Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effect of positioning on respiratory synchrony in non-ventilated pre-term infants.
Body position can play an important role in an infant's recovery from respiratory disease, but few studies have accounted for sleep state which is known to have a direct influence on the control of respiratory muscles as well as on metabolic and circulatory changes. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of body position on respiratory function in pre-term infants whilst accounting for sleep state. ⋯ Prone positioning of pre-term infants recovering from respiratory disease may improve respiratory function. As measured, the improvement in respiratory synchrony in prone position brings pre-term infants' breathing pattern into line with that expected in term infants.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effects of a three-month therapeutic exercise programme on flexibility in subjects with low back pain.
Spinal and muscle flexibility have been studied intensively and used clinically as outcome measurements in the rehabilitation of subjects with low back pain. The results of previous studies are contradictory and there is a lack of longitudinal data on the effects of long term therapeutic exercise on flexibility. ⋯ The findings suggest that flexibility does not play an important role in coping with chronic low back pain for subjects whose functional limitations are not severe. Also, it appears that the achieved gains in spinal and muscle flexibility may not be able to be maintained without continued exercise.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Is dosage of physiotherapy a critical factor in deciding patterns of recovery from stroke: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.
The best treatment and management of stroke patients has been shown to be in stroke units by multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams. Since the composition of stroke units differs it is important to know the extent to which the different components contribute to this results. Physiotherapy is one component of most rehabilitation teams and recent systematic reviews have shown that patients with stroke receiving more physiotherapy achieve more recovery from disability. However, information about the actual amounts of physiotherapy needed to achieve this result is not known. ⋯ These results suggest that doubling the physiotherapy time available for patients in a stroke unit will not provide a measurable benefit for all patients. The subgroup analysis of patterns of recovery must be regarded as speculative, but provides the basis for hypotheses about those likely to respond well to more intensive therapy.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Manual hyperinflation--effects on respiratory parameters.
Manual hyperinflation (MH) of the lungs is commonly used by physiotherapists in the treatment of intubated mechanically ventilated patients with the aim of increasing alveolar oxygenation, reversing atelectasis or mobilizing pulmonary secretions. However, the efficacy of MH, used in isolation, has not been clearly established. ⋯ MH performed in the stable ventilated patient significantly increased CL and PaO2:FIO2 and decreased (A-a)PO2, but the clinical significance of this improvement is unclear. Further investigations are required to validate the findings of this study as well as to determine the therapeutic value of MH on patient outcome.