Physical therapy
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Falls are a common and disabling feature of Parkinson disease (PD). Early identification of patients at greatest risk of falling is a key goal of physical therapy assessment. The Timed "Up & Go" Test (TUG), a frequently used mobility assessment tool, has moderate sensitivity and specificity for identifying fall risk. ⋯ The addition of a cognitive task to the TUG enhanced the identification of fall risk in people with PD. The TUG-cognitive should be considered a component of a multifaceted fall risk assessment in people with PD.
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There remains a need for a quickly administered, stroke-specific, bedside measure of active wrist and finger movement for the expanding stroke population. The wrist stability and hand mobility scales of the upper extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (w/h UE FM) constitute a valid, reliable measure of paretic UE impairment in patients with active wrist and finger movement. ⋯ It appears that the w/h UE FM is a promising tool to measure distal upper extremity movement in patients with little active paretic wrist and finger movement. This finding widens the segment of patients on whom the w/h UE FM can be effectively used and addresses a gap, as commonly used measures necessitate active distal upper extremity movement.
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Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is often used for management of chronic pain. ⋯ The results revealed that TENS attenuates prolonged postoperative allodynia following SMIR surgery. Increased levels of spinal substance P and proinflammatory cytokines, activated after SMIR surgery, are important in the processing of persistent postsurgical allodynia. The protective effect of TENS may be related to the suppression of spinal substance P and proinflammatory cytokines in SMIR-operated rats.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effects of moderate- versus high-intensity exercise training on physical fitness and physical function in people with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial.
Exercise training is effective for improving physical fitness and physical function in people with type 2 diabetes. However, limited research has been conducted on the optimal exercise training intensity for this population. ⋯ Moderate- and high-intensity exercise training, as defined in this study, may lead to similar improvements in physical fitness and physical function in people with type 2 diabetes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of fear-avoidance beliefs on disability in patients with subacromial shoulder pain in primary care: a secondary analysis.
Little information exists about the role of fear-avoidance beliefs and catastrophizing in subacromial pain syndrome. ⋯ Fear-avoidance beliefs contribute significantly to baseline disability but not to disability change scores after 3-month follow-up. Duration of complaints and baseline disability were the main factors influencing disability change scores. Although the results help to improve understanding of the role of fear-avoidance beliefs, further studies are needed to fully understand the influence of psychological and clinical factors on the development of disability in patients with subacromial shoulder pain.