The Sock Test for evaluating activity limitation in patients with musculoskeletal pain.
(1/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Assessment within rehabilitation often must reflect patients' perceived functional problems and provide information on whether these problems are caused by impairments of the musculoskeletal system. Such capabilities were examined in a new functional test, the Sock Test, simulating the activity of putting on a sock. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Intertester reliability was examined in 21 patients. Concurrent validity, responsiveness, and predictive validity were examined in a sample of 337 patients and in subgroups of this sample. RESULTS: Intertester reliability was acceptable. Sock Test scores were related to concurrent reports of activity limitation in dressing activities. Scores also reflected questionnaire-derived reports of problems in a broad range of activities of daily living and pain and were responsive to change over time. Increases in age and body mass index increased the likelihood of Sock Test scores indicating activity limitation. Pretest scores were predictive of perceived difficulties in dressing activities after 1 year. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Sock Test scores reflect perceived activity limitations and restrictions of the musculoskeletal system. (+info)
Development of the physical therapy outpatient satisfaction survey (PTOPS).
(2/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purposes of this 3-phase study were (1) to identify the underlying components of outpatient satisfaction in physical therapy and (2) to develop a test that would yield reliable and valid measurements of these components. SUBJECTS: Three samples, consisting of 177, 257, and 173 outpatients from 21 facilities, were used in phases 1, 2, and 3, respectively. METHODS AND RESULTS: In phase 1, principal component analyses (PCAs), reliability checks, and correlations with social desirability scales were used to reduce a pool of 98 items to 32 items. These analyses identified a 5-component model of outpatient satisfaction in physical therapy. The phase 2 PCA, with a revised pool of 48 items, indicated that 4 components rather than 5 components represented the best model and resulted in the 34-item Physical Therapy Outpatient Satisfaction Survey (PTOPS). Factor analyses conducted with phase 2 and phase 3 data supported this conclusion and provided evidence for the internal validity of the PTOPS scores. The 4-component scales were labeled "Enhancers," "Detractors," "Location," and "Cost." Responses from subsamples of phase 3 subjects provided evidence for validity of scores in that the PTOPS components of "Enhancers," "Detractors," and "Cost" appeared to differentiate overtly satisfied patients from overtly dissatisfied patients. "Location" and "Enhancer" scores discriminated subjects with excellent attendance at scheduled physical therapy sessions from those with poor attendance. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: In this study, we identified components of outpatient satisfaction in physical therapy and used them to develop a test that would yield valid and reliable measurements of these components. (+info)
Osteopenia in the patient with cancer.
(3/2789)
Osteopenia is defined as a reduction in bone mass. It is commonly known to occur in elderly people or women who are postmenopausal due to hormonal imbalances. This condition, however, can result because of many other factors, such as poor nutrition, prolonged pharmacological intervention, disease, and decreased mobility. Because patients with cancer experience many of these factors, they are often predisposed to osteopenia. Currently, patients with cancer are living longer and leading more fulfilling lives after treatment. Therefore, it is imperative that therapists who are responsible for these patients understand the risk factors for osteopenia and their relevance to a patient with cancer. (+info)
Randomized, controlled trial to evaluate increased intensity of physiotherapy treatment of arm function after stroke.
(4/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Many patients have impaired arm function after stroke, for which they receive physiotherapy. The aim of the study was to determine whether increasing the amount of physiotherapy early after stroke improved the recovery of arm function and to compare the effects of this therapy when administered by a qualified therapist or a trained, supervised assistant. The physiotherapy followed a typical British approach, which is Bobath derived. Ten hours of additional therapy were given over a 5-week period. METHODS: The study design was a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial. Stroke patients were recruited from those admitted to the hospital in the 5 weeks after stroke. They were randomly allocated to routine physiotherapy, additional treatment by a qualified physiotherapist, or additional treatment by a physiotherapy assistant. Outcome was assessed after 5 weeks of treatment and at 3 and 6 months after stroke on measures of arm function and of independence in activities of daily living. RESULTS: There were 282 patients recruited to the study. The median initial Barthel score was 6.5, and the median age of the patients was 73 years. The median initial Rivermead Motor Assessment Arm score was 1. There were no significant differences between the groups at randomization or on any of the outcome measures. Only half of the patients allocated to the 2 additional-therapy groups completed the program. CONCLUSIONS: This increase in the amount of physiotherapy for arm impairment with a typical British approach given early after stroke did not significantly improve the recovery of arm function in the patients studied. A number of other studies of interventions aimed at rehabilitation of arm function have reported positive results. Such findings may have been due to the content of these interventions, to the greater intensity of the interventions, or to the selection of patients to whom the treatments were applied. (+info)
Effects of constraint-induced movement therapy on patients with chronic motor deficits after stroke: a replication.
(5/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CI therapy) has previously been shown to produce large improvements in actual amount of use of a more affected upper extremity in the "real-world" environment in patients with chronic stroke (ie, >1 year after the event). This work was carried out in an American laboratory. Our aim was to determine whether these results could be replicated in another laboratory located in Germany, operating within the context of a healthcare system in which administration of conventional types of physical therapy is generally more extensive than in the United States. METHODS: Fifteen chronic stroke patients were given CI therapy, involving restriction of movement of the intact upper extremity by placing it in a sling for 90% of waking hours for 12 days and training (by shaping) of the more affected extremity for 7 hours on the 8 weekdays during that period. RESULTS: Patients showed a significant and very large degree of improvement from before to after treatment on a laboratory motor test and on a test assessing amount of use of the affected extremity in activities of daily living in the life setting (effect sizes, 0.9 and 2.2, respectively), with no decrement in performance at 6-month follow-up. During a pretreatment control test-retest interval, there were no significant changes on these tests. CONCLUSIONS: Results replicate in Germany the findings with CI therapy in an American laboratory, suggesting that the intervention has general applicability. (+info)
Toward sensitive practice: issues for physical therapists working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
(6/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The high rates of prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in the United States and Canada suggest that physical therapists work, often unknowingly, with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The purposes of this qualitative study were to explore the reactions of adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse to physical therapy and to listen to their ideas about how practitioners could be more sensitive to their needs. The dynamics and long-term sequelae of childhood sexual abuse, as currently understood by mental health researchers and as described by the participants, are summarized to provide a context for the findings of this study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-seven female survivors (aged 19-62 years) participated in semistructured interviews in which they described their reactions to physical therapy. RESULTS: Survivors' reactions to physical therapy, termed "long-term sequelae of abuse that detract from feeling safe in physical therapy," are reported. Participant-identified suggestions that could contribute to the sense of safety are shared. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION: Although the physical therapist cannot change the survivor's history, an appreciation of issues associated with child sexual abuse theoretically can increase clinicians' understanding of survivors' reactions during treatment. We believe that attention by the physical therapist to the client's sense of safety throughout treatment can maximize the benefits of the physical therapy experience for the client who is a survivor. (+info)
The relationship between submaximal activity of the lumbar extensor muscles and lumbar posteroanterior stiffness.
(7/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Some patients with low back pain are thought to have increased lumbar posteroanterior (PA) stiffness. Increased activity of the lumbar extensors could contribute to this stiffness. This activity may be seen when a PA force is applied and is thought to represent much less force than occurs with a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). Although MVCs of the lumbar extensors are known to increase lumbar PA stiffness, the effect of small amounts of voluntary contraction is not known. In this study, the effect of varying amounts of voluntary isometric muscle activity of the lumbar extensors on lumbar PA stiffness was examined. SUBJECTS: Twenty subjects without low back pain, aged 26 to 45 years (X=34, SD=5.6), participated in the study. METHODS: Subjects were asked to perform an isometric MVC of their lumbar extensor muscles with their pelvis fixed by exerting a force against a steel plate located over their T4 spinous process. They were then asked to perform contractions generating force equivalent to 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, and 100% of that obtained with an MVC. Posteroanterior stiffness at L4 was measured during these contractions. RESULTS: A Friedman one-way analysis of variance for repeated measures demonstrated a difference in PA stiffness among all levels of muscle activity. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Voluntary contraction of the lumbar extensor muscles will result in an increase in lumbar PA stiffness even at low levels of activity. (+info)
Back care instructions in physical therapy: a trend analysis of individualized back care programs.
(8/2789)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The treatment of people with low back pain often includes giving a variety of instructions about back care. The objective of our study was to explore the content and sequence of these instructions. SUBJECTS: Our database contained information on 1,151 therapy sessions for 132 patients who were treated by 21 therapists. METHODS: Hierarchical linear modeling was used to establish trends in instructions during the course of treatment. Instructions were measured by means of a registration form. RESULTS: Pain management instructions were given at the start of treatment and then decreased in later sessions. Instructions about taking care of the back in daily activities followed the same course. Exercise instructions were introduced after the start of treatment and were spread evenly across the visits. The number of recommendations about general fitness decreased during treatment. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: The majority of back care instructions were spread evenly across therapy visits. Relatively little variation in instructions among patients was seen, which may indicate a lack of individualization of the back care programs. (+info)