Scientific Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
Year:2017 | Volume:6 | Issue:2|Papers Count:30

Background and Aim: Balance is one of the most important factors regarding physical fitness and is also considered a basic element in controlling the posture and in carrying out sports skills. The source of balance is in close kinetic chain and considering that the feet are placed at the lowest part of this chain, it is of important value for athletes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of the effect of the medial longitudinal arch height of the foot on static and dynamic balance of male college athletes.Materials and Methods: According to the objectives of the research, the study followed a casual-comparative method. Using purposive sampling method, the balance of the 90 collegiate athletes, 18 to 25 years old, was tested using Zebris forced distribution in three groups of supinated (30 people), pronated (30 people), and neutral (30 people) foot, while the dynamic balance was tested using “Y” test. Also, in order to measure medial longitudinal arch height, the Navicular Drop test was implemented. Balance was compared between experimental groups running One-way ANOVA (P˃0.05).Results: The results of the study showed that there exists a significant difference in the average static postural sway of the participants (P≤0.05). Also, the results of the one way ANOVA for dynamic balance showed no significant difference between the study groups.Conclusion: According to the results of the current study, although a change in the medial longitudinal arch height of the foot resulted in a negative effect on participants’ static balance (P=0.01, F=4.85, df=2,87), it did not show any significant effect on the dynamic balance (P=0.11, F=2.25, df=2,87). Thus, it is suggested that those with supinated and pronated foot take static balance training. Due to the variety of the influential factors on dynamic balance, it is advised that these effective factors be considered during studies.

Background and Aim: Assessment of walking ability and fall risk in people with multiple sclerosis is often performed in rehabilitation. DGI is one of the tools that evaluate walking during various tasks. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity of the Persian version of DGI in people with multiple sclerosis.Materials and Methods: The current study was performed using methodology method, and 62 patients were selected based on non-probable sampling. To check criterion validity, the correlation between the Berg Balance Scale scores and dynamic gait index scores were calculated and construct validity was evaluated using factor analysis. Also, content validity was assessed by 10 rehabilitation specialists with experience in the field of research and clinical work and in quantitative way.Results: The results showed that the Persian version of dynamic gait index in people with MS has an acceptable criterion validity with the Berg Balance Scale (r=0.859). Content validity ratios for each item were between 0.80 and 1.00 and content validity index were 0.91, which were in the acceptable range. According to factor analysis, the test is composed of one factor with the eigenvalue of 4.4, which predicted 55% of the variance.Conclusion: The Persian version of dynamic gait index is a valid measure to assess the dynamic balance while walking in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Abstract Background and Aim: Patients with dysfunction in the vestibular system suffer from substantial balance problems, which severely restrain their normal daily activities. One of the main treatment methods for these patients is vestibular rehabilitation. The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of vestibular rehabilitation program on VOR gain through the stimulation of different semicircular canals using vHIT.Materials and Methods: The current cross-sectional study was performed on 42 patients with unilateral vestibular deficit. Half of the patients were randomly allocated to the home-based group who performed the vestibular rehabilitation program at home. The rest were assigned to the supervised group and received vestibular rehabilitation program under the supervision of a qualified clinician. The extents of VOR gain were compared both between groups and within groups, i.e. before and after vestibular rehabilitation program.Results: Vestibular rehabilitation program enhanced the average VOR gain across both groups in the most semicircular canals (p<0.05). Moreover, the supervised group, compared to the home-based group, showed higher VOR gain across the horizontal and posterior semicircular canals in the damaged side (p<0.05).Conclusion: Performed by the patients at home, vestibular rehabilitation program could successfully reduce the symptoms of peripheral vestibular problems. However, this program was shown to be more efficient while performed under the supervision of an audiologist. A unique aspect of the present study is application of vHIT test for measuring the treatment efficacy of vestibular rehabilitation program.

Background and Aim: Lateral or inversion ankle sprain is the most common injury among athletes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ankle non-elastic tape (rigid tape) on shear and compressive forces during landing after a jump in young elite male volleyball players with chronic ankle sprain injury.Materials and Methods: Participants of the present semi experimental study were 12 young elite volleyball players (age: 22.04±3.17, mass: 79.74±4.56, and height: 188.75±5.85 cm), with a history of several external ankle sprains. They were asked to perform the landing after a jump in rigid tape and barefoot condition with dominant injured foot. The data were recorded via synchronization of video camera and force plate systems and then peak and mean compressive and shear mechanical forces of ankle joint were calculated with inverse dynamic theory in MATLAB software. The paired t-test was run to test the hypothesis in SPSS (P<0.05).Results: No significant difference was observed in compressive forces between the two conditions of landing with rigid white tape and barefoot (P>0.05). However, the intervention of rigid tape led to a 45% significant reduction in peak shear force compared to barefoot condition (P=0.04). In addition, the mean shear force significantly decreased in tape band as compared with barefoot (P=0.01, 33%).Conclusion: The use of rigid tape could lead to a same joint compressive force compared to barefoot landing. However, with reduction of joint shear force, it could be considered as a safe intervention in landing after a jump for protecting excessive shear stress.

Background and Aims: Resistance Exercise (RE) induces oxidative stress damage by increasing the generation of free radicals and influences the antioxidant defense system. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of rest intervals between sets of resistance exercise on Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), and Malondiadehyde (MDA).Materials and Methods: A total of 20 male volunteers were randomly assigned to RE using either 90 s (n=10) or 180 s (n=10) of rest between sets. Resistance exercise in both groups was performed at a load of six repetitions maximum (6 RM) in four sets. Blood samples were collected from an antecubital vein pre exercise, immediately post exercise, 6, 24, and 48 hours post exercise and analyzed for MDA concentration, TAC, and SOD activity.Results: The results indicated that both SR and LR caused significant changes in the MDA response (P=0.003) and (P=0.036) in SR and LR, respectively, with MDA significantly increasing 6 hours post resistance exercise in the two groups. Also, SOD (p=0.0001) activity and TAC (P=0.0001) significantly increased at 6 h post exercise in both groups. However, there was no significant difference between corresponding MDA, TAC, and SOD values between the two groups (P>0.05).Conclusion: It can been concluded that rest interval between sets of resistance exercise does not affect oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity. Therefore, coaches should not be worried about the effect of rest interval between sets on cell damage when designing resistance training programs.

ABSTRACT Background and Aim: Autistic disorder appears in early childhood in the form of degradation in the quality of social interaction and repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. Some researchers have stated that the stereotypic behavior in these children is due to, some sensory insufficiencies against sensory stimuli. The purpose of the present study was investigating the effect of using "O" shaped air cushions, as a sensory processing strategy, on stereotypic movements in 4 to 14 year old children with autism.Materials and Methods: The current study was performed using a single subject design (ABA) on four children in Khorshid Rehabilitation Centre for under fourteen year old children, during 5 consecutive weeks. The type and frequency of each stereotypic movements were examined by watching video tape before, during, and after using this cushion.Results: The findings showed that the use of this cushion, when the child was sitting on therapy cushion (during phase B), reduced stereotypic movements and increased cooperation with the teacher. After removing the cushion (during phase A), the stereotypic movements became almost similar to those before using this cushion (during phase A). Yet, in one child the result was precisely vice versa.Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, using therapy cushion can reduce the stereotypic movements in a child with autism. The stereotypic movements of the child were almost similar when they were compared between the time the child was sitting on this cushion and after removing it and sitting on typical chair. Yet, this finding needs further investigation by controling external factors influencing stereotypic movement.

Background and Aim: The results of literature review revealed a controversy with regard to the effect of visual input on static standing balance in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Moreover, it has been suggested that using combining tasks, such as mirror visual feedback, can improve static standing balance. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of visual feedback on static standing balance in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy compared with that in normal children.Materials and Methods: Participants included 15 children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and 15 normal children were selected conveniently. Children were instructed to stand with bare feet for 60 seconds on a Kistler force platform with their eyes open, eyes closed, and mirror visual feedback. Independent t-test and paired t-test were used for data analysis.Results: A significant difference was reported in comparing children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and normal children during conditions of eyes open, eyes closed, and mirror visual feedback [P≤0.05]. A significant difference was reported in COP excursion [P=0.03] and COP path length in mediolateral plane [P=0.01] when comparing the two conditions of eyes open and eyes closes in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy [P≤0.05]. A significant difference was also reported in COP velocity in mediolateral plane when comparing the eyes open and eyes closed conditions in normal children [P≤0.05].Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it can be suggested that children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and normal children are similarly dependent on visual input to maintain their static standing balance. Moreover, using mirror visual feedback can adversely affect static standing balance and it cannot benefit static standing balance in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

Background and Aim: Balance is very important in daily and sport activities and may be related to anthropometric characteristics; nevertheless, this relationship has rarely been examined in non-athlete young females.The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between some anthropometric characteristics and dynamic and static balance in sedentary female college students.Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on a 158 Iranian female college students, aged 18-25 years, during 2013-2014. Participants were selected from volunteers of Chabahar University. Anthropometric indices (body height, weight, lower-extremity lengths and widest perimeter, body mass index, and waist–hip ratio) and balance (dynamic and static) were measured. Static balance with opened and closed eyes were measured using Angel Balance Test on a stable surface and dynamic balance was evaluated using Timed to Get Up and Go (T.G.U.G) test. Pearson correlation coefficients were run in data analysis.Results: A weak negative correlation was found between dynamic balance and shank length (r= -0.164), so was a weak positive correlation between dynamic balance and body mass index (r=0.164). In the eyes-open condition, static balance was related to shank length (r=0.172) with the dominant leg. In the eyes-opened condition with non-dominant leg and eyes-closed conditions, there was no correlation between static balance and anthropometric indices.Conclusions: In a nutshell, significant mild correlations were observed between balance and some anthropometric indices and it seems that anthropometric indices alone cannot explain the variations in body static and dynamic balance among young healthy sedentary female college students and other factors, such as the sense of sight, vestibular and proprioceptive systems, also play roles in the balance.

Background and aims: The prevalence of heart failure is increasing. The effects of the second and third phases of cardiac rehabilitation in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life for ambulatory (discharged) heart patients has repeatedly been investigated. However, due to the threats to the survival of heart patients at hospitalization (and the possibility of a sharp decline in functional capacity of patients at this stage), the first phase of cardiac rehabilitation, especially for patients with heart failure, has rarely been studied. Meanwhile, the quality of life is becoming increasingly important in the health care system so that it is belived that the most important goal in interventions is to improve the quality of life, especially in chronic diseases. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the first phase of cardiac rehabilitation on the quality of life and functional capacity of patients with heart failure.Methods and Materials: In the present one way blind clinical trial, 34 patients with moderate and severe heart failure (New York Heart Association functional classification basis) with left ventricular ejection fraction lower than 40 percent were included. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups received routine medical care during hospitalization and respiratory physiotherapy. In addition, patients in the intervention group care had aerobic exercise program using a stationary bicycle. In both groups, in addition to the usual parameters (such as heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate), the first and fifth day of hospitalization, quality of life (using the Persian version of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire) and functional capacity (6-minute walk test) were measured. Normality Shapiro-Wilk test was also performed. Then, dependent parameters in the two groups were tracked running multi-factor repeated measures analysis of variance.Results: In the beginning of the study, the two groups were not significantly different in terms of the variables related to disease severity and demographics. Then, functional capacity was increased in both groups from the first day to the fifth day, yet this improvement was not found to be significant. Also, the quality of life improved 53.84 percent in the intervention group and 29.62 percent in the control group, which is statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusion: Cardiac rehabilitation during the first five days of hospitalization can improve the quality of life (which is considered as a predictor of outcome in heart failure) as well as functional capacity in heart failure patients.

Background and Aim: Children's disability creates undesirable effects on family function and the quality of life. The present study was carried out in order to compare effectiveness of group-based handling training and individualized handling training on the quality of life in mothers of children with cerebral palsy.Methods: In a randomized controlled trial and single blinded study, 50 mothers of children with cerebral palsy were selected and were randomly divided into individualized handling training and group-based handling training. Data collection tools included SF-36 quality of life, depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21), and knowledge of special care of children with cerebral palsy questionnaire. Data was collected prior to and after three months of intervention. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS, version 21.Results: Covariance analysis showed that there was not a significant difference in the quality of life and other dimensions except in general health and emotional health after intervention (P>0.05).Conclusion: According to the findings, effectiveness of group-based handling training and individualized handling training on the general quality of life in mothers of children with cerebral palsy are similar.

Background and Aim: The prevalence of children’s obesity, and thus cardiovascular diseases, is rapidly increasing and it is known that exercises have beneficial effects on losing weight and accordingly decreases of cardiovascular system. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of eight weeks of High Intensity Training (HIT) on TNFa in obese children.Materials and method: A total of 34 obese children were randomly divided into two groups of experimental, with the mean age of 9.58±0.35 and Body Mass Index (BMI) 30.89±0.95 and control, with the mean age of 9.51±0.48 and BMI 29.89±0.81. For 8 weeks, 3 sessions a week, participants performed HIT, including bouts of 30s with maximal speed and 1.5 min active rest between them. The number of bouts increased from 6 in the first week to 10 in the latter week. Blood samples were obtained 48 hours before and after performing the protocol and serum was separated and then levels of serum TNFa were measured and quantified using ELISA. SPSS, version 20, was used to analyse the data.Results: Data analysis revealed a significant decrease in serum TNFa and BMI before and after doing HIT.Conclusion: High intensity training results in the reduction of BMI and body weight. Due to the strong relationship between BMI and selected TNFa, HIT, via reduced fat mass, causes decrease of serum TNFa in children, and this reduction can effectively prevent, control, and reduce the number of cardiovascular diseases. So, doing HIT cautiously can bring about benefits in obese children.

Background and Aim: Balance is a key component of motor skill from maintaining posture to executing complex sport skills. The aim of the present study was to compare the static and dynamic and upper extremity function and balance between different sports.Materials and Methods: Participants were 60 male athletes with more than seven years of specialized sports in Guilan province. Also, 12 non-athletes who did not do any exercise in the past year were selected. In each group, except for parkourists, six athletes were competing at the level of national competitions and six athletes were competing at Guilan provincial championships. All participants were ready for testing between 9 to 12 am in various sports groups. After 10-minute warm-up and doing stretching exercises, upper extremity function test and static and dynamic balance tests were carried out using Y balance test (YBT) and Balance Error Scoring System (BESS).Results: The results of One-way ANOVA and Tukey test showed that parkour group was better than other groups in static and dynamic balance test and upper extremity function test. There was a significant difference between all athletes and non-athletes studied in static and dynamic balance and upper extremity function test. Also, basketball players had the lowest static and dynamic and upper extremity function test compared with all other groups (p≤0.05).Conclusion: The present study showed that cause of the high prevalence of ankle sprain in Basketball players is perhaps because of imbalance. So, coaches and athletic trainers are suggested to use BESS and Y test in their screening programs to assess upper extremity function and balance in athletes so as to identity those who have poor balance and weakness of upper extremity.

Introduction and goals: Nonverbal means are acquired in the first year of life together with intentional communication functions. Gradually, as linguistic skills develop, children use verbal means alone or along with gestures. The goal of the present study was examining the development of nonverbal request skills in Persian typically developing 9-to-30-month children.Materials and Method: In the present cross-sectional study, 61 children (40 girls and 21 boys) were examined using Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS) at the age of 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30 months. The mean scores and standard deviation, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data analysis.Results: Data analysis showed that there was a significant difference between mean ranks of groups (p=0.03). The mean scores of children were 12.16, 18.76, 24, 20.76, 24, and 24.04, according to age groups.Conclusion: As intentional communication begins at 9 month, children used nonverbal means for requesting. In the second year, because of developing of language, verbal means were used in substitute or concomitant with nonverbal means. Differences were observed in the use of a variety of nonverbal means due to age and individual differences between children.

Background and aim: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of repeated bouts of maximal intensity eccentric exercise at knee extensors on optimum angle and eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage indicators.Materials and Methods: A total of 15 untrained healthy females performed two bouts of maximal intensity eccentric exercises (6 sets*20 repetitions) at knee extensors with the time interval of two weeks. Isometric and concentric extensor torques, optimum torque angles, delayed onset muscle soreness, knee range of motion, and thigh circumference were measured before and immediately, 48 hours, and 5 days after two bouts of eccentric exercises.Results: Reduction of torques and range of motion, increase in optimum angle, and delayed onset muscle soreness were significant after the first bout of eccentric exercise. After the second bout, reductions in concentric torques and range of motion were less. Optimum angle at the velocity of 60 degree per second was increased and delayed onset muscle soreness was decreased at 48 hours after the second bout compared with that after the first bout (P<0.05).Conclusion: Eccentric exercise induced muscle damage was evident after the first bout of eccentric exercise. Also, repeated bout effect was observed after the second bout. A change of optimum angle indirectly indicates the roll of cellar mechanisms in adaptation process to eccentric exercises.

Background and Aim: Sport surfaces reduce the incidence of sport injuries and enhance the technical efficiency of the athletes. The vertical jump skill is the standard test for measuring explosive power, so the present study was carried out to investigate the effect of different sport surfaces on vertical velocity, force, and power during the squat jumps of male soccer players.Materials and Methods: A total of 20 male soccer players (age: 21.8±2 years, height: 178±4 cm, mass: 68±5 kg, and experience: 8±2 year) participated in the study. Kinematics data were collected at a sampling rate of 200 Hz with a motion-capture system comprised of six infra-red cameras. Participants performed squat jumps on four different surfaces: natural grass, artificial grass, and sand and rubber indoor floors in the laboratory. Inverse dynamics for calculating vertical velocity, force, and power were applied. The Mixed repeated measures ANOVA was used for data analysis.Results: The results showed a significant difference only between natural grass and sand (p=0.018) surfaces in vertical force. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the vertical velocity on sand and the other three surfaces: natural grass, artificial grass, and rubber indoor floor (p=0.001). Also, a significant difference was observed in vertical power only between sand and the other three surfaces (p=0.001).Conclusions: It can be concluded that between the surfaces used in the current study, only sand surface resulted in changes in power, velocity, and vertical power during athlete's squat jump and it is possibly related to the energy loss while applying force on the sand.

Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and debilitating disease which destroys the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The most common complications of five weeks of Pilates training on the number of falling, fear of fall, and reaction time in women suffering from MS.Materials and Methods: The present quasi-experimental study included 40 female patients with MS 0<EDSS> 4 and aged 20-40 years old. Patients were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The training program was carried out for five weeks (three sessions of one hour per week). Patients’ number of falling, fear of fall, and reaction time was measured using a self-reporting, fear of fall questionnaire and reaction time device before and after the exercise. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired T test. a was set at 0.05.Results: The results showed significant differences in the adjusted mean of the number of falling, fear of falling, and reaction time in the experimental groups (P<04 .001), but no difference was observed in the control group. So, Pilates exercise interventions significantly decreased the number of falling, fear of fall, and reaction time in the experimental group.Conclusion: Pilates training reduced the number of falling, fear of falling, and reaction time in patients with MS. Therefore, such exercises could be used as a complementary treatment alongside medications for MS patients.

Background and Aims: Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) bring about pressures on the families. As family function is noticeably dependent on all members' health condition, which is affected by proper implementation of their roles, specially parents’, in the present survey, decision was made to study parenting role tasks in families with CP children and those with normal children to determinate possible influence of CP children on their fathers’ and mothers’ tasks.Materials and Methods: In the current case-control study, following non-probability sampling, 47 CP and 47 normal children’s parents responded to parenting role tasks questionnaire as well as a demographic questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS, version 18, running independent and paired t tests.Results: The results showed that the task scores for mothers with CP chilren (p≤0.02), except for “importance”, and task scores for fathers with CP chilren in all items (p≤0.005) were lower than those of the parents with normal children. Also, tasks scores for healthy children’s mothers, except for “leisure time” and “importance” items, in comparison with their husbands (p≤0.004), and task scores for mothers with CP, except for “leisure time” in comparison with their husbands (p<0.001), were found to be higher.Conclusion: Parents of children with CP face a huge number of problems in their role in all domains. The only factor which is constant betweeh these mothers and those of healthy children is the “importance” given to their tasks. Mothers are more involved in parenting roles than fathers; therapists who are working with parents of CP children should pay attention to these parent’s problems, while they follow the clients treatment program and try to keep balance in parenting tasks.

Background and Aim: Autism children are susceptible to movement disorders, weakness of physical fitness, decrease of balance, and stability beause of inactive life style and weakness. Recently, the role of the muscles of the back and pelvis, as part of the core stability, is being considered, because these muscles control motion of the lower limbs based on closed kinematic chain. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between lumbar-pelvic function and static and dynamic balance in children with autism spectrum disorders.Materials and Methods: Participants included 32 boys aged 6-10 years selected according to available sampling and normalized based on Gylyam Garz Diagnostic criteria. For evaluating static and dynamic balance and lumbar-pelvic function, modified stork, walking heel to toe, and step down tests were used, respectively.Results: The Pearson correlation revealed a significant correlation between the lumbar-pelvic function and static and dynamic balance.Conclusion: According to the results, it can be suggested that lumbar pelvic function be improved as an important part of core stability, and static and dynamic balance and rehabilitation programs be developed to better help children with autism spectrum disorder.

Background and Aim: Forward Head Posture (FHP) is a common musculo-skeletal disorder in head and neck region which is observed in all ages. Correcting of the muscle imbalance, mobilization, and postural training are common treatment methods for this dysfunction. Yet, there is not enough data about the effects of exercise therapy on head and neck Range of Motion (ROM) and craniovertebral angle in subjects with FHP. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of neck and scapular muscle strengthening exercise and stretching of upper trapezius muscle on head and neck ROM and craniovertebral angle.Materials and Methods: A total of 30 subjects with FHP participated in the present interventional study. Craniovertebral angle, head and neck flexion, and extension ROM were measured. Then, deep cervical flexor and scapular retractor muscle strengthening and upper trapezius stretching exercises were trained. After four weeks of exercise therapy, craniovertebral angle, head and neck flexion, and extension ROM were measured following the same procedure.Results: There was a significant difference in participants' craniovertebral angle after intervention (P=0.01). There were no significant differences in cervical extension and head flexion ROM. In addition, there was a significant difference in head and neck flexion (P=0.001) ROM before and after the intervention.Conclusion: Findings of the present study showed that exercise therapy can improve craniovertebral angle and ROM in the individuals with FHP. The effect of this exercise on the head and neck ROM is seen but not on neck and head ROM, independently.

Background and Aim: The previous investigations have showed that isokinetic contractions lead to more pressure on muscles over full range of motion. Also, the type of isokinetic contractions can determine body response. The aim of the present study was to compare the responses of platelet indices to concentric and eccentric isokinetic contractions in men.Materials and Methods: A total of 10 healthy male individuals (age, 24.2±1.99) voluntarily participated in the study and were invited to laboratory at three separate occasions. The first session was designed for familiarizing the participants with laboratory environment and measuring the anthropometrical characteristics. In the 2nd and the 3rd sessions, participants performed two exercise protocols in a counterbalance manner comprising of four sets of 10 repetitions of CON/CON and ECC/ECC isokinetic contractions in the knee joint with 60s rest between sets. Blood platelet indices including platelet count were measured before and at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after exercise. Data was analyzed using repeated measures of ANOVA (2×6).Results: Contraction type had no significant effect on PLT and PDW (p>0.05), though, irrespective of the type of contraction, isokinetic exercise had a significant effect (P<0.05). Neither type of contraction nor isokinetic exercise had significant effects on MPV (P>0.05). However, both types of contraction and isokinetic exercise had significant effects on PCT (P>0.05).Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, it is concluded that isokinetic exercise, irrespective of its type (CON or ECC), is effective on platelet indices and that lack of differences between the two contractions types might be due to equality of exercise load.

Background and Aim: One the of most important tasks of the human body postural control system is that of balancing the body, and the vestibular system is one of the most important tools to control posture. Any impairment in the vestibular system will create symptoms such as vertigo, dizziness, and disequilibrium. These symptoms and the underlying impairments can lead to functional limitations or deficits in performing routine daily life tasks. As a result, it will increase dependency on others. Therefore, it is necessary to know the individuals who are susceptible to be influenced by vestibular disorders for therapy planning. It should be noted that no vestibular and functional test can provide this information. There are several other standard scales to assess functional limitation in vestibular disorders, but these questionnaires differ from each other in their purposes as well as their content. Vestibular disorders Activities of Daily living scale is one of the several international self-assessment scales that is useful for determining the level of functional limitation or disability in patients with vestibular disorders, and guide therapy planning and vestibular rehabilitation in particular.Materials and Methods: In order to review the VADL to assess functional limitation in patients with vestibular disorders, all articles in this field, published from 1983 to 2015, were reviewed in Science Direct, EBSCO, PubMed, PMC, Google Scholar, Elsevier, Ovid, Proquest, Scopus, and Springer databases.Result: More than 300 articles on topics related to functional assessment in vestibular disorders, activities of daily living, quality of life, and vestibular disorders questionnaires were available in these databases. Finally, we used 32 full papers and 6 research abstracts.Conclusion:. Given that the psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of VADL has not been conducted in Iran, it seems necessary to translate the questionnaire into Persian and carry out cross-cultural adaptation as well as verification of the psychometric properties of VADL.

Background And Aim: Balance is a physiological function of the body. Balance maintenance is influenced by integration of sensory information from the vestibular, visual, and somatosensory systems. Among these systems, the vestibular system deserves attention, because about 50 percent of dizzy patients suffer from vestibular disorders. The vestibular system is responsible for the stability of images on the retina during the head movements. For this purpose, during head movements, eyes move with the same amplitude but oppositely. This function drives from vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). Vestibular disorders produce the deficit in VOR and lead to appearance of refixation movements in eyes that are observable by Video Head Impulse Test (VHIT). In the present article, we have reviewed clinical applications of the VHIT.Materials And Methods: A total of 52 studies were obtained from Pubmed, Science Direct, Springer, and Elsevier databases, and then reviewed systemically in order to record clinical application of the VHIT reported.Conclusion: VHITis a new device for vestibular assessment, which can be used to evaluate semicircular canals, separately and accurately. Also, employing VHIT together with Caloric test, provides a supplementary test battery for evaluating lateral semicircular canal function. VHIT is an objective and sensitive test in the diagnosis of Peripheral vestibular disorders and leads to an improvement in differential diagnosis of peripheral vestibular system disorders from central vestibular system disorders.

Background and Aim: Sway-Back Posture (SBP) is one of the most common spinal malalignments, especially among young women. However, among different researchers, still there is not an agreement concerning the structural and muscular changes in lumbar and pelvic regions. The aim of the present study was to survey the structural changes and action of spinal muscles in individuals with SBP, using accurate methods like USI, MRI, and EMG.Materials and Methods: During our search in Google Scholar, Pubmed, and Embase, at first 102 articles published between 2002 and 2016 were found. After matching with inclusion and exclusion criteria, 97 articles were deleted and full texts of 5 articles were reviewed. We used the articles which were more concerned with the muscle changes in SBP using accurate techniques like USI, MRI, and EMG.Result: Electromyography studies indicated that internal oblique, multifidus, and erector spine muscles were less active and rectus abdominus muscle was more active than other spinal postural muscles in SBP. Ultrasonography studies showed that the thickness of transvers abdominus was smaller in SBP than in others. Using MRI, it was revealed that fat was infiltrated in multifidus and erector spine muscles in SBP more than that in the other spinal postural muscles.Conclusion: Findings of the studies reviewed showed that the structure of deep lumbar and abdomen muscles were changed accordingly which may lead to instability in lumbo-pelvic areas in individuals with SBP. In the present review, we found that all three methods of muscular assessment provided key knowledge concerning the structure and the action of spinal muscle in individuals with SBP.

Background and Aim: Dyslexia is a brier to learning literacy in childhood. There is not a general consensus about its etiology while different theories are presented like phonological awareness deficit or poor visual processing. By the help of instruments that detect structural or functional deficit in the human brain, some differences between normal and dyslexic brain are detected. One of the applicable instruments is Evoked Response Potential and Mismatch Negativity (MMN) registers that help us in early detection of dyslexia. MMN is evoked when any differences in auditory stimuli are detected by the brain and registered easily from scalp. In the present review, we tried to take a brief look to the studies which investigated the MMN in dyslexic children and compared this condition between these patients and normal children.Methods and Materials: The following databases were searched for studies investigating MMN in Dyslexia from 1998 until 2015: Science Direct, Scopus, Willey on line library, Ovid, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Willey on line library, and PubMed. Taking into account inclusion-exclusion criteria, six papers were selected together with other scientific findings that could help us understand the issue better.Conclusion: No difference was observed in the normal loci of MMN in normal and dyslexic children, but there were significant changes in early and late MMN that were related to working memory and higher level change detection. It seems that dyslexic children have no good-established lateralized MMN register.

Background and Aim: It is known that one of the most important findings in people with functional ankle instability is change of joint kinematic before ankle's contact during walking, thus it is acceptable that change in joint kinematic can be considered as one of the probable reasons of sprained ankle relapse. Although the mechanic of foot and ankle play a significant role in the occurrence of this injury, it fails to completely expose mechanisms hidden in functional ankle instability. For this reason, today, researchers have suggested that improper variation in neuromuscular control plays a more important role in the occurrence of ankle functional instability. The present article was carried out to review the literature on variation of ankle joint movement pattern and neuromuscular control strategies in individuals with functional ankle instability.Materials and methods: The survey was performed on articles in credible databases such as ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Pubmed Medline, searching for the terms functional ankle instability, variability, walking gait, neuromuscular control, during 1960 to 2016. A total of 65 articles with direct relevance were selected for the analysis.Conclusion: Results reported in the studies conducted regarding identification of mechanisms hidden in functional ankle instability suggest disparity between dynamic nonlinear view and linear view. These studies showed that kinematic consideration of this phenomenon cannot, per se, be practical in the occurrence of functional ankle instability due to complexity of neuromuscular control phenomenon and combinatory role of open and close mechanisms. Thus, further investigation is required to study neuromuscular control strategies in people with functional ankle instability.

Background and Aim: In sensory neural hearing loss, the damage is not limited to the cochlear part and the vestibular part is also involved. The results of sevral studies have shown that difficulty in balance abilities is more in deaf children than in their normal hearing peers. Also, deaf children have shown weaker stability in their postural control. In addition, several studies have emphasized that exercise is effective on keeping balance and partly to create a better balance for people with hearing impairment. Vestibular system is one of the three systems involved in keeping balance. Therefore, evaluating its contribution to postural control and balance and the effects of exercise on the growth of this system is essential. In the present review article, the balance state of deaf people and the impact of sports on the growth of their vestibular system are studied.Materials and Methods: To review the vestibular system function of the people with hearing impairment and the effects of professional sport on it, all articles in this field, published from 1932 to 2015 were surveyed in ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, Elsevier, Ovid, Proquest, Scopus, and Springer databases.Results: More than 300 articles on topics related to postural control in people with hearing impairment and effects of physical activity on sensory systems and vestibular evoked potentials were available in these databases. Finally, we used 39 articles which were fully-researched papers and 7 abstracts.Conclusion: Sports, due to their impact on the growth of vestibular system, can be considered a powerful therapeutic intervention for children with functional disorders of the vestibular system. Thus, sport activities are recommended for these people.

Background and Aim: The material's resistance to deformation under loading is named “Stiffness”. This concept is considered as an important factor in movement generation and neuromechanical control of human body and is related to musculoskeletal performance and injury risk. Various methods are presented to in vivo measurement of stiffness that may partially justify the mechanical properties and behavior of structures, joints, or overall body. The purpose of the present review article was to state the basic principles of stiffness in biomechanics, classification of various types of stiffness measured in lower extremity, and presentation of the methods introduced to in vivo measuring of them.Conclusion: Seven types of stiffness including vertical stiffness, leg stiffness, joint stiffness, musculo-articular stiffness, musculotendinous stiffness, tendon stiffness, and muscle stiffness were recognized. Mass-spring model, dynamometry, free oscillation technique, quick-release method, ultrasonography, and mayotonometery are used to measure these variables. In the assessment of vertical and leg stiffness, overall lower body is considered as a unit component. Also, joint stiffness, musculo-articular stiffness, and musculotendinous stiffness are measured in the level of one joint. As for muscle stiffness and tendon stiffness, these structures are separately studied.

Background and aim: Muscle strength is a key component of an athlete’s performance and may be influenced by taping. Kinesio Taping (KT) is an elastic therapeutic tape used to enhance muscle function. KT has become increasingly popular amongst athletes. The profile of KT was raised after it was first introduced in 2008 Olympic Games. Despite the increasing use of KT in clinical practice, uncertainty remains regarding its true merit. The present systematic review evaluates the evidence for the effectiveness of KT in improving muscle strength.Materials and Methods: PEDro, Cochrane Library, Medline, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, Up to Date, and Pubmed databases were searched from 2000 to 2015 in studies published only in English language. The combination of the terms kinesiology tape, kinesio tape, elastic tape, tape and muscle, as well as tape and strength were used in the search.Results: Among 26 obtained studies, 21 most-related studies were selected. Based on the results reported, these studies were divided into two groups: 1. the studies with the results suggesting that kinesio tape increases the muscle strength, and 2. the studies with the results suggesting that kinesio tape dose not increase the muscle strength.Conclusion: Kinesiotape is not effective in changing the height of the jump and functional tests but can alter the timing of muscle activity and reduce the time to achieve maximum muscle activity. Kinesio tape effect on EMG activity and muscle strength depends on the use of kinesiotape and can be effective if used in the right circumstances, yet exactly how to use it requires further high quality studies.

Background and aim: Due to the fact that walking is the main activity of humans to relocate, understanding its complexity and its different angles has long been the focus of various studies. One of the main issues in this regard is gait symmetry. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was investigating the concept of gait symmetry and the methods for evaluating it.Materials and Methods: A search among the related articles published from 2000 to 2015 in valid scientific databases, according to the research criteria, resulted in 71 scientific articles selected for the present review study.Results: Review of the previous studies showed that generally, from kinematical and kinetical point of view, walking in participants with and without abnormalities was asymmetrical and this condition is represented in all measured kinematic and kinetic parameters except in a few studies. Also, the methods of evaluating gait symmetry could generally be categorized into symmetry indices and statistical methods. In this situation, symmetry indices, despite their ease of application, could not represent the spatial-time complexity of walking cycle because of single-variable evaluations. In addition, the main limitation of statistical methods is that they do not present a qualitative value. Thus, for neither of these two methods is normal data available.Conclusion: With respect to the fact that during walking lower limbs have an asymmetrical behavior in normal/healthy individuals, which is due to their different functional tasks in control and propulsion, the assumption of gaining perfect symmetry after rehabilitation and intervention does not seems to be true. However, it is crucial to carry out further investigations in order to obtain the normal range of gait asymmetry in different participants and to understand fundamental factors affecting gait asymmetry.

Background and aim: Nowadays, due to the wide variety of models and applying these models in different areas of the field, occupational therapy can have an important role in providing rehabilitation services to patients. In this case, one of the proposed models that has a variety of roles in environmental accommodations is Ecology of Humane Performance (EHP) model. Applying this model is the appropriate intervention in progressive disorders like neuromuscular disease. The purpose of the present study was applying the strategies of EHP model in a family with 3 members suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 3 (SMA3).Case Report: The present case report is about a family with 6 members, (4 children and the parents who have a family relationship). This family has 4 children (2 girls and 2 boys) 3 of whom (2 sons, 1 daughter) are diagnosed with SMA3.Results: Using EHP model in this family, significant results in the field of functional mobility, quality of life, life satisfaction, and driving were obtained in such a way that family members were satisfied with their treatments.