Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus who underwent a physiotherapy rehabilitation programme, with the aim of informing and improving future physiotherapy rehabilitation interventions. Methodology: Design: A qualitative research design was adopted, using the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health as a guiding framework. Population: All adult HIV positive patients who were referred for physiotherapy rehabilitation at a public-funded South African hospital during the course of a five week clinical block. Sample: Fourteen participants were eligible for the study. Eight of these participants, who were able to attend the post-rehabilitation interview, were considered for final analysis in the study. Study setting: A public-funded hospital within the eThekwini district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Research procedure: All eligible participants were requested to complete a questionnaire, the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule, prior to commencing a physiotherapy rehabilitation programme. After the period of rehabilitation, participants were interviewed using 14 open-ended questions designed to explore their experiences of this programme. Results: The questionnaire data described the participants’ demographics and illustrated the varying cognitive and physical challenges faced by these eight individuals. Content analysis of the eight interviews revealed the following themes: the participants’ knowledge of their health conditions and their prescribed medication, the impact of their illness on their impairments, activities and participation in their daily lives, the context in which these factors exist, the participants’ experience of physiotherapy rehabilitation and the barriers they faced in accessing continued rehabilitation. Conclusion: While participants reported mostly positive experiences related to physiotherapy rehabilitation, they face a number of barriers that limit their access to continued rehabilitation. It is hoped that the results of this study will assist in informing the development of future physiotherapy interventions, which are better designed to suit the needs of PLHIV in a South African public health context. / Thesis (M.Physio.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.

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The normal motor development, according to the chronological age of the child, especially during the first years of their life, is one of the most important indicators, informing about the health of the child, which depends on their life conditions, routine, economic conditions of the family, nurture, psychological factors and active movement. Movement is one of the most important factors for development of the child motion and motor formation in pre-school age. The lack of investigation exploring the improvement of development of children motions and formation of posture and its relation with physiotherapy shows that these questions are still important. As well as there is no studies of evaluation of the posture f the pre-school children in Tauragė area. We designed a study and directed our investigation to the following research hypothesis: incorrect posture of the pre-school age children is related to disorders or delay of psychomotor development; early systematic physiotherapy session has a positive effect on correction of the incorrect posture. The following object of research was chosen: the posture of the pre-school age children. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of applied different physiotherapy methods and to find out the factors, influencing the formation of incorrect posture of children. The goals of the study: 1) to assess the posture of pre-school age children in the town of Tauragė; 2) to find out the meaning of peculiarities in the child’s... [to full text]

Kaklo ir viršutinės galūnės skausmai yra plačiai paplitę tarp biuro darbuotojų. Tai šiuolaikinių biurų darbuotojų problema: kasmet daugėja ��monių, kurie didelę darbo dienos dalį praleidžia prie kompiuterio, daugėja ir tų, kurie skundžiasi kaklo bei viršutinės galūnės ir galvos skausmais. Darbo tikslas. Nustatyti kineziterapijos poveikį, mažinant galvos, kaklo ir viršutinės galūnės skausmus biuro darbuotojams. Taikyti metodai. Pirminės darbuotojų apklausos metu buvo apklausti 68 darbuotojai, didžiąją dienos dalį dirbantys kompiuteriu. Buvo atrinkti 25 darbuotojai (moterys), kurie sutiko dalyvauti antrajame tyrimo etape. Beveik visi jautė galvos, kaklo, pečių lanko skausmus. Tiriamosioms (n=25) buvo taikomi KT pratimai, laikomasi ilgų bei trumpų poilsio pertraukėlių, paaiškintos pagrindinės taisyklingos sėdėsenos taisyklės. Po 12 savaičių buvo vykdomas antrasis tyrimo etapas. Jo metu buvo pakartotinai apklausiami darbuotojai ir atliekami judesių amplitudės matavimai, vertinama raumenų jėgos dinamika bei pusiausvyra. Anketa buvo paruošta remiantis modifikuota Aberdeen skausmo skale, Borg CR10 skale, Vernono kaklo negalios indekso skale. Rezultatai. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, jog iš (n=25) apklaustų darbuotojų prieš kineziterapiją skausmą jautė 92% tiriamųjų. Dažniausiai pasitaikantys buvo galvos, kaklo ir viršutinės žasto dalies skausmai. Po 12 savaičių KT taikymo, sėdėsenos korekcijos bei optimalaus darbo ir poilsio rėžimo laikymosi, pastebimas žymus galvos, kaklo ir rankos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Neck and upper limb pain is frequently reported by computer workers. It is becoming a common problem as more people are using computers and so more and more people are complaining of pain in the neck and upper limbs, and headaches. Aims: To identify the efficacy of physiotherapy in order to relieve headache, chronic neck and shoulder pain. This research programme was concerned with people that spend the largest part of their working day using computers. Methods: The present study was designed to quantify the typical level of pain, and then to test the efficacy of physiotherapy intervention. Sixty eight workers answered the questionnaire. Only twenty five computer workers were asked to partcipate in the study, all of whom had reported headaches and had frequent or long standing neck and upper limb symptoms. Participants were asked to fill out a modified questionnaire detailing their pain before the intervention and after. The range of various neck and arm movements of the participants were then measured using goniometry and the results recorded. The group was then taught various exercises and required to take regular breaks for 12 weeks. Results: The pain was found to have been effectively relieved. Physical exercise intervention resulted in a statistically significant (p<0,05) decrease in the intensity of headaches and neck pain (from 92% to 48%). The increase in the the range of mobility and static balanse signicantly improved (p<0,05). Conclusion: Although physiotherapy is... [to full text]

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The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a new computerized method of assessing balance and gaze control under a broad range of physical and visual conditions in people with vestibular hypofunction. Test retest reliability for balance performance as measured by COP excursion was good in all conditions with ICCs ranging from .64 to .90 in the AP and ML directions. Closed loop visual tracking as measured by COD had high reliability on the sponge and treadmill (ICC=.71-.75) as compared to open loop tracking (ICC=.325-.463) which was poor. Convergent validity showed poor correlation between clinical tests and the electronic balance and gaze assessments. Construct validity demonstrated that as physical and visual loads increased, balance performance decreased significantly on the sponge as measured by an increase in COP excursion and visual tracking performance decreased significantly on the treadmill as measured by a decrease in COD.

The management of flexor tendon injuries in the hand is complex and requires skill not only on the part of the surgeon but also the rehabilitation therapists and compliance on the part of the patient. Anecdotally it is clear that therapists (occupational therapists and physiotherapists) gain their skills and knowledge as practitioners through hands-on experience, since very little specialized training is available in the field of hand therapy. Therapists should equip themselves with the knowledge of the surgical management of the patient, since post-operative rehabilitation depends on it. Ideally the hand surgeons should advise the therapists or dictate the post-operative management based on the surgical technique performed. The actual practices, attitudes and experiences of South African therapists in the management of flexor tendons are not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the practices, attitudes and experiences of the public sector physiotherapists and occupational therapists in the postoperative rehabilitation of patients post repair of flexor tendons surgery in the hand. The first part of the study consisted of a cross sectional survey which explored the postoperative rehabilitation practices, attitudes, and experiences regarding flexor tendon rehabilitation. The second part which was a focus group discussion sought in depth information on the attitudes and experiences of the therapists. Sixty three therapists from different public hospital settings in two districts of KwaZulu-Natal completed a validated questionnaire. The therapists were accessed from randomly selected hospitals located in two conveniently selected health districts in KwaZulu- Natal. The findings suggest that the use of the Kleinert-type and immobilisation protocols is widely used. Overall there was no significant differences in the choice of rehabilitation protocol, but this differed by hospital setting. Therapists in the tertiary hospital preferred the Duran protocol (53.6%, p = 0.003). Regional hospitals utilized the immobilization protocol (74.1%, p=0.045) and district hospitals treated presenting postoperative symptoms mostly (20% p=0.75).There was no statistical (p=0.196) difference on the decision to initiate therapy amongst different hospital settings. Frequency of therapy visits varied, but was not statistically different (p=0.16) amongst different hospital settings. More respondents (29.2%) reported typically initiating active ROM exercises on the fourth post-operative week. There was a significant difference (p=0.002) in the initiation of active range of movement amongst different hospital settings. Approximately 37% of the respondents discontinue protective splinting at five weeks. There was a significant difference (p=0.004) by hospital setting regarding when the protective splinting should be discontinued. Initiation of resistance exercises varied between four and six weeks. Nearly half (49%) of the therapists reported that they are sometimes apprehensive about how to progress patients through rehabilitation. The focus group revealed that there is poor communication between therapists and surgeons, lack of protocol guidance, lack of knowledge of the flexor tendon protocols of the newly qualified therapists and doctors. During the focus group discussion therapist’s attitudes and experiences were revealed through the eight themes that emerged namely challenges experienced during flexor tendon (FT) rehabilitation, the patient's socio-economic background, patient’s home environment, compliance with flexor tendon rehabilitation protocol, multidisciplinary team approach, clinical experience, university undergraduate curriculum on flexor tendon rehabilitation, outcomes of flexor tendon postoperative rehabilitation. Conclusion. The rehabilitation protocols that are commonly used include the Kleinert -type and the immobilisation protocols. Duran type protocol was used less frequently, only when it was the best option for that particular patient according to the surgeon or the surgical management of that patient. The focus group discussion revealed that rural hospital therapists modify the protocols, due to lack of resources and the poor compliance of the patients. rehabilitation practices, flexor tendon experiences, hospital settings / Thesis (M.Physio.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2013.