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Inertial sensors may help clinicians to assess patients' movement and potentially support clinical decision making. Our aim was to determine whether shoulder range of motion during movement tasks measured using inertial sensors is capable of accurately discriminating between patients with different shoulder problems. Inertial sensors were used to measure 3-dimensional shoulder motion during 6 tasks of 37 patients on the waiting list for shoulder surgery. Discriminant function analysis was used to identify whether the range of motion of different tasks could classify patients with different shoulder problems. The discriminant function analysis could correctly classify 91.9% of patients into one of the 3 diagnostic groups based. The tasks that associated a patient with a particular diagnostic group were the following: subacromial decompression: abduction, rotator cuff repair of tears ≤5 cm: flexion and rotator cuff repair of tears >5 cm: combing hair, abduction, and horizontal abduction–adduction. The discriminant function analysis showed that range of motion measured by inertial sensors can correctly classify patients and could be used as a screening tool to support surgery planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a restriction on physiotherapy clinical visits for supervised exercise. It is important that individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD) continue an exercise regime at home during the pandemic and also in normal situations. The purpose of this study was to explore the case history of an individual with PD who used a developed home-based exercise programme for one year during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 67 year-old married woman was diagnosed with PD stage 2.5 on the modified Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale. Gait characteristics and the Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) motor scores were assessed at baseline, 10 weeks, and 12 months. The home-based exercise program included breathing exercises, posture correction, stretching exercises, rotation of the axial segments, balance training, and task-specific gait training. After 12 months, her MDS-UPDRS motor scores decreased when compared to baseline and 10 weeks, and gait characteristics at 12 months showed an increase in the degree of foot rotation, step length, cadence, and gait speed when compared to baseline and 10 weeks. This case study showed that improvements in MDS-UPDRS and gait characteristics can continue over a 12 month period as a result of a home-based exercise programme. Therefore, home-based exercise programs should be encouraged with weekly monitoring, especially in individuals with gait disorders which show deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assessing and understanding the control of the ankle during multidirectional jump landings in athletes with chronic ankle instability (CAI) would help health professionals develop interventions to reduce the risk of recurrent injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the angle, angular velocity, and movements of the ankle joint, and the muscle activity of peroneus longus (PL), tibialis anterior (TA), and gastrocnemius (GAS) muscles during multidirectional landings in athletes with CAI. Methods: Nineteen athletes with CAI (≤25 Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool–Thai Score) participated. A Vicon Nexus motion analysis system synchronously collected data with an AMTI force plate and surface electromyography (EMG) to capture kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity, respectively. Participants were asked to perform single-leg jump-landing tests in forward (0°), 30° diagonal, 60° diagonal, and lateral (90°) directions. Ankle joint kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity of PL, TA, and GAS were analyzed. Repeated measure ANOVA (analysis of variance) and Friedman tests were used to analyze the main effects of the jump-landing direction. Results: Athletes with CAI exhibited significant differences in ankle angles, angular velocities, ankle movements, and average muscle activity of GAS between directions. Greatest average EMG of GAS muscle was observed during landing in the lateral direction compared with the forward and 30° diagonal directions. Conclusion: Lateral and diagonal direction movements showed the greatest risks associated with recurrent ankle sprains. Impairments of neuromuscular control in both pre-landing and landing phases were observed in athletes with CAI when considered alongside previously published data. Level of Evidence: Laboratory-based observational study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A limitation of the ability to rotate the head with respect to the upper body has been associated with turning problems; however, the extent of head constraints on whole-body coordination has not been fully determined. The aim of this study was to limit head on body rotation and observe the effects on whole-body coordination during standing turns at various speeds. Twelve participants completed standing turns at 180°. A Vicon motion system and a BlueGain Electrooculography system were used to record movement kinematics and measure horizontal eye movements, respectively. All participants were tested at 3 randomized speeds, and under 2 conditions with or without their head constrained using a head, neck, and chest brace which restricted neck movement. A repeated-measures analysis of variance found a significant main effect of turning speed on the onset latency of all segments, peak head–thorax angular separation, and step characteristics. Constraining the head rotation had multiple significant effects including delayed onset latency and decreased intersegmental coordination defined as peak head segmental angular separations, increased total step and step duration, and decreased step size. This indicates the contribution of speed, head, and neck constraints, which have been associated with falls during turning and whole-body coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have demonstrated changes in lumbar multifidus muscle (LM) contractility after motor control exercises (MCE), and it has been hypothesized that adding neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may help to re-activate motor units. To present the effects of combined NMES and MCE on LM contractility, spatial and temporal motor unit recruitment, and movement control in a patient with recurrent low back pain (rLBP). Motion tracking system was used to measure quality of movement (smoothness) during an active forward bend, while ultrasound imaging and decomposition electromyography were used to measure the LM contractility and motor unit recruitment during the Sorensen test. These data were collected pre and post intervention. Perceived improvement was also recorded. Improved movement smoothness post intervention was found, with increases in LM contractility from 68.1% to 97.7%, and from 74.2% to 86.7% on the right and left sides, respectively. Number of motor unit increased from 14 to 18 units, while mean firing rate decreased from 10.9 to 7.1 pulses/second post intervention. The patient also reported a perceived improvement of +2 on the Global Rating of Change (GROC). However, this change was not greater than +3 to be considered as minimal clinically important difference. These findings indicate improvements in movement control, LM contractility, and changes in spatial and temporal motor unit recruitment in the study patient, suggesting the potential clinical utility and the need for further research on combined NMES and MCE in the treatment of patients with rLBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]