OBJECTIVE: We investigated the capacity of brain-injured patients to participate in an aerobic exercise programme early after injury. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of exercise achievements in patients participating in a randomized controlled trial. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Ninety patients participated in an exercise training programme on a cycle ergometer at four inpatient ...

A personal computer (PC)-based desktop virtual reality (VR) system was developed for rehabilitating hand function in stroke patients. The system uses two input devices, a CyberGlove and a Rutgers Master II-ND (RMII) force feedback glove, allowing user interaction with a virtual environment. This consists of four rehabilitation routines, each designed ...

A pilot's license to operate aircraft is not valid unless it is accompanied by a medical certificate. This certificate is revoked if a pilot is diagnosed with a cardiovascular illness. After a lengthy waiting period, the medical certificate may be reinstated if the pilot meets rigid standards. For many pilots, ...

As the population of elderly patients with cardiovascular disease continues to increase, much research needs to be done with the goal of maintaining physical functioning and personal independence in this population. It is of particular importance to determine whether training programs can improve physical functioning in the most severely disabled ...

STUDY/PRINCIPLES: Pulmonary rehabilitation programmes are often costly and dependent on the infrastructure of specialised centres. We developed a modular, outpatient-based rehabilitation programme, which is inexpensive and can be implemented in a variety of settings. The aim of this study was to determine the effects and feasibility of this programme. Thirteen ...

This framework for rehabilitation is consistent with the proximal-to-distal kinetic chain biomechanical model and applies current concepts of motor control and closed chain exercises. This framework approaches the final goal--glenohumeral motion and function-through facilitation by scapular control, and scapular control through facilitation by hip and trunk activation. This article supplies ...

This study examines which of three splint designs most effectively improved hand function in a patient with radial nerve palsy, and demonstrates the application of a single-subject experimental design. The static volar wrist cock-up splint (splint 1), dynamic tenodesis suspension splint (splint 2), and dorsal wrist cock-up with dynamic finger ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical management of recurrent shoulder instability in a professional hockey player by using chiropractic management and rehabilitation exercises. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 23-year-old professional hockey player with recurrent left shoulder pain and instability. He had two previous unsuccessful shoulder operations to correct the instability. He reported that ...

Endurance exercise training (EXT) is singly the most important aspect of rehabilitation for patients with chronic pulmonary disease. When effective, this modality of physical reconditioning leads to improved functional exercise capacity and reduced breathlessness. Early implementation is desirable to obtain more meaningful responses (e.g., when FEV1 falls below 50% of ...

This prospective study evaluated the effect of an individualized, comprehensive, home-based cardiac rehabilitation program combining exercise training with risk factor modification and psychosocial counseling on risk factors, psychological well-being, functional capacity, and work resumption in 99 post-percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) patients randomized to control (standard care plus telephone follow-up, n=49) ...

A new device for the assessment of instantaneous angular and linear accelerations of the head is presented, which is based on four linear tri-axial accelerometers suitably attached to the head by an helmet. A procedure for reproducible helmet placement and calibration is given. A method is also illustrated to work ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation exercise program on the motivation and lifestyle of persons recovering from a recent heart attack or cardiac-related procedures. DESIGN: The study design was a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental, nonrandom assignment. SETTING: The study was ...

A true paradigm shift or revolution of thinking is taking place in the field of neurology. Earlier, it was regarded as the science of exact diagnosis of incurable illnesses, according to the resigned dogma that damage to the central nervous system could not be repaired: "Once development is complete, the ...

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare differences in motor recovery between regular rehabilitation (REG), and regular rehabilitation with supported treadmill ambulation training (STAT) using the performance on a bicycle exercise test and the locomotor scale of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM-L). Twelve patients with acute strokes were ...

Exercise testing is useful in assessing physical fitness, determining functional capacity, diagnosing ischemic heart disease, defining the prognosis of ischemic heart disease, developing an exercise prescription, and guiding cardiac rehabilitation. This article outlines the current indications, contraindications, and special considerations for exercise testing. Specific protocols are discussed along with physician ...

Low back stability: from formal description to issues for performance and rehabilitation. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 26-31, 2001. The concept of stability, together with notions of design and the application of stabilization exercise, is briefly synthesized. The objective is to challenge muscle systems to achieve ...

The treatment of patients with cerebral palsy requires the coordination of orthopedic procedures and rehabilitation, using neurophysiological methods. One such method is hippotherapy, which involves the utilization of horseback riding to stimulate the patient's normal reactions. The goal of hippotherapy is to stimulate locomotion, improve the balance and coordination of ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dizziness and balance problems are two commonly reported symptoms of vestibular system disease, with subsequent alterations in lifestyle and reports of physical, functional and emotional handicap. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) was developed to improve the functional status of patients with vestibular dysfunction. The aim of the present ...

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is currently underused, even though exercise is one of the few nonsurgical interventions that can make heart disease patients feel better physically and mentally. Benefits include increased muscle strength, lowered heart rate, increased stroke volume, and increased submaximal and maximal working capacity. Patients in cardiac rehabilitation programs, ...

Renal replacement treatment options are life-saving treatments for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, prolonged survival in patients with ESRD is associated with various functional and morphological disorders from almost all systems. Anaemia, deconditioning, cardiac dysfunction. impairment of cardiac autonomic control and skeletal muscle weakness and fatigue, primarily because ...

PURPOSE: Despite the documented benefits of participating in rehabilitation programs, access to cardiac rehabilitation is limited for a large number of people with coronary artery disease (CAD). There is potential to increase participation in exercise training if home-based exercise were a viable option. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective database review ...

Neurorehabilitation is increasingly taking account of scientific findings. Research areas directing stroke rehabilitation are neurophysiology; adaptability to use and activity; biomechanics; skill learning; and exercise science (task, context specificity). Understanding impairments and adaptations enables a reappraisal of interventions-for example, changes in motor control resulting from impairments (decreased descending inputs, reduced ...

The objective of this study was to rehabilitate a patient with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) who underwent living-related orthotopic liver transplantation (LT). HPS is rare; it presents severe complication in patients with liver disease. A 17-year-old woman with HPS developed portal hypertension after undergoing Kasai's surgery for congenital biliary atresia and ...

An overview is given of the current status of cardiac rehabilitation and its effects on morbidity and mortality. While there is an emphasis in most current programs upon physical exercise as an important autonomous risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), there is at the same time a tendency in ...

To introduce an approach to shoulder rehabilitation that integrates the kinetic chain throughout the rehabilitation program while providing the theoretical rationale for this program. The focus of a typical rehabilitation program is to identify and treat the involved structures. However, in activities of sport and daily life, the body does ...

Knowledge of current surgical procedures and the effect they have on healing tissue is important when developing rehabilitation guidelines. Recently, clinicians have been asked to treat patients who have undergone Electrothermally-Assisted Capsulorrhaphy (ETAC) for shoulder instability. The ultimate tensile strength of the tightened capsule is unknown during various timeframes following ...

To describe the application of aquatic rehabilitative exercise to injuries of the upper extremity. Water has been used for centuries as a medium for rehabilitation, relaxation, and training. Athletes use the pool to rehabilitate specific injuries, as a training medium during injury recovery, and as an alternative training site. The ...

The role of rehabilitation in the management of vertigo is limited to a very specific group of conditions. An Occupational therapist who is a part of the multidisciplinary team treating the vertiginous patient, with the knowledge of physiology and therapeutic benefit of vestibular rehabilitation can widen the rehabilitation spectrum for ...

This a position paper of the Working Group on Electrocardiology, Exercise Testing and Cardiac rehabilitation of the Belgian Society of Cardiology (BSC), aimed at reassessing the value for the clinical practice of cardiology of some electrocardiological techniques such as vectorcardiography and Holter monitoring in the frame of what has been ...

BACKGROUND: Exercise rehabilitation is advocated to improve function in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) who have intermittent claudication. Patients with PAD often have comorbid medical problems that may interfere with their ability to safely participate in exercise rehabilitation programs. There is a paucity of information regarding the medical comorbidities ...

Whilst substantial advances in rehabilitation programmes for brain injured children have been made, there is still a fundamental need to improve understanding of the rehabilitation process and how this can be incorporated into practice. It is argued here that taking a neurological approach to improving cognition, mood and social functioning ...

Rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been shown to be an effective treatment and can be carried out in different settings, i.e. inpatient, outpatient or home-based. This review focuses on home-based rehabilitation and four important issues are discussed. 1) Which patients should received home-based rehabilitation? 2) ...

Our knowledge of muscle function in chronic neurological disorders, the effects of exercise, and how the effects might translate into improvements in activities of daily living is very limited. By building a bridge between basic muscle physiology and clinical rehabilitation, our knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying muscle dysfunction in ...

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of two flooring types--carpet and vinyl--in the bed areas, and two modes of physiotherapy--conventional therapy and additional leg strengthening exercises--in avoiding falls. DESIGN: Randomized 2 x 2 controlled trial. SETTING: Elderly care rehabilitation ward in a community hospital. SUBJECTS: Fifty-four consecutive patients referred for rehabilitation. OUTCOME MEASURES: The ...

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to compare the effectiveness of home-based, transtelephonically monitored cardiac rehabilitation with standard, on-site, supervised cardiac rehabilitation. BACKGROUND: Participation in cardiac rehabilitation has been demonstrated to increase exercise capacity, decrease cardiovascular symptoms, improve psychosocial status, and decrease total and cardiovascular mortality rates in patients ...

Exercise rehabilitation improves the clinical status in ischaemic heart disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of exercise rehabilitation on myocardial perfusion and sympathetic heart innervation. Sixteen patients with ischaemic heart disease and previous myocardial infarction were investigated by means of exercise/rest tetrofosmin and metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) ...

A PC-based orthopedic rehabilitation system was developed for use at home, while allowing remote monitoring from the clinic. The home rehabilitation station has a Pentium II PC with graphics accelerator, a Polhemus tracker, and a multipurpose haptic control interface. This novel interface is used to sample a patient's hand positions ...

This self-directed learning module briefly highlights the differential diagnosis for acute weakness in patients with acute respiratory failure requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. It is part of the chapter on neuromuscular rehabilitation and electrodiagnosis in the Self-Directed Physiatric Education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This article ...

Several studies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have shown that pulmonary rehabilitation, consisting of at least three training sessions a week, improves exercise performance and health status. This study investigates feasibility, effect and economic aspects of a rehabilitation programme consisting of two sessions a week for 8 weeks. Twenty-four ...

Exercise training for cardiac rehabilitation has evolved over the past decades in response to a growing knowledge base in exercise physiology, an expanding understanding to the knowledge base of coronary disease, and a change in the patients presenting for cardiac rehabilitation. The patient population has changed from a post myocardial ...

BACKGROUND: The burden of cardiovascular disease world-wide is one of great concern to patients and health care agencies alike. Circulatory diseases, including myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, kill more people than any other disease. Cardiac rehabilitation aims to restore patients who have suffered myocardial infarction to optimal health through exercise ...

BACKGROUND: The most common effect of postmyocardial infarction (post MI) rehabilitation is an increase of peak maximal oxygen consumption correlated with changes in calf muscle metabolism, but there are few data on follow-up after rehabilitation on skeletal muscle and maximal oxygen consumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate ...

Several uncontrolled studies report improvement in lung function, gas exchange, and exercise capacity after bilateral lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). We recruited 200 patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for a prospective randomized trial of pulmonary rehabilitation versus bilateral LVRS with stapling resection of 20 to 40% of ...

Quality of life and physical well-being are significant concerns in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The complications of ESRD combined with patient illness and inactivity result in deconditioning and disability. There has been a recent movement toward rehabilitation for these individuals in the past several years. The following information was presented ...

PURPOSE: Methods of determining muscle usage for exercises involving rotator cuff muscles are limited. Therefore, this investigation used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the effect of three different exercises used for rehabilitation of the rotator cuff. METHODS: Five normal volunteer subjects (3 men, 2 women, mean age 31.4 yr) ...

The quality of life and the exercise endurance of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are impaired. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of a 3-wk intensive inpatient rehabilitation program on the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to examine the ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of exercise and virtual reality (VR) on the cognitive rehabilitation of persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: Before-after trial assessed cognitive function after a 4-week intervention program. A random allocation crossover assessed changes in reaction and movement times after a single bout of VR ...

Depression is prevalent in women with coronary artery disease, and increases morbidity and mortality following major coronary events. We demonstrated that women with depression had markedly abnormal overall cardiovascular risk profiles and have marked benefits in exercise capacity, obesity indexes, behavioral characteristics (including depression), and quality of life following formal, ...

BACKGROUND: High waist-to-hip ratios (WHRs) predispose individuals to metabolic syndromes that may affect outcome responses to cardiac rehabilitation programs. METHODS: A total of 101 male patients who had undergone coronary artery revascularization surgery and completed 12 weeks of cardiac rehabilitation were divided into lower (LOWHR, n = 51) and higher ...

The purpose of this study was to critically appraise overviews of respiratory rehabilitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in order to verify to what extent they convey evidence-based information helpful in implementing new rehabilitation programmes. A Medline search (1985-September 1995) for overviews related to rehabilitation, exercise therapy, education and/or ...