Content - Volume 21, Issue 4

Katz' Index of ADL has been supplemented by five well-defined instrumental activities, namely cooking, washing, transportation, cleaning, and shopping. Eighty-five persons, mainly elderly, who had consecutively consulted a district occupational therapist, were assessed in their homes in order to study the reliability, the scalability, and the validity of the expanded index. The inter-observer reli ...

In order to initiate early activation and counteract the negative effects of bed rest, 71 patients acutely admitted to hospital with a confirmed stroke were randomized to either training or control wards. Sixty-three persons participated in a first orthostatic tolerance test on days 5-7 after admission, which was replicated on days 10-12. A third test was performed three months later. Regular stan ...

A quantitative battery of tests for standing balance is needed in the assessment of functional impairments. The aims of the present study were to obtain stabilometric reference values for healthy females and males, 20-64 years of age, on a stable computerized force platform (AMTI) and to relate the balance data thus obtained to some traditional functional balance tests. Altogether, 152 subjects pe ...

To study wheelchair propulsion technique at different speeds, five well-trained subjects propelled a wheelchair on a treadmill. Measurements were made at four belt speeds of 0. 56-1. 39 m/s and against slopes of 2 and 3 degrees. Cardiorespiratory data were collected. Three consecutive strokes were filmed. Using markers on subject, wheelchair and treadmill frame a kinematic analysis was performed. ...

A wheelchair ergometer has been developed for the study of wheelchair work. At each propulsion the peak torque can be examined, and there is an opportunity to directly study angular amplitude, power output, work etc. The physical capacity of the subject as well as the importance of chair adjustments upon performance can be evaluated.

Dynamic configurational changes in the rectus femoris muscle were examined using a real time ultrasound sector scanner in ten normal subjects. The angle of passive knee flexion was varied as transverse ultrasound scanning was performed at the mid-transverse thigh. Configurational changes in the rectus femoris were computed from a traced outline of the muscle and the geometric center of the mass wa ...