The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an eight-week weight bearing exercise program coupled with whole body vibration (WBV) on gross motor function, functional mobility and spasticity in hemiplegic type cerebral palsied school going children. The experimental group was compared to a control group undergoing the same exercise program. The control group excluded WBV training. Fifteen children participated in the study nine females and six males. There were eight children with right hemiplegia and seven with left hemiplegia; all children had gross motor classification (GMFCS) of Level 1. Significant improvements were seen in both groups for gross motor function. There was no difference in the amount of change seen between the two groups. A decline was noticed in the functional mobility assessment. The findings of this study demonstrated that both the children in the control and the experimental groups showed significant improvements in the GMFM scores after a weight bearing exercise program. The children in the experimental group who received WBV while exercising showed significant improvement from baseline to completion of the study compared to the group that did weight bearing exercise alone; better carry over effect in this group from WBV. Time up and down stairs (TUDS) and modified ashworth scale (MAS) scores showed less convincing results and need further investigation. Further research is required to determine the most effective and efficient way of managing children with cerebral palsy in a resource poor area.

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Stress urinary incontinence is prevalent among women. Pelvic floor muscle exercise has been found to be an effective treatment for management of women with stress urinary incontinence. Women's non-adherence to pelvic floor muscle exercise has been the major obstacle for achieving desirable treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the severity of stress urinary incontinence, impact of incontinence, self-esteem, and intrinsic motivation among Chinese women with stress urinary incontinence and to examine the implications of these relationships on Chinese women's adherence to pelvic floor muscle exercise. / The model developed from the study explained that Chinese women's adherence to pelvic floor exercise is influenced by the interaction among contextual, intrinsic and extrinsic components. Throughout learning and practicing pelvic floor muscle exercise, women's level of motivation to learn and adhere to exercise can be increased or decreased as these components interacted with each other. Finally, the study also highlights implications for nursing practice including the importance of assessment of women with urinary incontinence, awareness of factors influencing adherence to the exercise, and promoting women's adherence to the exercise by fostering women's exercise competency and commitment to exercise and raising women's awareness of the benefits of exercise. / The phase two findings showed that women's perception of severity of incontinence was influenced by sociocultural factors, self-esteem, and level of knowledge. The findings also indicated that about one-third of women were reluctant to disclose their incontinence problems to their partner. This was partly due to their beliefs of linkage between incontinence and deterioration of sexual function, and their conservative view regarding incontinence as a private matter which should not be discussed with their partner. Furthermore, the findings indicated that women's competency, commitment, perceived benefits of pelvic floor muscle exercise and perceived support from family and health professionals were the factors influencing women's adherence to pelvic floor muscle exercise. Importantly, the study revealed that motivation is dynamic in nature from women's initial learning to maintenance of the exercise. Furthermore, motivation was influenced by beliefs in effectiveness of the exercise, perceived exercise benefits and severity of incontinence. / The study employed a mixed method approach using a quantitative design in phase one and a qualitative design in phase two. The results of phase one of the study showed that the majority of women had low level of severity and impact of incontinence; however, 70% of women had high level of motivation to engage in pelvic floor muscle exercise. The results also demonstrated that women's self-esteem was influenced by the severity of incontinence in terms of consumption of pads, as well as the impact of incontinence on different aspects of life being affected by stress urinary incontinence. In addition, those women who had a higher level of severity in terms of increased wetting in previous year and previous week, as well as increased numbers of activities being affected by incontinence were more likely to have a higher level of motivation to adhere to pelvic floor muscle exercise. Furthermore, women with higher levels of impact of incontinence in terms of being affected on sexual life also demonstrated to have a higher level of motivation to adhere to pelvic floor muscle exercise. / Siu Lai Sheung Katherine. / "August 2006." / Adviser: Sheila Twinn. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-03, Section: B, page: 1562. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 266-300). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

M.Tech. / OBJECTIVE: To determine the most effective treatment protocol in the treatment of Lower-Crossed Syndrome by comparing objective results gained from a Rehabilitation program (group one), Spinal Manipulative Therapy (group two) and a combination of these therapies (group three) directed at the sacroiliac joints and lumbar spine. DESIGN: The study was a clinical trial in which three experimental groups of sixteen participants each were compared to each other. These participants were recruited from the local general population and were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria, presenting with Lower-Crossed Syndrome and demonstrating unremarkable clinical and radiological findings. INTERVENTION AND DURATION: After randomisation, group one received a Rehabilitation program which consisted of a stretching and strengthening program only, group two received Spinal Manipulative Therapy only whereas group three received a combination of Spinal Manipulative Therapy and a Rehabilitation program. The frequency of the follow up consultations for this study was two consultations over the first two weeks of the trial and once a week for the following four weeks of the trial. MEASUREMENTS: Objective measurements included lumbar spine flexion and extension ranges of motion, hip flexor flexibility (hip extension), active and passive hamstring flexibility, gluteus maximus and abdominal strength tests and Sorenson’s Test (static back extensor strength test). Subjective measurements were the Oswestry Low Back Pain and Disability Index and McGill’s Questionnaire. Measurements were taken before (pre-) and after (post-) the first (initial), third, fifth and eighth (last) consultations. CONCLUSIONS: The aim of the study was to determine the most effective treatment protocol in the management of Lower Back Pain in athletes presenting with Lower-Crossed Syndrome. Although the combined group (group three) showed the greatest improvement these findings were statistically no greater than the statistical findings in group one and group two. All groups showed a statistically significant improvement over the trial period. This illustrates that both Spinal Manipulative Therapy and a Rehabilitation program (including stretching and strengthening) was effective in the management of Lower-Crossed Syndrome. From this study it can therefore be concluded that one treatment protocol did not prove to be more effective than that of the others.

The purpose of this manuscript style dissertation was to increase understanding of the experiences of counselor's with compassion fatigue as they participated in a yoga intervention. Compassion fatigue is a condition that creates both physical and psychological impairment as a result of working in the helping role. Yoga is an ancient body and mind practice that is thought to reduce various negative physical and psychological effects. In order to address how and why counselors with compassion fatigue were affected by a yoga intervention, research using an exploratory case study method was conducted. Four counselors were first interviewed for 45 minutes; next they participated in four 60 minute yoga classes, kept journals on their experience before and after each class, and finally participated in 60 minute focus groups. Five major themes emerged from the analysis of the qualitative data in response to the research question of how and why yoga impacted counselors with compassion fatigue: participating in both the intervention and the study, experiencing a change in how the counselors internally processed compassion fatigue, experiencing a reduction in compassion fatigue, experiencing a change in the counseling relationship, and experiencing a change in how they practice yoga. Counselor post-intervention scoring on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) suggests lower secondary traumatic stress and burnout, and increased compassion satisfaction. In-depth qualitative interviews with participants further substantiated these findings. Both the literature review and case study provide implications for future research in the areas of compassion fatigue, counselor wellness, yoga interventions, and self-care. / Graduation date: 2013

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri--Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-175). Also available on the Internet.

[Truncated abstract] Knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients have high levels of pain, functional and strength deficits of the quadriceps, decreased proprioceptive acuity, and increased co-contraction and knee joint loading in gait, compared to age matched controls. The increased knee joint loading in this population occurs most commonly in the medial tibio-femoral compartment, due to increased external adduction moments, and with increasing disease severity there is a concomitant increase in the knee adduction moments. A key finding within the knee OA literature is that dynamic loading in gait, due to increased external adduction moments, strongly predicts pain and radiographic disease progression. Current research has shown that exercise interventions reduce pain and time to complete functional activities; however, the effect of these interventions on knee joint loading and muscular activation in gait is still unclear. In addition, the need for specific knee joint strengthening to cause these alterations has not been investigated and it remains unknown if improvements occur due to specific muscle strengthening or due to some general effect of exercise. Therefore, the primary aim of this research study was to examine the effects of general (upper body) and specific (lower body) resistance training interventions on self-perceived outcomes, neuromuscular function and kinematic, kinetic and muscle activation during gait of OA patients compared with asymptomatic controls. ... The examination of gait data following exercise (Study 4) showed trends for changes in the muscle co-contraction ratios. Specifically, the medial/lateral co-contraction ratio (MLCCR) displayed a trend in early stance where the upper body exercise group increased their lateral muscle activity and the lower body group reduced their lateral muscle activity, and the medial/lateral hamstring co-contraction ratio (HAMCCR) displayed this same trend during loading. The trend toward reduced lateral muscle activation, following lower body resistance training, suggests that specific muscle strengthening may have the ability to alter the load distribution. The kinematic and kinetic variables of gait were unchanged by the exercise interventions, highlighting the sensitivity of muscle activation pattern changes due to muscle strengthening. This thesis provides new insights into the co-contraction strategies utilised by knee OA patients. The directed co-contraction strategy employed by knee OA patients and its relationship to the external adduction moment in gait suggest an attempt to redistribute the loading within the knee joint, most likely in response to pain. Further, we have separated the effects of exercise and found differences in self-perceived outcomes based on exercise specificity. This first examination into muscle co-contraction following resistance training of knee OA patients has highlighted the possibility of alterations to the co-contraction patterns following lower body exercise. However, the implications of altering this muscle activation strategy and the consequent effect on distribution of load within the knee joint requires further consideration.

Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.