Physical therapy
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Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are at higher risk for developing Alzheimer disease. Physical performance decline on gait and mobility tasks in conjunction with executive dysfunction has implications for accelerated functional decline, disability, and institutionalization in sedentary older adults with aMCI. ⋯ Physical performance speed was associated with executive function after adjusting for age, sex, and age-related factors in sedentary older adults with aMCI. Further research is needed to determine mechanisms and early intervention strategies to slow functional decline.
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Physical therapists are uniquely positioned in health care to initiate or support smoking cessation (SC). Little is known, however, about their knowledge and views of SC as part of their practices. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess Canadian physical therapists' knowledge about the health effects of smoking, their views about addressing SC in practice, and their self-efficacy in enabling patients to quit smoking. Design This study was a cross-sectional survey. ⋯ Overall, the majority of physical therapists expressed the view that advising people who smoke to quit is a clinical responsibility and endorsed greater involvement of the profession in helping people who smoke quit. Discordance existed, however, between these views and the physical therapists' interest in receiving training on counseling about SC. This is a benchmark study that has practical implications for targeting training consistent with the profession's mission to improve health by increasing physical therapists' preparedness and self-efficacy regarding counseling about SC.
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The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) has been proposed as an outcome measure for people receiving pulmonary rehabilitation after an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical utility of the FIM after a weaning program in people for whom weaning from mechanical ventilation is difficult. Design This was a retrospective observational study. ⋯ The FIM can be used as a functional status outcome measure in people for whom weaning from mechanical ventilation is difficult.
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No appropriate measures have been specifically developed for pelvic girdle pain (PGP). There is a need for suitable outcome measures that are reliable and valid for people with PGP for use in research and clinical practice. ⋯ The PGQ is the first condition-specific measure developed for people with PGP. The PGQ had acceptably high reliability and validity in people with PGP both during pregnancy and postpartum, it is simple to administer, and it is feasible for use in clinical practice.
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It is unclear which individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury best respond to body-weight-supported treadmill training. ⋯ The results suggest that preserved muscle strength in the legs after incomplete spinal cord injury, as measured by MMT, allows for improvements in walking speed induced by locomotor training.