Validity and intra-rater reliability of an Android phone application to measure cervical range-of-motion

Concurrent validity and intra-rater reliability using a customized Android phone application to measure cervical-spine range-of-motion (ROM) has not been previously validated against a gold-standard three-dimensional motion analysis (3DMA) system

Anthropometric indices as screening tools for cardiovascular risk factors in Singaporean women

Previous studies have suggested the need to revise the World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off values for the various indices of obesity and fat distribution in Singapore. The purpose of this study was to delineate cut-off points of body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference (WC), and waist-stature ratio (WSR) as screening tools for cardiovascular risk factors in Singaporean women. Anthropometric indices were measured in a cross sectional survey of 566 subjects (60% Chinese individuals, 28% Malay individuals and 12% Indian individuals). Cardiovascular risk factors were determined by measuring blood pressure, serum lipids, and fasting blood glucose levels. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine cut-off points. Forward logistic regression and area under curves (AUC) were used to determine the best anthropometric index. For at least one cardiovascular risk factor (hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus), the cut-off points for BMI, WHR, WC and WSR were around 23.6kg/m 2 , 0.80, 77.8cm and 0.48 for Singaporean females. The AUC of WSR was the highest for all three risk factors in females (0.79 for hypertension, 0.70 for dyslipidaemia, 0.88 for diabetes mellitus). Regression analyses revealed that WSR was independently associated with all risk factors. For Singaporean female adults, the cut-off points were lower than the criteria suggested by the WHO, but were in agreement with those reported for Asians. BMI, WHR, WC and WSR may be used as screening tools for cardiovascular risk factors, of which WSR may be the best anthropometric index

The reliability of a maximal isometric hip strength and simultaneous surface EMG screening protocol in elite, junior rugby league athletes

Objectives Firstly to describe the reliability of assessing maximal isometric strength of the hip abductor and adductor musculature using a hand held dynamometry (HHD) protocol with simultaneous wireless surface electromyographic (sEMG) evaluation of the gluteus medius (GM) and adductor longus (AL). Secondly, to describe the correlation between isometric strength recorded with the HHD protocol and a laboratory standard isokinetic device. Design Reliability and correlational study. Methods A sample of 24 elite, male, junior, rugby league athletes, age 16–20 years participated in repeated HHD and isometric Kin-Com (KC) strength testing with simultaneous sEMG assessment, on average (range) 6 (5–7) days apart by a single assessor. Strength tests included; unilateral hip abduction (ABD) and adduction (ADD) and bilateral ADD assessed with squeeze (SQ) tests in 0 and 45° of hip flexion. Results HHD demonstrated good to excellent inter-session reliability for all outcome measures (ICC\ua0=\ua00.76–0.91) and good to excellent association with the laboratory reference KC (ICC\ua0=\ua00.80–0.88). Whilst intra-session, inter-trial reliability of EMG activation and co-activation outcome measures ranged from moderate to excellent (ICC\ua0=\ua00.70–0.94), inter-session reliability was poor (all ICC\ua

Efficacy of a multimodal physiotherapy treatment program for hip osteoarthritis: a randomised placebo-controlled trial protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition leading to pain, disability and reduced quality of life. There is currently limited evidence to support the use of conservative, non-pharmacological treatments for hip OA. Exercise and manual therapy have both shown promise and are typically used together by physiotherapists to manage painful hip OA. The aim of this randomised controlled trial is to compare the efficacy of a physiotherapy treatment program with placebo treatment in reducing pain and improving physical function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The trial will be conducted at the University of Melbourne Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine. 128 participants with hip pain greater or equal to 40/100 on visual analogue scale (VAS) and evidence of OA on x-ray will be recruited. Treatment will be provided by eight community physiotherapists in the Melbourne metropolitan region. The active physiotherapy treatment will comprise a semi-structured program of manual therapy and exercise plus education and advice. The placebo treatment will consist of sham ultrasound and the application of non-therapeutic gel. The participants and the study assessor will be blinded to the treatment allocation. Primary outcomes will be pain measured by VAS and physical function recorded on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) immediately after the 12 week intervention. Participants will also be followed up at 36 weeks post baseline.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The trial design has important strengths of reproducibility and reflecting contemporary physiotherapy practice. The findings from this randomised trial will provide evidence for the efficacy of a physiotherapy program for painful hip OA.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry reference: ACTRN12610000439044</p

A mobile application for pure tone audiometry: puremetry

Hearing loss can have a negative impact on multiple aspects of an individual’s life. Despite the government’s actions and regulations, there is still a lack of attention and awareness regarding hearing loss among the public. Therefore, this project aimed to create a mobile application for self-administered pure tone audiometry to provide easy access to hearing ability assessment. The application features include taking a clinical history, detecting surrounding noise levels, and obtaining hearing thresholds. The mobile application was designed to be user-friendly and underwent testing to ensure it was not prone to errors. Overall, the objective of this project was successfully achieved within the given timeframe.Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science

Isokinetic dynamometry in anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction

The use of Isokinetic dynamometry has often been criticised based on the face-validity argument that isokinetic movements poorly resemble the everyday multi-segmented, dynamic activities of human movements. In the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction or defiency population where muscle deficits are ubiquitous, this review paper has made a case for using isokinetic dynamometry to isolate and quantify these deficits in a safe and controlled manner

Examining different aspects of functional performance using a variety of bench throw techniques

Examining different aspects of functional performance using a variety of bench throw techniques. The purpose of this experiment was to examine upper-body bench throw performance during tests that specifically target different aspects of functional performance. A pool of 26 male, semi-professional rugby league players (age: 23 ± 3 years, height: 180.8 ± 5.6 cm, mass: 95.7 ± 13.0 kg, estimated 1 repetition maximum bench press: 130 ± 20 kg) volunteered to participate in this study, which consisted of 2 components. First, the reliability of peak force (f) and displacement (d) measured during 4 different types of bench throws was assessed. These tests consisted of full range of motion (ROM) countermovement throws (FC), full ROM static start throws (FS), half ROM countermovement throws (HC), and half ROM static start throws (HS). For all measures, intraclass correlation coefficients were >0.80. The second component of this study examined the relationship between all measures, with a focus on the 2 simplest protocols to implement in an athlete assessment setting-FC and FS. A Pearson's correlation matrix revealed that a combination of FSd and FSf measures was moderately to highly correlated with all outcome measures, whereas neither FCd nor FCf was significantly correlated with HSf-a measure of the athlete's ability to produce force in the midrange of the movement with minimal elastic energy contribution. The results of this study suggest that, in situations where time efficiency is important, assessing full ROM bench throws from a static start may provide a representative measure of both upper-body full and partial ROM performance

Morphology of knee extension torque-time curves following anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction

Background: Mechanical instability, neurosensory deficits, and/or modified coactivation strategies following anterior cruciate ligament injury and surgery might compromise the ability of the knee extensors to exert a precise force during isokinetic knee extension with maximal effort. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an anterior cruciate ligament deficiency and reconstruction on knee extensor torque-time curve smoothness and to elucidate its association with hamstring (antagonist) activation and physical performance. Methods: Thirteen subjects who had a unilateral deficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament, twenty-five matched subjects with a unilateral reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament, and thirty-three control subjects performed knee extension and flexion repetitions bilaterally with maximal effort at 180[degrees]/sec on a Cybex dynamometer. For the subjects with a deficient or a reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament, hamstring activation was measured electromyographically. Physical performance was measured by requiring subjects to perform single-limb timed hopping on the involved limb. Results: In the subjects with a reconstructed or a deficient anterior cruciate ligament, wavelet-derived mean instantaneous frequency of the extensor torque-time curves was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the involved limb than in the noninvolved limb and the limbs of the control subjects. Furthermore, for the subjects with a reconstructed or deficient anterior cruciate ligament, the mean instantaneous frequency of the extensor torque-time curves was positively associated with the level of hamstring antagonist activity (r = 0.580, p < 0.001) and with hopping performance (b = -0.943, p = 0.019), whereas isokinetic peak torque was not (b = -0.001, p = 0.797). Conclusions: For individuals who have a deficient or a reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament, an increased frequency content of the knee extensor torque is not, as previously and commonly assumed, a deleterious manifestation of the neuromuscular system. Rather, our results suggest that torque smoothness reduces as hamstring activation increases-a positive neuromuscular adaptation that enhances joint stability and, hence, optimizes physical performance. Wavelet-derived measures of extensor torque smoothness may provide valuable clinical information regarding joint function that conventional isokinetic torque measures cannot