Content - Volume 38, Issue 5

Objective: To investigate aspects of validity and stability of Performance Analysis of Driving Ability (P-Drive), for people with stroke when used in a driving simulator. Design: A cross-sectional observational study. Subjects: The study included a consecutive series of 101 participants with stroke referred for evaluation or selected from a stroke registry. Methods: P-Drive was used to observe dri ...

Objective: To assess the relationships between independence levels of single motor-related Functional Independence Measure (FIM™) items and summed FIM-motor scores of patients with hemiplegia after stroke. Design: For each patient FIM scores were assessed 4 times during hospitalization. Ordinal logistic analyses were performed on group data. Subjects: Fifty patients with hemiplegia after stroke ...

Objective: To assess the kinetic and kinematic characteristics of hemiplegic stroke patients' gait initiation patterns during the various gait initiation phases. Design and subjects: Gait initiation was studied in 3 hemiplegic subjects with a spastic equinus varus foot and 3 control subjects. Methods: Temporal and kinetic analysis of gait initiation was performed with 2 AMTI® force plates, and ki ...

Objective: A behavioural study was conducted to investigate how cerebellar dysfunction associated with multiple sclerosis affects the ability to learn a novel visuo-postural co-ordination task. Design: A prospective design, 2 group by 1 treatment (4 practice blocks). Subjects: Ten patients with multiple sclerosis diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia and 10 age-matched healthy controls. Methods: Partic ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on spasticity, muscle strength and motor performance after 8 weeks of whole-body vibration training compared with resistance training in adults with cerebral palsy. Methods: Fourteen persons with spastic diplegia (21–41 years) were randomized to intervention with either whole-body vibration training (n =7) or resistance training (n =7). ...

Objective: To assess the burden on family carers of persons with muscular dystrophy living in their homes and to determine factors contributing to carer burden. Methods: The study included 56 dyads of people with muscular dystrophy and their family carers. The variables for carer burden were compared by logistic regression in 2 carer groups (burden + /burden–). Results: The mean age of the p ...

Objective: To examine the association between socioeconomic position and coping strategies in musculoskeletal pain. Design and subjects: Cross-sectional study of a random sample of 40- and 50-year-old Danes, participation rate 69%, n =7125. The study included 1287 persons who reported functional limitations due to musculoskeletal pain. Methods: Data was collected by postal questionnaires and scale ...

Objective: Patients before orthotopic liver transplantation usually show a reduced physical performance status, which impacts on their daily life and social participation. This pilot study aimed to evaluate endurance capacity, muscle strength, and quality of life before and after orthotopic liver transplantation in patients in an Austrian transplantation centre. Subjects: Fifteen patients (male/fe ...

Objective: To assess the impact of post-polio-related fatigue on quality of life. Design: Cross-sectional case control study. Subjects: Patients without additional health problems that may induce fatigue were selected from among 82 polio survivors. Twenty-six patients with post-polio syndrome and 10 without post-polio syndrome were included. Control group consisted of 30 healthy volunteers. Method ...

Objective: To examine the concurrent validity of the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) by comparing actual participation in community activities by individuals with traumatic brain injury. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Subjects: A total of 148 community-dwelling patients in Japan with a medical diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. Methods: A postal questionnaire survey examined the relat ...