Content - Volume 32, Issue 3

The paper reviews studies conducted on physical activities and exercise in elderly persons with neurological impairment due to stroke, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or post-polio syndrome. The paper concludes: (i) it is not possible at present to draw conclusions regarding persons with Guillain-Barre syndrome and Parkinson's disease; (ii) individuals with multipl ...

To integrate quality of life assessment with rehabilitation care, some correspondence is required between the concepts of quality of life and of rehabilitation. A notion of quality of life is presented in which quality is conceived as degree of goodness, and life as daily living. Rehabilitation is considered both a process of adaptation and assistance to that process. These notions of quality of l ...

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the factors of importance for elderly (> or =65 years) patients in being physically active one year after acute myocardial infarction. Forty-three consecutive elderly patients with a recent myocardial infarction were randomized either to a supervised outpatient-group training programme, 50 min three times a week for 3 months, or to a control group ...

To obtain reference data for future studies of patients with low back pain, back muscle fatigue was studied by surface electromyography at L1 and L5 lumbar levels in 55 healthy subjects exerting 80% of maximal voluntary contraction of the back extensors in a sitting position. Reference data were the initial value and rate of decrease (slope) of the median frequency during the contraction. The aim ...

The aim of a study comprising 607 women working as homecare personnel was to investigate general spinal, joint and segmental mobility, different symptoms (pain and strain) and their relation to various aspects of disability. Joint mobility (mainly peripheral) was estimated using the "Beighton" score and spinal posture and mobility were measured by kyphometer. Passive segmental mobility and pain pr ...

In this study 32 women were investigated in order to elucidate how shoulder rotational muscular strength and upper-extremity impairments are associated with activity limitation in moderate rheumatoid arthritis. A regression analysis was carried out to determine whether these variables could indicate the outcomes of a shoulder-arm disability questionnaire (SDQ) comprising three parts, plus parts of ...

The Rivermead Mobility Index is used to measure mobility in patients with head injury or stroke. The purpose of the study was to examine construct validity, predictive validity, and the responsiveness of the Rivermead Mobility Index in stroke patients. Thirty-eight stroke inpatients participated in the study. The Rivermead Mobility Index, the Barthel Index, and the Berg Balance Scale were administ ...