Physical therapy
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Screening should have simple and easy-to-administer methods that identify impairments associated with future fall risk, but there is a lack of literature supporting validation for their use. ⋯ Not all methods of evaluating balance impairment are associated with falls. The number of people identified as having balance impairment varies with the measurement tool; therefore, the measurement tools are not interchangeable or equivalent in defining an at-risk population. The thresholds established in this study indicate individuals who should receive further comprehensive fall assessment and treatment to prevent falls.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Interhemispheric modulation induced by cortical stimulation and motor training.
Interhemispheric inhibition might be a beneficial cortico-cortical interaction, but also might be maladaptive in people with neurological disorders. One recently revisited technique that has been shown to be effective in improving motor function in people with stroke using interhemispheric modulation is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). ⋯ The results indicate that tDCS enhances the effects of unilateral motor training and contralateral hand restraint on motor function, and this benefit is associated with a different mechanism of action characterized by bihemispheric modulation in which TCI from the dominant to the nondominant hemisphere is decreased. Transcranial direct current stimulation might be a useful tool to enhance the motor effects of constraint-induced movement therapy.
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Clinical course and outcome connected to rehabilitation after hip or knee arthroplasty have been studied extensively, but few studies have assessed the content of team rehabilitation care for these patients. ⋯ Current team rehabilitation care involves a traditional team with physical therapists, nurses, and physicians. Several types of treatment modalities are used, with greatest emphasis on physical training. This detailed description of current team rehabilitation practice might help clinicians and researchers in planning clinical trials within a rehabilitation setting, as well as in improving rehabilitation practice.
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Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been shown to be an effective surgical intervention for people with end-stage knee osteoarthritis. However, recovery of function is variable, and not all people have successful outcomes. ⋯ Rehabilitation regimens after TKA should include exercises to improve the strength of the nonoperated limb as well as to treat the deficits imposed by the surgery. Emphasis on treating age-related impairments and reducing body mass also might improve long-term outcomes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Motor control exercise for chronic low back pain: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.
The evidence that exercise intervention is effective for treatment of chronic low back pain comes from trials that are not placebo-controlled. ⋯ Motor control exercise produced short-term improvements in global impression of recovery and activity, but not pain, for people with chronic low back pain. Most of the effects observed in the short term were maintained at the 6- and 12-month follow-ups.