A Visual Scan Analysis Protocol for Postural Assessment at School in Young Students.

The aim of this study was to compare the X-ray diagnosis with a non-invasive method for spine alignment assessment adopting a visual scan analysis with a plumb line and simetograph in middle-school students. The sample of this study was composed of 31 males and 50 females with an average age of 14.23 (± 3.11) years. The visual scan analysis was assessed at a school; whereas, the X-ray was performed in a hospital. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to assess the differences between methods and scoliosis classifications (non-accentuated <10º and scoliosis >10º), and the Kappa was used to assess the agreement between methods. The comparisons between the methods revealed non-significant differences (z = -0.577; p = 0.564), with almost perfect agreement between tests (K = 0.821; p < 0.001). Moreover, no statistical significance was observed between methods by the scoliosis classification (z = -1.000; p = 0.317), with almost perfect agreement between tests (K = 0.888; p < 0.001). This research supports the conclusion that there are no significant differences between the two methods. Therefore, it should be highlighted that this field test should be used by physical education teachers in their classes, or in a school context, in order to determine misalignments or scoliosis prevalence among middle-school students.

Equipamentos para estimulaçäo elétrica funcional / Equipament for functional electric stimulation

Objetivos: Avaliaçäo da técnica FES em pacientes com patologias neurológicas diversas, utilizando equipamentos desenvolvidos pela Engenharia Biomédica do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Os objetivos principais deste trabalho säo: reduçäo da espasticidade muscular, fortalecimento muscular e melhora no padräo de marcha. Material: FES-II portátil, 2 canais, Engenharia Biomédica - HCPA; FES-II clínico, 2 canais, Engenharia Biomédica - HCPA. Estes equipamentos FES possuem as seguintes características principais: Canais: 2 canais isolados; Amplitude da corrente de saída: 0 a 80 mA; Largura dos pulsos: 100 a 700µs; Freqüência dos pulsos: 10 a 60 Hz; Trem de pulsos (Tempos de ataque, sustentaçäo, descida e repouso): ajustáveis; Controle Automático e Manual; Marcha automaticamente assistida (utilizando duas palmilhas especialmente desenvolvidas). Métodos: Metodologia da Escola de Lubljana. Sessöes periódicas de 10 minutos cada, aplicadas a pacientes previamente selecionados. Os resultados foram avaliados pela análise dos padröes de marcha e o exame clínico dos músculos estimulados.