Feasibility of dance therapy using telerehabilitation on trunk control and balance training in patients with stroke: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effects of dance therapy using telerehabilitation on trunk control and balance training in patients with stroke and compare them with the effects of conventional treatment. METHODS: We enrolled 17 patients with subacute or chronic stroke who were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. In addition to conventional physical therapy, the experimental group (n = 9) participated in 40-minute, non-face-to-face, dance-therapy sessions and the control group (n = 8) received conventional physical therapy. The primary outcome measures were the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) scores to assess trunk control and balance function between the 2 groups as a measure of change from baseline to after the intervention. RESULTS: We found that the TIS scores of the patients in the experimental group significantly improved (P = .017). The TIS results indicated non-inferiority within a predefined margin for dance therapy using telerehabilitation (difference = -0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -2.21 to 0.50). CONCLUSION: Dance therapy using telerehabilitation significantly improved the TIS scores in the experimental group and was not inferior to conventional rehabilitation treatment when compared in a non-inferiority test. The remote dance program may therefore have similar effects to those of conventional treatment regarding trunk-control improvement in patients with stroke.

Joint line changes after navigation-assisted mobile-bearing TKA.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical results of patients who underwent navigation-assisted cruciate ligament retention-type mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) according to joint line changes. From September 2004 to January 2006, cruciate ligament retention-type mobile-bearing TKAs were performed using a navigation system (OrthoPilot; B. Braun Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany) on 50 knees in 45 patients (2 men, 43 women). The mean follow-up period was 46 (range, 39-55 months), and patient mean age was 65 years. There was 1 case of rheumatic arthritis; all others were of degenerative arthritis. Proximal tibia resection was performed at the sclerotic level of the medial tibial plateau. The distance from the lowest point of lateral tibial plateau (registered point) to the proximal resection plane was measured. Clinical outcomes (range of motion, Knee Society Score) were compared for joint line elevations of > or =3 mm (20 cases) and <3 mm (30 cases). Mean joint line elevation was 1.93 mm (range, -1-5 mm). Joint line change was not found to be associated with difference of clinical results (P>.05). The findings of this study suggest that joint line changes in the range of -1 to 5 mm after cruciate ligament retention-type mobile-bearing TKA do not affect clinical outcome.