The Contribution of Light Touch Sensory Cues to Corrective Reactions During Treadmill Locomotion.
The contribution of light touch sensory cues to corrective reactions during treadmill locomotion.
Exp Brain Res. 2013 Mar 13;
Forero J, Misiaszek JE
The arms play an important role in balance regulation during walking. In general, perturbations delivered during walking trigger whole-body corrective responses. For instance, holding to stable handles can largely attenuate and even suppress responses in the leg muscles to perturbations during walking. Particular attention has been given to the influence of light touch on postural control. During standing, lightly touching a stable contact greatly reduces body sway and enhances corrective responses to postural perturbations, whereas light touch during walking allows subjects to continue to walk on a treadmill with the eyes closed. We hypothesized that in the absence of mechanical support from the arms, sensory cues from the hands would modulate responses in the legs to balance disturbing perturbations delivered at the torso during walking. To test this, subjects walked on a treadmill while periodically being pulled backwards at the waist while walking. The amplitude of the responses evoked in tibialis anterior to these perturbations was compared across 4 test conditions, in a 2 × 2 design. Subjects either (a) lightly touched or (b) did not touch a stable contact, while the eyes were (c) open or (d) closed. Allowing the subjects to touch a stable contact resulted in a reduction in the amount of fore-aft oscillation of the body on the treadmill, which was accompanied by a reduction in the ongoing electromyographic activity in both tibialis anterior and soleus during undisturbed walking. In contrast, the provision of touch resulted in an increase in the amplitude of the evoked responses in tibialis anterior to the backward perturbations that was more evident when subjects walked with the eyes closed. These results indicate that light touch provides a sensory cue that can be used to assist in stabilizing the body while walking. In addition, the sensory information provided by light touch contributes to the regulation of corrective reactions initiated by balance disturbances encountered during walking. HubMed – rehab
The search for guidelines in physical and rehabilitation medecine: ISPRM whistling from Southeast Asia.
J Rehabil Med. 2013 Mar 13;
Imamura M, Gonzalez-Suarez C, Rey-Matias R, Rafanan B, Ozçakar L
Abstract is missing (Letter). HubMed – rehab
Test-retest reliability of Motricity Index strength assessments for lower extremity in post stroke hemiparesis.
Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2012 Feb; 26(1): 27-30
Fayazi M, Dehkordi SN, Dadgoo M, Salehi M
The Motricity Index was used to measure strength in upper and lower extremities after stroke. The weighted score based on the ordinal 6 point scale of Medical Research Council was used to measure maximal isometric muscle strength. There is dearth of articles dealing with the reliability of this method. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the test retest reliability of Motricity Index strength assessments for paretic lower limb in 20 chronic stroke patients with one week interval.In a cross sectional study, intrarater reliability of lower extremity Motricity Index strength assessments with one week interval were measured.The SPSS 18 was used for analysis of data. Two-way random-consistency model of ICC was used for assessment of test-retest reliability. The ICC values showed high reliability of strength measurement of Motricity Index (ICC=0.93).The Motricity Index can be a reliable instrument for measuring the strength of involved lower extremity when assessment is done by one rater following chronic stroke. HubMed – rehab
Cognitive function and other risk factors for mild traumatic brain injury in young men: nationwide cohort study.
BMJ. 2013; 346: f723
Nordström A, Edin BB, Lindström S, Nordström P
OBJECTIVE: To investigate cognitive function and other risk factors for mild traumatic brain injury in young men. DESIGN: Nationwide prospective cohort study. SETTING: Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: 305?885 men conscripted for military service from 1989 to 1994. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: mild traumatic brain injuries in relation to cognitive function and other potential risk factors assessed at conscription and follow-up. RESULTS: Men with one mild traumatic brain injury within two years before (n=1988) or after cognitive testing (n=2214) had about 5.5% lower overall cognitive function scores than did men with no mild traumatic brain injury during follow up (P<0.001 for both). Moreover, men with at least two mild traumatic brain injuries after cognitive testing (n=795) had 15% lower overall cognitive function scores compared with those with no such injury (P<0.001). Independent strong risk factors (P<1×10-10) for at least one mild traumatic brain injury after cognitive testing (n=12?494 events) included low overall cognitive function, a previous mild traumatic brain injury, hospital admission for intoxications, and low education and socioeconomic status. In a sub-cohort of twin pairs in which one twin had a mild traumatic brain injury before cognitive testing (n=63), both twins had lower logical performance and technical performance compared with men in the total cohort with no mild traumatic brain injury (P<0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: Low cognitive function, intoxications, and factors related to low socioeconomic status were strong independent risk factors for mild traumatic brain injuries in men. The low cognitive function in twin pairs discordant for mild traumatic brain injury suggests a genetic component to the low cognitive function associated with such injuries. The study included only men, so inferences to women should be made with caution. HubMed – rehab