Content - Volume 31, Issue 3

The objective of the paper is to review the effects of the implementation of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) on process measures (quality of care plans and staff satisfaction) and outcome measures (health problems and quality of life) in nursing homes. All available publications on the effects of the RAI were included in the review. The most positive effects of the RAI were found in impro ...

The efficacy of physiotherapy or chiro- practic treatment for patients with neck pain was analysed by reviewing 27 randomised clinical trials published 1966–1995. Three different methods were employed: systematic analyses of; methodological quality; comparison of effect size; analysis of inclu- sion criteria, intervention and outcome according to The Disablement Process model. The quality of mos ...

Local and regional musculoskeletal discomfort and pain in the shoulder girdle or upper extremities are often reported, especially in the work- ing population. In this review we describe the most important problems and factors when classifying musculotendinous pain in the upper extremities and shoulders. This includes an analysis of how four common diagnoses (wrist tenosynovitis, lateral epi- condy ...

Electrical stimulation of the whole hand using a mesh-glove has been shown to improve voli- tional movement of the hand and arm, and decrease muscle hypertonia after hemispherical stroke in patients who have reached a recovery plateau. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of stimulation of the nerve afferents of the hand on brain cortical activity elicited by whole-hand sub- thresh ...

The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of non-involved-side exercise on the involved (paretic) leg-muscle of patients with stroke. Each of the ten adults studied attempted to perform, while seated, a predetermined sequence of the following actions : (1) a voluntary knee extension on the involved side; (2) a maximal, isometric knee- flexion on the non-involved side; (3) a maximal, is ...

The aim was to describe the natural history of adults with hereditary muscular dystro- phies, including myotonic dystrophy, with respect to muscular function, ventilation and electrocardio- gram. In a prospective study, 46 subjects were followed over a period of five years. In 1991 and 1996, their muscle function was assessed according to an observation scheme and their lung vital capacity was mea ...

This study aimed to ascertain whether roll-off of the feet during gait was essentially different in patients with Parkinson’s disease from that of elderly control subjects. Twenty-two patients, belong- ing mainly to Hoehn & Yahr grades III and IV, and 30 elderly people participated in the study. Plantar force distribution data were collected of two con- secutive strides using pressure-sensitive ...