College of Health Professions
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/17051
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Browsing College of Health Professions by Department "Physical Therapy"
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Item Comparison of Ankle Strategies for Balance in Persons After Mild Head Injury(2010-01) Gobert, Denise V.; Liao, Ursula; Grattan, Shannon; Marie, Martha N.Objective: The purpose of this project was to characterize and compare balance in persons after MHI using an assessment of ankle strategies. Design: This project used an observational cohort study design. Methodology: Thirty male and female participants aged 18 - 40 years of age provided written consent according to university guidelines and were grouped as being with or without a history of MHI over the past 12 months. Computerized protocols of the NeuroCom EquiTest® system included assessments of static and dynamic standing balance during six sensory conditions in the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and during translational perturbations of the Motor Control Test (MCT). In addition to standard balance scores, a new method proposed by Zhiming et al. (2004) called the “Postural Stability Index” (PSI) was used to process platform data to document ankle stiffness. Data Analysis: Data analysis included standardized Student T-Test statistics (SPSS v.16) at an alpha level of 0.05. Also, a Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was calculated to identify significant relationships within the data pool. Preliminary Results: Preliminary findings indicate no significant differences according to standard SOT or MCT scores. Results indicate significant differences in ankle stiffness or PSI scores which have been shown to be highly correlated to decreased balance skills in other patient populations. Clinical Relevance: Preliminary results indicate that assessment of ankle strategies used during challenged balance may be a more sensitive indicator of balance skills in patients after MHI. Final results will be presented along with a discussion of possible clinical use in rehabilitation programs.Item Immediate Increases in Neck Strength Using Customized Mouth Guard: Gender Differences(2024-04) Gobert, Denise V.Purpose: The purpose of our study is to investigate gender differences in immediate muscle response to realigning the jaw using a customized mouth guard. Background: Decreased neck strength is a predictor for sport-related concussions (SRC). Females are not only more susceptible for SRC, but they have less neck strength compared to males. However, there is mixed evidence about the efficacy of neck strengthening protocols in females. There is a current need to augment gender specific training programs or the addition of appliances that target neck strengthening in females. Realigning the jaw is theorized to increase cervical spine stability, which could positively affect optimal cervical muscle length-tension relationships, and therefore, cervical strength. Methods: A total of 31 adults (13 females, 18 males) participated in this preliminary study. Overall neck and trunk function were assessed using standardized questionnaires and outcome measures. Isometric cervical muscle strength, cervical muscle endurance, and grip strength were measured with and without the customized mouth guard. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS vs 26 (IBM, Inc). Additionally, a two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to explore gender and condition (with/without mouth guard) differences. Alpha level was p = 0.05. Results: Female participants showed overall lower neck strength, endurance, and grip strength with and without the mouth guard compared to males. However, both genders increased their strength and endurance, with repeated measures indicating the mouth guard as the overall indicator for the improvements (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Preliminary findings strongly suggest that the use of a customized mouth guard is a beneficial tool to immediately increase neck strength and endurance in both genders. However, the addition of a customized mouth guard to neck strengthening protocols could be needed more with females to improve neck strength and therefore decrease the risk of sport-related concussions.