H. Obata, Tetsuya Ogawa, Motonori Hoshino, C. Fukusaki, Yohei Masugi, H. Kobayashi, H. Yano, K. Nakazawa
{"title":"Effects of Aquatic Pole Walking on the Reduction of Spastic Hypertonia in a Patient with Hemiplegia: A Case Study","authors":"H. Obata, Tetsuya Ogawa, Motonori Hoshino, C. Fukusaki, Yohei Masugi, H. Kobayashi, H. Yano, K. Nakazawa","doi":"10.4172/2329-9096.1000401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-9096.1000401","url":null,"abstract":"Here we report an acute effect of aquatic pole walking (PW) training intervention on a 64-year-old male patient with chronic hemiparesis and symptoms of spasticity in the right lower limb. A comparison of over ground walking before and after 20 minutes of aquatic PW training revealed a significant improvement in gait performance. As a main result, the average speed of walking after the intervention was 0.16 m/s after the intervention as compared to 0.04 m/s in the initial condition. The time taken for each stride cycle was drastically decreased, mainly due to shortening of the stance time. Underlying the improved gait performance was the emergence of functional muscle activity in the paralyzed and spastic leg muscles. The result observed in this patient should be further tested among a large population of patients presenting similar symptoms. Moreover, the basic mechanisms underlying aquatic PW intervention should be further elucidated.","PeriodicalId":330776,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133680190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tracheostomy Decannulation; A Catch-22 for Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries","authors":"S. Arabia, A. Qureshi","doi":"10.4172/2329-9096.1000112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-9096.1000112","url":null,"abstract":"Challenges of TT decannulation in patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are of particular importance. Respiratory complications are common in acute SCI patients and tracheostomy is regularly required, particularly in patients with tetraplegia [4]. The frequencies of tracheostomy in patients with tetraplegia are reportedly ranging from 16% to 30% with a median of 31 days from the time of tracheostomy to decannulation [5]. In comparison to this, forty years ago, Bellamy reported that 77% of SCI patients with complete and 33% with incomplete tetraplegia underwent tracheostomy, out of which, 40% of the complete and 21 % of incomplete died in the first year [6]. SCI patients are a unique group of population that may not satisfy the routine criteria for decannulation. One of the major reasons is that they may be aspirating their secretions. Aspiration is defined as “passage of material below the vocal folds into the trachea” [7]. This reflects the inability to protect the airway and is usually considered","PeriodicalId":330776,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121761386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}