Tyrimo objektas: lėtinio reumatoidinio artrito gydymas taikant šaltį (krioterapiją). Tyrimo problema: reumatoidinis artritas sukelia sąnarių skausmą, tuo pačiu mažindamas jų judesio amplitudę, pablogindamas žmogaus fizinę būklę. Skausmas, sąnarių sustingimas ir jų sumažėjusi judesio amplitudė priklauso nuo ligos progresavimo. Didžiausias dėmesys šiame darbe buvo skiriamas skausmo sumažėjimui ir judesio amplitudės padidėjimui po krioterapijos. Tyrimo hipotezė: šalčio (krioterapijos) taikymas du kartus savaitėje penkias savaites turėtų sumažinti reumatoidinio artrito sukeltą sąnarių sustingimą, padidinti judesio amplitudę ir sumažinti sąnarių skausmą. Tyrimo tikslas — nustatyti šalčio (krioterapijos) veiksmingumą sergant lėtiniu reumatoidiniu artritu. Tyrimo uždaviniai buvo: įvertinti tiriamųjų sąnarių skausmą prieš ir po krioterapijos taikymo. Įvertinti tiriamųjų judesio amplitudę prieš ir po krioterapijos taikymo. Įvertinti tiriamųjų sąnarių sustingimą prieš ir po krioterapijos taikymo. Įvertinti tiriamųjų sąnarių skausmą, judesio amplitudę ir sąnarių sustingimą priklausomai nuo krioterapijos procedūrų skaičiaus. Tyrime dalyvavo 40 tiriamųjų (30 moterų ir 10 vyrų). 14 tiriamųjų atliko 5 procedūras; 15 tiriamųjų atliko 10 procedūrų; 11 tiriamųjų atliko 7 krioterapijos procedūras. Tiriamųjų judesio amplitudė ir skausmas buvo įvertinti prieš ir po krioterapijos. Atlikus surinktų duomenų analizę padarytos šios išvados: 1. Tiriamųjų, sergančių reumatoidiniu artritu, sąnarių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Object: range of movement and pain in rheumatoid arthritis applying cryotherapy. Problem: rheumatoid arthritis induces joints’ pain, reduces range of movement, and makes human’s physical condition worse. Pain, joints’ stiffness and reduced range of movement depend on progression of disease. Serious consideration in this work was paid in reducing pain and stiffness and increasing range of movement after applying cryotherapy. Hypothesis: applying of cryotherapy should reduce joints’ stiffness which is caused by rheumatoid arthritis, increase range of movement and reduce pain. The aim of this study was to assess efficiency of cryotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis. The tasks: 1. To evaluate joints’ pain before and after applying cryotherapy; 2. To evaluate range of movement before and after cryotherapy; 3. To evaluate morning stiffness before and after cryotherapy; 4. To evaluate joints’ pain, range of movement and morning stiffness in relation to the number of applied cryotherapy procedures. Subjects: 40 patients (30 females and 10 males) took part in the research: 5 procedures were prescribed for 14 patients, 10 procedures of cryotherapy were prescribed for 15 patients and 7 procedures were prescribed for 11 patients. Range of movement, pain and morning stiffness were measured before and after applying cryotherapy. Statistical methods were used to analyze data. The main findings: 1. Pain of the joints before applying cryotherapy was evaluated as moderate, after applying... [to full text]

There are many situations where workers are required to wear personal protective clothing (PPC), to protect against a primary hazard, such as heat or chemicals. But the PPC can also create ergonomic problems and there are important side effects which typically increase with rising protection requirements. The most extensively studied side effect is that of increased heat strain due to reduced heat and vapour transfer from the skin. Less studied is the extra weight, bulk and stiffness of PPC garments which is likely to increase the energy requirements of the worker, reduce the range of movement and lead to impaired performance. Current heat and cold stress standards assume workers are wearing light, vapour permeable clothing. By failing to consider the metabolic effects of actual PPC garments, the standards will underestimate heat production and therefore current standards cannot be accurately applied to workers wearing PPC. Information on the effect of the clothing on the wearer and the interactions between PPC, wearer and environment is limited. Data was collected to quantify the effect of PPC on metabolic load based on the properties of the PPC for the EU THERMPROTECT project (GERD-CT-2002-00846). The main objective of the project was to provide data to allow heat and cold stress assessment standards to be updated so that they need no longer exclude specialised protective clothing. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect of PPC and its properties on energy consumption during work. For this purpose, the effects of a range of PPC garments (Chapter 3), weight (Chapter 4), number of layers and material friction (Chapter 5) and wet layers (Chapter 6) on energy consumption whilst walking, stepping and completing an obstacle course were studied. The impact of PPC on range of movement in the lower limbs was also investigated (Chapter 7). The main findings were; a) Increased metabolic cost of 2.4 - 20.9% when walking, stepping and completing an obstacle course in PPC compared to a control condition. b) An average metabolic rate increase of 2.7% per kg increase in clothing weight, with greater increases with clothing that is heavier on the limbs and in work requiring greater ranges of movement. c) 4.5 to 7.9% increase in metabolic cost of walking and completing an obstacle course wearing 4 layers compared to a single layer control condition of the same weight. d) Changes in range of movement in PPC due to individual behavioural adaptations. e) Garment torso bulk is the strongest correlate of an increased metabolic rate when working in PPC (r=0.828, p<0.001). f) Garment leg bulk (r=0.615), lower sleeve weight (r=0.655) and weight of the garment around the crotch (r=0.638) are also all positively correlated with an increased metabolic rate. Total clothing weight and clothing insulation had r values of 0.5 and 0.35 respectively. This thesis has confirmed the major effect of clothing on metabolic rate, and the importance of including this effect in standards and models.

Objective To investigate the effect a supination splint would have on upper limb function of cerebral palsy children for six months after receiving Botox® injections. Design Ten children attending weekly therapy enrolled in this prospective Quasi-experimental design where each child acted as his own control. Intervention was a supination splint and stretch massage. Assessment was based on pre- and post-intervention records of Modified Ashworth Scale, goniometry, Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST), and an independent panel assessment of videotaped records of hand function. Results Results show that spasticity declined in the forearm pronators, wrist flexors and thumb adductors. Active movement improved significantly in forearm supination and wrist extension. The QUEST demonstrated a significant change. Improvement in the hand function assessment was evident from the second month. Conclusion Findings support the premise that the supination splint is effective in improving upper limb function of cerebral palsy children after Botox® injections. / Dissertation (M (Occupational Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Occupational Therapy / M (Occupational Therapy) / unrestricted

Title: Effect of the range of the shoulder joint rotation in volleyball players on the development of functional changes. Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to confirm the presence of the glenohumeral internal rotation deficit in beach volleyball players and to determine whether it affects the development of functional changes of the shoulder joint located in the dominant upper limb. Methods: The thesis was a quantitative study with the character of an experiment. There were 60 active volleyball players aged 18-30 years who were deliberately selected for the purposes of the study. The essence was to ascertain whether GIRD affects the pain in the shoulder joint of volleyball players and whether it was deemed positive for all participants of the study. In order to examine the range of motion, the goniometer in the external and internal rotation according to Janda and Pavla, Janda and Sachse was used, as well as hypermobility tests and a shoulder joint pain questionnaire. The statistical data processing was performed by Microsoft Excel 2010. The sum and average functions were used. Subsequently, graphs and tables were created from the results Results: The established hypotheses were confirmed in two cases. GIRD is determined positive for beach volleyball players. From the results of hypermobility...