Journal of Research in Rehabilitation Sciences
Year:2019 | Volume:15 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Introduction: Uncontrolled movement has a significant impact on the development of movement disorders and pain. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of neck movement pattern modifications on pain and function in women with nonspecific chronic neck pain. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, women (36. 5 ± 5. 7 years) with nonspecific chronic neck pain were randomly assigned in the experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. Pain and function of the participants were measured before and after the intervention, using visual analog scale (VAS) and Progressive Isoinertial Lifting Evaluation, respectively. The repeated measure analysis of variance and paired t tests were used for data analysis. Results: The neck movement pattern modifications had significant effects on pain (P = 0. 001) and function (P = 0. 004) in the experimental group. Conclusion: Due to the high reported effect size for neck movement pattern modifications, it is suggested to be used as a supplementary method in improvement of pain and function in women with nonspecific chronic neck pain.

Introduction: The relationship between oral health care providers and the service customers has been noticed seriously by dental education system. The aim in this study is to study and compare the rate of empathy of dentists and dental students with addicted subjects in Isfahan, Iran, in 2018. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the study population consisted of dental students of Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, and dentists working at dental clinics of Isfahan. In total, 100 participants from each group entered the study by the convenience sampling method. A two-part questionnaire including demographic information and Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was filled out by the volunteers. The chi-square test, Fisher’ s exact test, independent t-test, Pearson’ s correlation coefficient, and a linear regression model were employed for statistical analysis of the data. Results: The rate of empathy with the addicted subjects was significantly higher among the dentists (62. 01 ± 4. 06) in comparison to the dental students (59. 05 ± 4. 48) (P < 0. 001). The mean score of empathy was not significantly different between men and women or between single and married dentists and dental students (P > 0. 050). A direct but poor association was revealed between the age of dental students and their empathy with the addicted subjects (r = 0. 271; P ≤ 0. 050), but among the dentists, age was not associated with empathy (P = 0. 780). Based on the linear regression model, the rate of empathy of the dentists with the addicted subjects was significantly higher than that of the dental students (P < 0. 001). No significant association existed between the empathy rate and demographic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, and job experience (P > 0. 050). Conclusion: Although the rate of empathy with the addicted subjects was significantly higher among the dentists compared to the dental students, both groups revealed a moderate level of empathy. Thus, dental education program planners should introduce such educational programs into the dental curricula to increase the empathy with drug addicted individuals.

Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurobiological condition affecting school-age children. One of the main symptoms is short attention span, which is a key factor of poor academic performance, especially in tasks requiring long-term concentration. Children with ADHD often jump from task to task without finishing any of them. They feel trapped by any task that takes longer than the time they are able to stay focused. Improving this skill usually requires breaking tasks into smaller segments while working to increase the child’ s attention span. The goal of this research was design and validation of a software package based on eye-tracker to improve attention in children with ADHD. Materials and Methods: The population of this validation study consists of psychologists, who are expert in the field of learning and cognitive deficits in children and teenagers, as well as educational technologies; among them, ten people were selected on purpose. The tools used in this research included a video game developed in Unity, and Tobii Eye Tracker 4C. For content validation, a questionnaire was prepared by the technical team, and filled by psychologists. Software validity was calculated using the Kappa coefficient. Results: After applying requested revisions, the Kappa coefficient was calculated as 93. 4. Conclusion: The software seems to have appropriate content validity, and may be advised to be used to improve attention in children with ADHD.

Introduction: Nowadays, computer games play an important role on the cognitive and behavioral health of the community. The purpose of this study is to investigate the short-term effects of Flow Free® on the neurologic characteristics of the players of these games. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 healthy male students aged 20 years and above were randomly divided into the control and experimental groups. All tests were performed before and after the game in experimental group. The tests were performed only once in the control group without participating in the game following watching the game. Saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol and alpha amylase levels. Cognitive tests and electro-encephalography were performed. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: There was no significant difference between the groups in demographic characteristics and pre-intervention measures (the same as the experimental group participants without playing the game). The post-tests showed no significant change in the control group. In the experimental group, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) results indicated a significant increase in mental health (P ≤ 0. 037) and sustained attention (P ≤ 0. 046); the changes in the concentration of alpha amylase (P ≤ 0. 009) and salivary cortisol (P ≤ 0. 01) after the game showed a significant increase compared to the pre-test. Additionally, an increase in the mean surface of the pattern of stress index (P ≤ 0. 039) and attention index (P ≤ 0. 048) were recorded. The post-test measures in the experimental group were also significantly different from those of the control group. Conclusion: Flow Free® , as a stimulant of the central nervous system (CNS), led to the increased activity of the stress path and changes in brain signals, hence strengthening the cognitive element of attention in the players after the game.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of cognitive therapy of poor working memory (WM) in students through self-generated augmented-reality (AR) based flipped English for Medical Purposes (EMP) reading classes on quality of students' academic and professional lives. Materials and Methods: This complementarity study was conducted using the semi-experimental method with a cross-contextual (continuous and real-workplace) assessment design along with soliciting attitudes and debriefing perception in the very initial and final phases, respectively. In the academic year 2018, after determining the WM capacities of 210 students of medicine from Medical University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran, they were randomly divided into seven heterogeneous groups with high visual and/or high verbal WM heads to practice EMP reading comprehension in 18 self-generated AR-based sessions; in each session, they were simultaneously assessed in both instructional-learning context and field. Results: Student active engagement in self-generating AR-based sessions spread the intrinsic cognitive load of EMP reading materials for students with low WM capacity, suggesting that students are inclined to active-participation courses. Conclusion: Student active participation in self-generating AR-based activities played a crucial role in cognitive therapy of students' psychological reading process and promoting EMP reading comprehension. However, the results should be viewed as suggestive.

Introduction: Filial therapy is an effective strategy dealing with cognitive disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of rehabilitation computer games on increasing sustained attention in university students. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, the target population consisted of students in Islamic Art University of Tabriz, Iran, in 2019 among who 30 students were selected with convenience sampling and divided randomly into two groups of 15 each by lot. 15 subjects played the rehabilitation games and the remaining 15 ones in the control received no intervention. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: Data analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups (P < 0. 04), indicating that the rehabilitation game has improved the level of attention (P ≤ 0. 02). Conclusion: This study shows that rehabilitation games can be used as an effective method in individuals to increase attention.

Introduction: Currently, anger and violence are one of the important reasons for referral of children and adolescents to counseling and psychotherapy centers. Anger management skills are among the most effective approaches to prevent the expansion of high-risk behaviors and to improve personal and social efficiency. The purpose of this study is to design a new game for anger prevention and teaching anger management skills in children. Materials and Methods: Given the availability of smart phones, the game was designed and implemented as an Android-based application for children. Using the Basic4Android software, the game was developed according to the advice taken from peers expert in the psychology and computer fields. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the game, 105 children aged 8 to 12 years old from Khomeini Shahr, Iran, were selected and randomly divided into the control and experimental groups. The experimental group (n = 52) received the software while the control group (n = 53) were trained by the traditional method and group method under the supervision of a counselor. Anger rate was measured using the Novaco Anger Inventory (NAI). Paired t-test and independent t-test were administered for the intra-and intergroup comparisons, respectively. Results: Participation in the traditional anger management training program and Emily and the Toy Box play in both groups significantly reduced the three components of anger and overall anger score on NAI. In other words, using Emily and the Toy Box game was just as effective as traditional methods of teaching anger management to children. However, the reduction in anger scores and its components in the experimental group averaged 10 to 17% more than the traditional methods. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the android application “ Emily and the Toy Box” may be effective for teaching anger management skills in children aged 8 years and older and particularly, it reduces aggressive behaviors in children.

Introduction: Stroke is known as the second cause of disability in adults, which finally leads to disabilities such as movement impairments, cognitive disorders, and speech disorders. Balance disturbance and neuromuscular incoordination are the most common adverse effects of stroke. Using virtual reality systems are considering as a standard treatment method in neurologic disorders especially in stroke. Nintendo Wii games let patients do different tasks in miscellaneous environment. Materials and Methods: Medline, PEDro, and Cochrane library databases were searched until 2018. Articles that used Nintendo Wii in treatment of balance disturbance in any phase of stroke were selected. Results: Among 21 studies, 8 were selected. In these studies, balance test was used as main outcome measure. Improvement of static balance was shown in 2 studies. In 3 of them, balance improved significantly in intervention group rather than control group. Moreover, in 3 other studies, improvement process was reported in patients with stroke, but the results were not significant. Conclusion: The result of all included studies showed positive effect of Nintendo Wii game on balance in patients with stroke.