Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences and Research
Volume:6 Issue: 3, Sep 2019

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is defined as non-progressive brain damage attributed to limitation in mobility, learning, language, and communication. The high prevalence of low academic achievement in learning mathematics in CP cases is related, in part, to multifactorial influences; working memory may be one of the factors which can be related to arithmetic attainment. The purpose of this article was to review the relationship of working memory with mathematical performance in children with CP.

In this Review of literature article, Five English search engines (Pubmed, Scopus, Science direct, EMBASE, and Central) were used with key words, “cerebral palsy, arithmetic, mathematical performance, and working memory”. The inclusion criteria were English relevant articles in which participants had CP and both mathematical abilities and working memory were assessed.

A total of 103 articles were screened. Twenty-five potentially relevant titles or abstracts were identified. Based on inclusion criteria, only 7 articles were found.

Given the high risk of mathematical learning difficulties in children with CP, information about mathematical skills and the role of working memory on the different components of mathematical strategies is limited. Further research should be carried out to investigate this issue. The findings in this study showed the relationship between working memory and the difficulties with mathematical and numerical learning of CP cases.

The main objective of this study is to design and produce a twolink active knee orthosis with 2 degrees of freedom to rehabilitate patients’ lower extremities in moving their feet. This study aimed to provide motor independence in patients with cerebrospinal cord injury, quadriceps and knee joint injuries in athletes, and deviation of the quadriceps angle in the elderly.

The current research is an experimental method. We have tried, while eliminating a physiotherapist, to enable movement modification of organs that suffer from dynamics poverty and ensure an improved movement for injured organs. In order to reduce external fluctuations and turbulences and determine orthosis opening and closing angle, a DC motor with a helical gearbox and a PID controller was used. In addition, an Arduino microcontroller and a potentiometer were used for processing and angle determination, respectively, to provide minimum wiring and maximum accuracy and performance for the proposed orthosis.

In order to verify the mechanical parts of the proposed orthosis, three tests were performed with different angles without charging the orthosis.

Results showed that the proposed orthosis admissibly tracked intended angles and had a proper weight and volume to provide safety and comfort for the foot and knee joint.

Falls are a common complication post-stroke and often induce due to poor balance. Given that falls often occur during walking, it is possible that gait patterns influence balance during walking. Walking post-stroke is frequently spatiotemporally asymmetric, which may reduce walking balance. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between gait asymmetry and walking balance in persons with chronic stroke.

Fifty-four persons with chronic stroke (34 men and 20 women) with the mean age of 57.28 participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants walked at their self-selected speed to calculate gait asymmetry ratios for stance time, swing time, and step length. The data were collected using a conventional camera with a sampling frequency of 60 Hz. Reflective markers were attached to the heel and toe regions. Participants also performed walking balance tests including Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) and Mini Balance Evaluation System Test (Mini-BESTest). Pearson correlation test was used to determine the relationships between gait asymmetry and walking balance.

The mean±standard deviation values of stance, swing and step asymmetry ratios and FGA and Mini-BESTest were 1.2±0.11, 1.43±0.24, 1.25±0.15, 24.11±2.93 and 22.87±2.29, respectively. Increased FGA and MiniBESTest scores were related to decreased swing (r=-0.64, P≤0.001 and, r=-0.71, P≤0.0001, respectively) and step asymmetry (r=-0.41, P≤0.002 and, r=-0.51, P≤0.001, respectively). No significant relationship was identified between FGA, and Mini-BESTest and stance asymmetry (r=-0.25, P≤0.06 and r=-0.23, P≤0.08 respectively).

According to the current results spatiotemporal gait asymmetry may be related to decreased balance during walking in individuals with chronic stroke suggesting that rehabilitation interventions should focus specifically on ameliorating spatiotemporal gait asymmetry.

Individuals with vision loss are at an increased risk of falls. Understanding what factors contribute to postural instability within this population is a necessary step towards the development of training programs and rehabilitation targeted at reduction of falls in this population. The aim of this study was to assess the balance recovery during manipulation of somatosensory, vision, and vestibular system in healthy and blind persons.

This causal-comparative study, thirty healthy (28.18±0.47 years) and blind (29.22±0.24 years) subjects were selected as samples. Balance recovery strategies in various situations were recorded by six high-speed cameras after sudden movement of a treadmill. Independent T-test test was used for data analysis.

The results of this study indicated that the mean of hip and ankle swings in different conditions was significantly higher in the blind group than in the healthy group, both in the anterior-posterior and posterior-anterior disturbances. There was also a significant difference between the ratio of hip/ ankle ROM (the dominant strategy for balance recovery) in all situations (P<0.05).

The findings of this study revealed that both healthy and blind groups had different mechanisms and responses for balance recovery after anterior-posterior and posterior-anterior perturbation (the dominant strategy investigated in each position separately). Also, the results showed that blind individuals more resort to hip strategies to maintain their postural stability and prefer to rely on somatosensory information to restore balance as the dominant sensory system.

Impaired lower extremity kinematics has beenconsidered as a contributing factor to patellofemoral pain (PFP). However, current knowledge about the correlation between lower extremity kinematics and muscle strength is very limited. This study investigated the correlation between lower extremity kinematics and muscle strength, pain, physical activity level, as well as functional status in females with PFP.

Seventy-five females with PFP participated in this analytical crosssectional study. Lower extremity kinematics, maximal isometric strength of muscles, pain severity, physical activity level, as well as subjective and objective function were assessed using a motion analysis system, a dynamometer, Visual Analog Scale, the International Physical Activity questionnaire, and the Kujala questionnaire and the step-down test, respectively. The hip and knee kinematics were determined during the initial contact and the initial phase of landing. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to establish the correlation between the variables.

The knee rotation at the initial contact was significantly correlated with quadriceps strength (r=-0.240, P=0.038) and pain severity (r=0.268, P=0.020). Pain was significantly correlated with hamstring (r= -0.310, P=0.007) and quadriceps strength (r=-0.253, P=0.029) and the Kujala score (r=-0.346, P=0.002).

Our findings do not indicate a strong correlation between muscle strength and joint kinematics in females with PFP. An explanation is the presence of various subgroups of people with PFP. Future studies should focus on evaluating the correlation between the risk factors of PFP in subgroups, classified based on biomechanical, psychosocial, and anatomical characteristics.

Drug consumption and addiction lead to serious cardiovascular diseases as well as inflammation. Cellular adhesion molecules are glycoproteins that mediate a leukocyte reaction to inflammation. This study aims to determine the effect of aerobic exercises on some cardiovascular factors in addicts treated with methadone.

This is a semi-experimental research. To conduct this research, 30 male addicted patients treated with methadone with a mean age of 33.53±15.42 years, 70.06±15.42kg weight and 174.8±5.69cm were selected after medical screening and randomly divided into experimental (n=16) and control (n=16) groups. First, the height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of participants in both groups were measured. Blood samples were taken from the subjects in order to measure the intercellular adhesion molecules 1 (sICAM) and cellular vascular adhesion 1 (sVCAM) in serum. The experimental group had an aerobic exercise program including use of a treadmill with a 40 to 50% maximum heart rate in the beginning and then, a 70 to 80% maximum heart rate. The control group had only a follow-up. After 8 weeks, all variables were measured in both groups. Correlated t-test and independent t-test were used for intragroup and intergroup comparisons (P<0.05).

Results showed that after 8 weeks aerobic exercises, there was no significant difference in ICAM-1 (P=0.397), VCAM-1 (P=0.521), and BMI (P=0.223).

Although 8-weeks aerobic exercise was not effective and sufficient for BMI, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 indicators of the addicts treated with methadone, but it reduced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in the exercise group.

Addiction is one of the greatest problems of human societies, which not only causes social and behavioral disorders but also affects different aspects of health and imposes huge financial loss on individuals, families, and society. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of resistance training and mindfulness on the sexual function of addicted people.

The present study is an experimental research conducted using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. Participants of this study consisted of 50 married men aged 30-45; since their referral to addiction treatment centers in Shahrekord two weeks had passed. They were selected using convenience sampling method and matched based on the age range and history of addiction and divided into four groups of resistance training, mindfulness, combined (resistance training and mindfulness), and control. The resistance and combined training groups participated in resistance training for 8 weeks. The mindfulness and combined training groups participated in mindfulness therapy training for 8 weeks. During this period, the control group performed their daily activities. Before and after the intervention, data were collected using an erectile dysfunction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using covariance.

All three types of intervention, including resistance training (P≤0.001), mindfulness training (P≤0.006), and combined training (P≤0.001), lead to the improvement of sexual performance. Additionally, combined training was more effective compared to the other two methods (P≤0.001).

In order to improve the sexual performance of addicts, physical exercise and mindfulness training can be used. The simultaneous use of both methods has a greater influence on the improvement of sexual performance due to the addicts benefitting from the effects of two types of intervention.

Blindness is one of the most common and important groups of sensory disabilities with physical complications including kyphosis, forward head and round shoulder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a corrective exercise program on the upper crossed syndrome in a blind person. The patient was a 19-years-old blind congenital male. He referred for abnormalities of the upper quarter trunk. The corrective exercise program was performed for 12 weeks by maintaining a proper posture and sitting posture with the emphasis on the balance of muscles involved in the upper cross syndrome. After the training intervention, kyphosis improved from 45 to 41 degrees, round shoulder from 40 to 48 degrees and forward head from 57 to 40 degrees. Therefore, regular long-term corrective exercises by providing feedback to maintain the correct posture of the body can be improved, and prevent from common blinds deformities.