Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Journal

Objective: 1) To examine the efficacy of segmentary relaxation (EMG Biofeedback + Stimulation) compared to conventional occupational Therapy in the Functional Recovery of Hemiplegics hand.2) To study in which stage of Brunnstrom , segmentary relaxation shows most significant results.Setting: The study was conducted in the Dept of Occupational Therapy, N.I.O.H, Kolkata. Design: Experimental group underwent 20 sessions (5 days a week) of Segmentary Relaxation along with Conventional Therapy whereas control group underwent only conventional therapy for the same no of sessions.Assessments: Upper limb disability was assessed with Action Research Arm Test.Brunnstrom Stage and Goniometric measurement of wrist extension was also recorded.Results: There was an improvement in the joint range of motion of wrist extension, 2% in control group and 40% in the experimental group. Within group results in the experimental group showed 13.6% improvement in stage 2 to 3 ,14.6% in stage 3to 4 and 40% in stage 4 to 5.The results for ARAT were not significant p=0.24.Chi suare test showed significant results for the treatment effect at p =.02.

Background: Neurodevelopmentaltherapy (NDT) refers to those activities that enable the child to practice the perfect skills. These types of exercises are used to improve movement and postural reactions; thereby it improves gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy. The specific objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of NDT in gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy.Methods: This study is a one group pre test post test design. 10 children with cerebral palsy were selected and assigned in one group. Pretest value of gross motor function was measured on first day of the NDT program. NDT was given three sessions a week, for three months. At the end of the NDT program, posttest gross motor function was measured.Major Findings: A mean improvement in gross motor function after NDT was 10.84 with SD of 6.84 and the t value of 5.012 was observed in this study. The obtained t value was significant at the level of p<0.001.

Background and Purpose of Study: Patients with Parkinson’s disease often need physiotherapy for the management of their gait and balance problems. Dual task performance compromises postural stability in Parkinson’s disease which can lead to falls and also deterioration in the performance of the simultaneous tasks, when the attention capacity resources are shared amongst different tasks. The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of performance of secondary motor task and secondary cognitive task on postural stability in persons with Parkinson’s disease using clinical steady standing tests, and to further clarify whether the type of task was a major determinant of the severity of dual task interference. Materials & Methods: It is a randomized experimental study with same subject design. 42 subjects were included in the study selected on the basis of inclusion & exclusion criteria. All the subjects were required to maintain 5 steady stance positions (feet apart, feet together, stride stance, tandem stance, single leg stance) without any secondary task and while doing a secondary motor task (thumb and finger opposition) and a secondary cognitive task (reciting the days of the week backwards) separately. Time spent in each of the positions was recorded using a stopwatch, the maximum time being 30 seconds.The general Linear Model Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the changes in the outcome variables under 3 different conditions. Results: The difference between the mean time duration during the performance of secondary motor task and secondary cognitive task was significant (at p < 0.05) in the feet together; stride stance, tandem stance and single leg stance position. This indicated that the performance of cognitive task was more detrimental to postural stability than the performance of motor task in the more difficult stance positions.Conclusion: The performance of even simple motor and cognitive task resulted in deterioration of postural stability in this study. The cognitive task was more demanding task for the subjects and hence resulted in greater dual task interference and postural instability.

Keywords: Dual task performance, Postural stability, Parkinson’s disease

Study design:experimental design Purpose: To investigate the effect of cryotherapy on knee joint position sense. Cryotherapy is commonly used before knee exercises to minimize inflammation & to allow individual to resume activity without pain. But whether it is safe for use before exercise needs to be evaluated. Setting: Rehabilitation department, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi. Subjects: 50 healthy subjects. Material: Continuous Passive Motion Machine, Aircast Autochill Cryocuff Unit, Air Splints, Handkerchief, Cotton Gauge, Weighing Machine, Stadiometer, Body marker. Methods: Two groups were formed, group 1 and 2. Baseline Joint Position Sense (JPS) score were measured at 3 predetermined angles ( 25º, 45º and 60º of knee flexion) using passive-passive technique, 2nd reading was taken immediately after 20 minutes of cryotherapy (experimental group - group 1 ) or no cryotherapy (control group - group 2) and 3rd reading was taken after 20 minutes of cryotherapy or no cryotherapy condition. Outcome Measure: Knee Joint Position Sense. Data Analysis: Statistical tests were performed using the STATA 7.0 and SPSS software. Paired t-test for within group comparison and unpaired t-test for between group comparisons was used. Result: Inaccuracy of JPS increased in all three angles after 20 minutes of cryotherapy (p < 0.05). But it did not come back to baseline JPS score even 20 minutes after completion of cryotherapy. Conclusion: 20 minutes of cryotherapy lessens the sensitivity for JPS. These findings may be significant and should be taken into account for therapeutic programmes that involve exercise immediately after a period of cooling.

Key Words: Joint Position Sense, Cryotherapy, Passive – Passive technique

Objective of the study:To observe the amount of weight carried by the Indian school children and also to identify the complications out of it. This study also focuses on to check whether there is any difference between the school children in the urban and rural area regarding the usage of backpack and its implications.Methodology: Total of 400 children (207 children from urban school and 193 from rural school) aged between 6 to 13 years from the class II to VIII were selected using stratified random sampling method. Self made questionnaires are filled, which had personal details, physical characteristics and mode of transport, carrying frequency and method of carrying. Results: The study shows that mean bag weight carried by the urban school children are 7.1 kg which is 17% of their body weight and rural school children are 3.2 kg which is 12% of their body weight. Among the urban school children ( n= 201) 62.3% of them are having pain due to backpack out of that 42.55% are having shoulder pain and 19.8 % have back pain. In comparison with rural school children it is only 17% of which 11.4% with shoulder pain and 6.2% with back pain.Conclusion: The backpack had its impact on the Indian school children, especially the urban school children are affected more when compared with the rural school children, it is mainly because of the syllabus pattern, and extra load in the from of lunch where the rural school children are provided with mid day meal. In addition to the extra load the urban school children have extra curricular activities. It is high time to make a safety guideline to avoid any complication out of backpack.