مجله پژوهش در علوم توانبخشی
سال پانزدهم شماره 6 (بهمن و اسفند 1398)

This study is a protocol of a double-blind randomized clinical trial with the aim of determining the effect of ankle KinesioTape® in addition to the routine physiotherapy approach on walking and balance of children with cerebral palsy (CP) suffering from spastic diplegia.

The present clinical trial was performed on 20 children who were randomly divided into the two groups of control and intervention. 4 weeks of routine physiotherapy program was carried out for all the participants in both groups. In the intervention group, the KinesioTape® was applied to the ankles of the patients for 4 weeks in addition to the routine treatment. After completing this course, a 6-week follow-up phase was conducted for both groups, in which both groups received routine physiotherapy treatment. The treatment program was repeated twice a week. The outcome measures included modified Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), and Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS). The normal distribution of the data was determined using the Shapiro-Wilks test. Paired-sample t-test and Wilcoxon nonparametric test were employed to analyze the data and check for changes before and after the treatment in each group. Additionally, the repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare between the two groups (P < 0.05).

KinesioTape® improves voluntary movement, coordination and balance, and functional independence in children with CP. According to the comprehensive search of literature, it seems that no study to date has examined the effect of ankle equinus corrective KinesioTaping® on walking and balance in children with spastic diplegia. The results of the study can be used to examine the effectiveness of the addition of ankle Kinesio Taping® to physiotherapy on the function and balance of these children.

Children with cochlear implants, due to previous hearing deprivation, have damages in the areas of neuropsychological skills, including their executive functions. Since the executive functions are linked with a range of skills such as speech, language, communication, and education, this research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of training neuropsychological skills on executive function problems in deaf students with cochlear implants.

This study was a single-subject research with A-B design. The study population consisted of all deaf children with cochlear implants at the age of 6 to 12 years in Isfahan City, Iran. Among them, 5 were selected using purposive sampling method. The research instrument was the Connors Neuropsychological Questioner. To analyze the obtained data, after drawing the diagrams, we used visual analyses, trending, and stability, as well as percentages of non-overlapping and overlapping data. 

The mean scores of 5 subjects decreased from 62.47, 58.12, 61.19, 61.46, and 59.61 at the baseline to 48.22, 51.21, 49.30, 49.74, and 50.94 at the end of intervention, respectively. According to the visual analyses of the data diagrams, the intervention was effective on the studied subjects. The percentage of non-overlapping data in the two baseline and intervention situations for the subjects was 90%, 70%, 90%, 100%, and 80%. This effectiveness was observable in the follow-up stage.

According to the results of this study, we can judge that training neuropsychological skills reduce executive function problems in deaf students with cochlear implans, and this approach can be used in the training and rehabilitation centers of children with cochlear implants.

Virtual reality (VR) games are among the rehabilitation strategies that, while effective, are attractive to the individual and facilitate and encourage proper movement. In this study, four VR games were designed and assessed to encourage the movements of the forearm and wrist complexs.

The games were designed using the leap motion device, a small non-tactile device with good spatial resolution. Cameras were responsible for detecting the depth and distance of the hand from the device, and the infrared sensors were responsible for detecting hand movements. In order to determine the level of attractiveness of the game for people with upper motor neuron disorders, three individuals aged 18 to 41 were randomly selected from among the people referred to the physiotherapy department of Al-Zahra Educational and Medical Center, Tehran, Iran.

The effectiveness of the games was confirmed by board members of department of physical therapy. Three games were applicable in the early stages of rehabilitation for all three participants. One game could not be used in the early stages of rehabilitation due to the complexity of the required movement.

The four designed games included the basic movements required for daily and self-care activities and seemed to appeal the younger users.

The recent human is on the cutting edge of Information and Communication Technologies, making lots of valuable data for their descendants. But the main issue is converting and maintaining the traditional and cultural data via stories, dances and activities from the ancestors to the descendants; negligence results in loss of cultural and location-based information.

 In this project, Perception Neuron device (a wearable system of nonoptoelectronics MoCap group) was utilized for capturing the data of the musical movements of the body. The captured data refers Azerbaijan, known as Azeri Dance in the world. Whole project contained three phases of possibility of identification, capturing and maintenance of musical movements on cultural-climatic backgrounds, endeavor at utilizing these musical movements of the body in creation of melodic and rhythmic patterns and the game side of project containing levels, game-based learning, player progress and skill comparison among players. The device was attached to the female performer with the body height of 165-170cm according to software’s default body size with fewer flaws in data. The captured data is musical movements of the famous folk tune called Terekeme (pronounces as /Tærækæmæ/).

The final product of the Musical Movements and Azeri dance, has been build and presented with in a 3D room in Unity game engine. The player could move around and get closer to the performers in order to watch the dance and musical movements from different angles along with hearing the real music (perfomer danced with) syncing with the movements.

This interdisciplinary research provided an interface for Azeri dance and rhythmic melodies using digital technology. The research can be extended to any culture from any part of the earth as well as for entertainment, medical, rehabilitation and educational purposes.

Computer games today have been widely used to improve cognitive performance. Selective attention is one of the cognitive skills whereby individuals can process certain events from among several driving factors and neglect others. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of computer game style on first-person shooting style on the level of selective attention (visual focus).

This study was a experimental study with experimental groups (n = 15) and control (n = 15). The game was designed in the style of a first person sniper controlled by the eye tracker as an input tool. Data analysis was performed using univariate covariance analysis.

There was no significant difference between the two groups before the study (P=0.502). After participating in the study, the visual concentration in the control group did not change significantly (P=0.001), meaning that the game scores improved after the intervention.

It seems that the first-person shooter computer game using an eye-tracking tool improves visual focus may be through a cognitive-rehabilitation process.

Camputer games are one of the attractive recreational activites for children that takes considerable amount of children’ free time.. These games affect children’ physical, mental and psychological health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the complications of addication to violent computer games in mental, behavioral and physical dimention in children aged 5 to7 in shiraz.

The study was an mixed method study that used natural observation methods, interventions in the form of a single subject study, and a qualitative analysis through semi-organized and telephone interviews with parents . Frist, a list of active game nets in Shiraz was prepared. The game nets where considered no age-restrictions for registered members and usual users were identified. Among them, one of was randomly selected by lot. The game net had 90 users, among which 38 were registered member Behavior and the reactions of five boys aged 5-7 was observed and recorded in 8 months after their parents signed a formal consent. Then some the alternative gaming program was given to the children for 8 months. At the end the parents were interviewed for the last time about their childrens’ behaviors.

in psychological dimention, computer games increased false excitement, anxiety, impulsive behaviors, fear of loneliness, nail biting, and decreased interest in doing homeworks. In behavioral dimention, the games resulted in aggressiveness,violent showups, immorality, and angriness. They physical induced vision problems, sedentaryness, and overweight.Using alternative games reduced childrens aggressive behaviors and improved adaptation with their playmates and siblings.

Reducing play time and replacing computer games with childrens favorite games (puzzle games, painting, coloring, and educational classes) may reduce the negative effects of computer games.

Pain and overuse injuries of the knee joint is prevalent among cyclists. The bicycle adjustment in accordance to the cyclist’s body mechanics is a common way to reduce the risk of overuse injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in bicycle pedal width on the segments and joints kinematics of lower extremity and its’ association with the risk of knee overuse injuries during pedaling.

10 professional cyclists of Shiraz city pedaled at 100% of maximum power output at four different pedal width (Q0: conventional pedal width, Q1: Q0+1cm, Q2: Q0+2cm and Q3: Q0+3cm). Angle of lower extremity segments and joints were recorded three dimensionally for thirty seconds during pedaling in each pedal width by myoMotion system. Minimum, maximum, and mean angles and range of motion variables of hip and ankle (sagittal plane), knee joint (sagittal and frontal plane) and thigh and shank angles in frontal plane were calculated. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test were used to identify significant changes.

The statistical results showed that changes in pedal width had significant effect of on minimum (P=0.035), maximum (P=0.042), and mean (P=0.02) of shank abduction/adduction and minimum (P=0.015), mean (P=0.022) and range of motion (P=0.018) of ankle plantar/dorsi flexion, while change in pedal width had no significant effect on other kinematics parameters.

The results indicate that pedal width of Q1 has the more potential to lower the risk of knee injury and provide increased efficiency whilst cycling; Still, the standard pedal width of road bikes (Q0) seemed not appropriate for professional Iranian cyclists since they increases the risk of knee joint overuse injuries.

Painful entrapment of subacromial structures versus the choraco-acromial arch is defined as subacromial impingement syndrome (SAIS). Many studies have been done on the use of low-level laser in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. However, as the results of the studies are controversial, this study reviewed the results of studies on the effect of low-level laser on the pain and function of patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.Materials and Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Elsevier, Science Direct, ProQuest, and Medline databases were searched to retrieve clinical trials in English language that were published during the years 2000-2019. The keywords were as shoulder, subacromial impingement syndrome, and low-level laser.

Using the keywords, initially 200 articles were obtained, out of which, 7 clinical trials in English language that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated.

Studies showed that low-level laser was an effective modality for reducing pain and improving the function in subjects with subacromial impingement syndrome.