April 2010

Effect of a 12-week yoga intervention on fear of falling and balance in older adults: a pilot study.

Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2010 Apr;91(4):576-83

Authors: Schmid AA, Van Puymbroeck M, Koceja DM

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether fear of falling (FoF) and balance improved after a 12-week yoga intervention among older adults. DESIGN: A 12-week yoga intervention single-armed pilot study. SETTING: A retirement community in a medium-sized university town in the Midwest. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of adults (N=14) over the age of 65 years who all endorsed an FoF. INTERVENTION: Each participant took part in a biweekly 12-week yoga intervention. The yoga sessions included both physical postures and breathing exercises. Postures were completed in sitting and standing positions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured FoF with the Illinois FoF Measure and balance with the Berg Balance Scale. Upper- and lower-body flexibility were measured with the back scratch test and chair sit and reach test, respectively. RESULTS: FoF decreased by 6%, static balance increased by 4% (P=.045), and lower-body flexibility increased by 34%. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that yoga may be a promising intervention to manage FoF and improve balance, thereby reducing fall risk for older adults. Rehabilitation therapists may wish to explore yoga as a modality for balance and falls programming; however, future research is needed to confirm the use of yoga in such programming.

PMID: 20382290 [PubMed - in process]

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Tai chi for breast cancer patients: a systematic review.

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010 Apr;120(2):309-16

Authors: Lee MS, Choi TY, Ernst E

The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of tai chi for supportive breast cancer care. Eleven databases were searched from inception through December 2009. Controlled trials testing tai chi in patients with breast cancer that assessed clinical outcome measures were considered. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validations were performed independently by two reviewers. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane criteria. Three randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and four non-randomized controlled clinical trials (CCTs) met our inclusion criteria. The three RCTs tested the effects of tai chi on breast cancer care compared with walking exercise, psychological support therapy, or spiritual growth or standard health care and showed no significant differences between tai chi and these control procedures in quality of life and psychological and physical outcome measures. The meta-analysis also failed to demonstrate significant effects of tai chi compared with control interventions (n = 38, SMD, 0.45, 95% CI -0.25 to 1.14, P = 0.21; heterogeneity: chi(2) = 0.23, P = 0.63; I (2) = 0%). All of the four CCTs showed favorable effects of tai chi. Three trials suggested effectiveness in psychological and physical outcome measures, whereas one study was too poorly reported to be evaluated in detail. All of the CCTs had a high risk of bias. Collectively, the existing trial evidence does not show convincingly that tai chi is effective for supportive breast cancer care. Future studies should be of high methodological quality, with a particular emphasis on including an adequate control intervention.

PMID: 20127280 [PubMed - in process]

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Effectiveness of a Tai chi Qigong program in promoting health-related quality of life and perceived social support in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease clients.

Qual Life Res. 2010 Mar 15;

Authors: Chan AW, Lee A, Suen LK, Tam WW

PURPOSE: This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a 3-month Tai chi Qigong (TCQ) program in promoting the psychosocial functional health of clients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Hong Kong. METHODS: This study employed a single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Two hundred and six COPD clients were randomly assigned into three groups, namely, TCQ group, exercise group, and control group. Subjects in the TCQ group received a TCQ program, consisting of two 60-min sessions each week for 3 months. Subjects in the exercise group were taught to practice breathing techniques combined with walking as an exercise. Subjects in the control group received their usual care. Data collections were performed at baseline, on the sixth week and on the third month. The primary outcomes were health-related quality of life using St. George Respiratory Questionnaire-Hong Kong Chinese version and perceived social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support-Chinese version. RESULTS: The TCQ group showed greater improvements in the symptom (F (4, 404) = 3.351, P = 0.010) and activity domains (F (4, 404) = 2.611, P = 0.035). No differences were detected in perceived social support among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Tai chi Qigong promoted health outcomes with respect to clients’ perception of their respiratory symptoms. Moreover, TCQ decreased disturbances to their physical activities.

PMID: 20229333 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Effectiveness of an educational intervention on levels of pain, anxiety and self-efficacy for patients with musculoskeletal trauma.

J Adv Nurs. 2010 Mar 22;

Authors: Wong EM, Chan SW, Chair SY

wong e.m.-l., chan w.-c.c. & chair s.-y. (2010) Effectiveness of an educational intervention on levels of pain, anxiety and self-efficacy for patients with musculoskeletal trauma. Journal of Advanced Nursing66(5), 1130-1141. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of a study of the effectiveness of a pain management educational intervention on level of pain, anxiety and self-efficacy among patients with musculoskeletal trauma and consequent orthopaedic surgery. Background. Substantial evidence supports the use of preoperative education to improve patient outcomes. Educational interventions are common in preparing patients for orthopaedic surgery. Methods. A pre- and post-test design (quasi-experimental) was employed in 2006 with patients assigned either to a control (usual care) or an experimental group (usual care plus educational intervention). The 30-minute educational intervention consisted of information about pain, coping strategies and breathing relaxation exercises. The outcome measures were scores for pain, anxiety, self-efficacy, analgesic use and length of hospital stay and these were measured before surgery and on day 2, day 4, day 7, 1 month and 3 months after surgery. Results. A total of 125 patients completed the study (control, n = 63; experimental = 62). The experimental group reported statistically significantly lower levels of pain, less anxiety and better self-efficacy during hospitalization (before surgery to day 7), as compared to the control group. The experimental group had more requests for analgesics at day 2 only. There were no statistically significant effects on length of stay. At the 3-month evaluation, a statistically significant effect on anxiety level was found in favour of the experimental group. Conclusion. Patients may benefit from this educational intervention in terms of relieving pain, anxiety and improving self-efficacy, and the educational intervention could be incorporated as part of routine care to prepare musculoskeletal trauma patients for surgery.

PMID: 20337801 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[Musculoskeletal rehabilitation and bone. Application of motivation theory for rehabilitation of the elderly.]

Clin Calcium. 2010 Apr;20(4):576-85

Authors: Takasugi S, Iwamoto Y

Selection and application of the exercise programs for rehabilitation of the elderly should not only be based on a short-term efficiency, but also be based on the self- determination and motivation of the participants themselves. In this paper, we will review the functional improvement of the elderly by Tai Chi, Hula, Ball Exercise, and Arcade Games, and will discuss about the motivation theory to apply in practice. The intrinsic motivation is the essential element of the theory and is composed of enjoyment, interest and satisfaction.

PMID: 20354332 [PubMed - in process]