ABSTRACT
Chest physiotherapy is an essential part of the management of cystic fibrosis, yet comparatively few studies have investigated the commonly used forms of chest physiotherapy during acute respiratory exacerbations. Fifteen subjects with cystic fibrosis and predominantly mild pulmonary impairment completed a randomised cross-over trial with 24 hours between treatments. The active cycle of breathing techniques (ACBT) assisted by a physiotherapist was compared with the ACBT performed independently by the patient. Measurement outcomes included pulmonary function tests, indirect calorimetry and oximetry parameters. Energy expenditure was not significantly different between the two treatment regimens, though significant improvements in pulmonary function were apparent 24 hours following the therapist-assisted ACBT. In this group of subjects, neither form of treatment proved superior in terms of energy consumption, but a reduction in airways obstruction was observed as a carry-over effect following the therapist-assisted ACBT.
Subject(s)
Breathing Exercises , Cystic Fibrosis/complications , Cystic Fibrosis/rehabilitation , Physical Therapy Modalities/methods , Respiratory Tract Infections/therapy , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Analysis of Variance , Calorimetry , Cross-Over Studies , Cystic Fibrosis/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Male , Oximetry , Respiratory Function Tests , Respiratory Tract Infections/etiology , Respiratory Tract Infections/physiopathologyABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to develop and assess a method of analysis of femoral rotations to describe and summarize an individual's gait. Twelve normal subjects underwent walking trials at both natural and slow speeds, controlled by a metronome. The three-dimensional rotations of each femur were measured, simultaneously, during walking using a 3SPACE Tracker. The phase lags between the three rotations for each leg, obtained by cross-correlations, provided the primary data. The device was found to be reliable and gave significant test--retest repeatability. The analyses provided summary parameters describing mathematically the patterns of rotations and showed there was repeatability within and between sessions. A strong systematic subject effect in all analyses indicated that these parameters provide a highly specific description of how an individual walks.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reliability of three-dimensional postural control sway measures, in a normal population, using an electromagnetic device. DESIGN: A repeated measures design was used within and between sessions. BACKGROUND: Electromagnetic measurement has been proposed as a method of measuring postural sway; however, reliability within a normal population has not been shown. METHOD: An electromagnetic device, the 3SPACE Tracker, measured postural sway at the pelvis using sway path length and displacements in the anterior-posterior, medial-lateral and vertical direction. Ten subjects performed a postural control task involving two trials for six different sensory conditions, on two separate occasions, two weeks apart. RESULTS: The reliability of the technique was demonstrated by the repeatability of results for individual subjects within and between sessions. Individual subjects and sensory conditions were discriminated. Sway path length was the most consistent of the measures used. CONCLUSIONS: Three dimensional measures of postural sway are reliable and discriminatory in a normal population.
