back pain [LBP] and identify the sensitivity of each test to predict the probability of the occurrence of LBP.Testing spinal muscle endurance seems to be very important in prediction, prevention and rehabilitation of LBP. Several types of methods of static endurance testing such as: Sorensen test, prone isometric chest raise test, prone double straight-leg raise test, supine isometric chest raise test and supine double straight-leg raise test regarding their utilization have been reported in the literature. However, identification of the tests that have more dominant sensitivity on assessment of LBP has not yet been determined. Information regarding the sensitivity of each test is needed for effective prevention and appropriate treatment strategies.A total of 200 subjects participated in this study. Subjects were categorized into four groups: asymptomatic males [N= 50, mean age= 38+12 years], asymptomatic females [N= 50, mean age= 43+11 years], males with LBP [N= 50, mean age= 39+12 years], and females with LBP [N= 50, mean age= 43+12 years]. Five clinical tests were measured in each group and the relative association of each test on LBP was assessed.Among all the performed tests, the prone double straight-leg raise test had the highest association with LBP. Other tests such as the prone isometric chest raise test, Supine isometric chest raise test and Supine double straight-leg raise test had low association with LBP in comparison with the prone double straight-leg raise test.It seems that the prone double straight-leg raise test has more association with LBP than other tests and could be used as a useful method for testing spinal muscle endurance, prediction of the probability of the occurrence of LBP, and prevention and rehabilitation of LBP