29 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
University students ages 18-45, with no recent history of back injury and no history of back surgery, were recruited. Participants completed proprioception testing consisting of a standing side bending and seated spinal flexion test. Participants performed each test once, then were blindfolded and asked to replicate the tests 10 times. After the initial proprioceptive testing, the participants were randomly split into four groups and performed a 10-minute intervention exercise, before repeating the proprioceptive tests for final measurements. The four groups included: graded motor imagery, mirror visual feedback, augmented biofeedback, and diaphragmatic breathing. Participants also completed a Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale to rate their enjoyment of their intervention task -For the seated forward flexion test, the participants' C7 and S2 vertebrae were identified and used as markers. The participants were asked to bend forward until the tape measure increased 5 cm from the original distance between the C7 and S2 vertebrae. Similar to the seated flexion test, during the side-bending task, the participants were asked to side bend until the tip of their middle finger was 10 cm closer to the floor. The participants were asked to memorize that point in their mind; they were then blindfolded and asked to repeat the movement 10 times, trying to recreate the original position to the best of their ability. Between initial and final measurements of proprioception, the participants were randomly assigned to one of the following four groups for interventions for a 10-minute training session: * Graded Motor Imagery Group: Participants were shown several flashcards with pictures of individuals' back oriented to either the flexed or side bent position. The participants stated which direction the image depicted and visualized themselves making the movement identified in the picture. * Mirror Visual Feedback Group: Participants viewed themselves in a mirror while performing flexion and side bending movements. -Augmented Biofeedback Group: Participants used an augmented musculoskeletal feedback system smartphone application app and small sensors with Bluetooth technology to translate the movement of the participant into an avatar on the game. -Diaphragmatic Breathing Group: Participants were told to sit on a chair with their back straight and feet flat on the floor with one hand on their chest and one hand on their stomach. They performed diaphragmatic breathing in a slow 4 second box method: breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, breathing out for 4 seconds, and then hold for 4 seconds
This project comprises three sets of physiological studies - testing eight specific hypotheses - that will contribute new knowledge on proprioception and motor control in a genetic disorder that affects specific components of the sensory nervous system. I: To investigate the neurophysiological basis for disturbed motor control in Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) III II: To investigate the effects of enhancing cutaneous feedback on motor control in HSAN III III: To investigate the cortical representation of proprioceptive inputs in HSAN III
In this study, an FDA-cleared device and type of treatment called "AMES," which stands for Assisted Movement with Enhanced Sensation, will be used to determine whether sensation in the upper limb of individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries, acquired brain injury, or stroke improves along with movement through treatment. We hypothesize that measureable improvement in the sensation of the upper limb will precede improvement in functional movement.
Cervical spine manipulation (CSM) is utilized by many health care practitioners in the management of patients with neck pain and headache. How CSM works is not understood however, most researchers agree that there is likely a combination of mechanical, neurophysiological and placebo effects. This study will test for possible neurophysiological effects by examining for changes in a person's ability to reposition their head and neck in space, and maintain their balance following CSM.
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the relationship of core stability to core proprioception
The purpose of this study is to understand how the different regions of the brain affect our sense of limbs in space (proprioception) and in turn our hand movements (motor skill learning). This information might help us one day to generate better rehabilitation protocols to help patients with movement deficits.
The purpose of this research is to assess the effects osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) of fascial strain patterns on body awareness, proprioception, and mood.
Participants will be recruited from the Des Moines University community and randomized into treatment and control groups. The treatment group will undergo three treatments one week apart. The control group will have an osteopathic structural exam without treatment. During the first treatment weeks both groups will undergo balance testing on a force plate pre and post intervention. Additional balance testing will take place one week after last intervention. Six variables will be compared between groups used a linear mixed model analysis.
The hypothesis of this research protocol is that the investigators will be able to redesign the manner in which upper limb amputations are performed so as to enable volitional control of next generation prosthetic devices and restore sensation and proprioception to the amputated limb. The investigators will test this hypothesis by performing modified above elbow or below elbow amputations in ten intervention patients, and compare their outcomes to ten control patients who have undergone tradition amputations at similar levels. The specific aims of the project are: 1. To define a standardized approach to the performance of a novel operative procedure for both below elbow (BEA) and above elbow amputations (AEA) 2. To measure the degree of volitional motor activation and excursion achievable in the residual limb constructs, and to determine the optimal configuration and design of such constructs 3. To describe the extent of proprioceptive feedback achievable through the employment of these modified surgical techniques 4. To validate the functional and somatosensory superiority of the proposed amputation technique over standard approaches to BEA and AEA 5. To develop a modified acute postoperative rehabilitation strategy suited to this new surgical approach This will be a phase I/pilot clinical trial to be performed over a three-year period as a collaborative initiative involving Brigham \& Women's Hospital/Brigham \& Women's Faulkner Hospital (BWH/BWFH), Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The investigators will plan to perform 6 of the 10 amputations at BWH/BWFH, and 4 of the amputations at WRNMMC.
In past work is has been shown that yoga can be as effective as a standard balance or Tai Chi protocol; however, there is an inability to distinguish between the mind and body contributions of yoga training. This study will compare an accepted proprioceptive training program to a meditation program which concentrates on body awareness in individuals with Parkinson's disease.
The research design will be single group pretest-posttest design. The subject will be instructed to position the knee joint to a position previously set by the experimenter. Intervention will be 10 minutes of GT1 instrument application at anterior thigh using sweep technique.
The purpose now is to: 1. identify brain connections related to proprioception to have a better understanding of differences between people with stroke and healthy persons 2. evaluate how these brain connections will change in people with stroke when they are engaged in 6-week cognitive multisensory rehabilitation.
Upper limb amputation is a devastating injury that leaves many thousands of typically young and active individuals in the US to rely on artificial arms and hands to help restore their lost function. The investigators research is focused on helping these individuals to feel where their prosthetic limbs are moving without having to look at them by developing devices and approaches to provide sensory feedback of limb movement through the nerves that once served the missing limb.
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate attentional (internal vs. external) focus effects on persons with amputation to perform a defined compensatory movement to reduce the likelihood of a fall. An internal focus of attention directs a person's conscious attention to their body's movements, whereas an external focus of attention directs a person's conscious attention to the effects of their movements or specific features in the environment. Numerous experiments have investigated the effects of an internal and external focus of attention on motor performance and the findings are in favor of an external focus of attention. In our work, we propose a motor learning research experiment to evaluate attentional focus strategies on the rehabilitation outcomes of learning and adaptation to the new proprioceptive information for persons with a recent transtibial amputation. Research Design and Methodology: For this pilot study, six participants with recent unilateral transtibial amputation will be recruited. Four participants will receive internal and external focus of attention training methods while the other two (control group) will receive standard prosthetic training instructions. The experiment will be conducted in three phases: Phase 1 -- Baseline Performance Test, Phase 2 -- Training sessions, and Phase 3 - Learning Test. The training will utilize a vibrotactile device designed to generate tactile sensations at the skin-socket interface simulating contact of the prosthesis with the environment. The sensation simulates a perturbation that signals a potential fall event. During the experiment the augmented sensory information will be introduced randomly while participants walk at a preferred pace on a level surface. Movement kinematics and kinetics of the body will be recorded for analyses using a motion capture system with force plates. Finding: It is hypothesized that the external focus of attention condition will outperform the internal focus of attention condition when responding to perturbations. The external focus of attention condition will yield faster response time and show improved compensatory responses compared to the internal focus of attention group by producing a greater lateral displacement of the artificial limb relative to the line of progression. In addition, the external condition will demonstrate a greater step length and step height than the internal focus of attention condition when provided with a perturbation. Clinical Significance: Current practices within the field of Physical Therapy reveal that there is little therapeutic intervention for fall prevention. Instructions are traditionally provided on how to reduce the risk of falling through preparation of a room or obstacle avoidance or on the proper way to fall to decrease injury. However, there are no protocols for providing a prosthetic user with compensatory strategies to avoid a fall after a perturbation occurs. The research findings can result in improved training protocols, which can improve rehabilitative outcome. Impact/Significance: The growing number of prosthetic users presents a need for improved patient care and effective prosthetic training and rehabilitation methods. Complimentary to the mission of the VA, the results of this research could enhance the quality of patient care and further assist these patients toward becoming prosthetically rehabilitated.
This study examines the effect of kinesiology tape on proprioception and postural control in subjects with sub-acute and chronic ankle sprains/strain.
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effects of chronic ankle instability on cervical spine and knee proprioception as measured using joint position sense to investigate whether correlation can be drawn between the two.
The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between cervical multifidi thickness, cervical spine proprioception and possible reflex activation of cervical multifidi through stimulation of joint mechanoreceptors. Cervical mechanoreceptors will be activated with an innocuous, nonspecific stimulation. Participants will have cervical spine proprioception assessed through joint position sense testing. The multifidus muscle thickness and activation state is to be assessed by sonography. These measures are done pre \& post to the innocuous stimulation. There is no specific hypothesis.
This study will collect information on how people sense leg position and movement. The findings may help scientists develop better ways to evaluate and treat joint problems. Healthy adult volunteers between 21 and 40 years of age may be eligible for the study. Candidates are screened with a brief questionnaire and examination to determine their strength, flexibility, and sensation. Participants sit on a specially designed chair, with their foot and leg placed in a custom-made apparatus that controls knee and ankle movements. The skin is marked to indicate the area of interest for ultrasound assessment of muscle. Subjects respond to joint position changes for several trials. The procedure takes a maximum of 2.5 hours to complete. ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Kinesio Taping on the position sense of shoulder after muscle fatigue.
The aim of this study is to evaluate how vibration of the tendons enhances arm and hand training in survivors of chronic stroke. The investigators hypothesize that wrist/elbow robotic training, combined with body awareness training will improve arm and hand function in individuals with chronic stroke.
The purpose of this study is to understand the acute, short-term and long-term impact of transcutaneous and/or percutaneous electrical stimulation with afferent-specific electrical stimulation (asES) on proprioception and fine motor control in the upper extremity. For this purpose, the researchers will use transcutaneous and/or percutaneous asES, high-density electromyography (HD-EMG), arm kinematic measurements, and standardized clinical assessments. This study will be conducted in healthy able-bodied individuals and patients with essential tremor (ET).
The purpose of this study is to capture sensorimotor ankle function in a chronic stroke population through validation of novel, experimental metrics and their comparison with established, clinical measures of function. For this purpose, the researchers will evaluate various single-joint, impairment-level measures such as visuomotor tracking performance and proprioception as well as functional-level measures including spatiotemporal gait (e.g., gait speed and stride length/time) and standardized clinical scales. This study will be carried out in chronic stroke patients as well as age-matched healthy controls. Results will help the researchers identify more quantitative metrics that can be used to monitor and rehabilitate sensorimotor function following stroke.
Background: PIEZO2 Deficiency Syndrome (PDS) is a genetic disorder that affects a person s ability to feel touches and pain. Researchers want to know more about how PDS changes nerve function. Objective: To compare nerve function in people with PDS to that in people without PDS. Eligibility: People aged 18 years and older with PDS enrolled in protocol 16-AT-0077. Healthy volunteers are also needed. Design: Participants will have at least 1 clinic visit. They will undergo a test that measures activity in the nerves. For the test: Participants will place their arm or leg in a comfortable position. Ultrasound will be used to locate nerves. A smooth wand will be slid over the skin to capture images of the structures below. Two thin needles will be inserted through the skin. These needles are much smaller than the kind used to draw blood. The needles will record nerve activity as different sensations are applied to the skin. These include mild electrical pulses; heat and cold; bending of the knee or elbow; vibration; air puffs; pulling a hair; and tapping, stroking (brushing), stretching, pinching, and pushing on the skin at different levels of force. Each test takes 5 to 10 minutes. Participants will describe the sensations they feel. Participants may opt for an additional test that measures how nerves respond after heat pulses are used to create mild redness on the skin. Researchers would like at least 2 tests from each person. Participants may return for up to 3 additional visits, if desired, to complete all the testing.
Falls are the leading cause of injury in adults over age 65. Muscle weakness in the foot can lead to foot and toe deformities such as collapsed arches or bunions, which have been found to contribute to falls in adults over age 65. The current research study aims to investigate the effectiveness of two simple and affordable foot strengthening methods that may make a major impact on balance and fall prevention in older adults.
The purpose of this study is to characterize proprioceptive sensations in the missing limb of upper limb amputees using nerve stimulation, and to develop advanced controllers for moving a prosthesis. Proprioceptive sensations are the sensations that tell individuals where their hand is in space, and if it is moving. The research team uses Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), which involves applying small electric currents to the nerves. These signals are then transferred to the brain just like the information about the individual's intact hand used to be transferred to their brain. This study will test different placements for stimulation and determine which one(s) provide the individual with proprioceptive sensations. The investigators want to know what the participants feel and if the investigators can use proprioceptive sensation to give the participants information about limb movement and position.
This study involves the functional testing of a new lower extremity prosthesis by healthy, active participants with fully healed transtibial (below knee) amputations. The study design calls for an experimental group of eleven participants who received two agonist-antagonist myoneural interfaces (AMIs) that were surgically constructed during a modified transtibial amputation procedure, and a control group of eleven matched participants who received standard transtibial amputations. The study protocol involves one or more of the following activities: 1. Collection of electromyography (EMG) data from participants' lower limbs to characterize muscle activation and create maps specific to individual participants, 2. Investigation of participants' capabilities to use a new lower extremity prosthesis that is designed to allow independent actuation of the ankle and subtalar joints, and offers EMG-modulated control over prosthetic joint position and stiffness, and 3. Exploration of AMIs as a means of communicating information between the participant and the new prosthesis using an experimental system involving EMG, functional electrical stimulation, and ultrasound. The hypothesis is that transtibial amputations involving AMIs can offer improved motor control of the new prosthesis while also enabling proprioceptive sensation (perception of the position, movement, and torque of the affected limb and prosthetic joint). The AMIs are expected to improve voluntary prosthetic control, improve prosthetic terrain adaptations, and offer new possibilities for bi-directional communication across the human-device interface.
Supplementing or augmenting sensory information to those who have lost proprioception after stroke could help improve functional control of the arm. Thirty subjects will be recruited to a single site to evaluate the ability of supplemental kinesthetic feedback (a form of vibrotactile stimulation) to improve motor function. Participants will be tested in performing reaching movements as well as more functional tasks such as simulated drinking from a glass
Dynamic control of the rotator cuff muscles plays an important role in stabilizing the shoulder during motion. Impairment in the neuromuscular control of these muscles may to lead to injury and pain. Rehabilitation programs have moderate success in decreasing pain and improving shoulder function. While most of these programs target the rotator cuff, it is still unknown if they serve to improve the neuromuscular control of the rotator cuff muscles. The rehabilitation may induce neurological and physiologic changes in neuromuscular structures and thus alter the neuromuscular control of the entire shoulder complex. Kinematics and electromyographic (EMG) activities have been widely used to study neuromuscular control. However, corticospinal excitability, which has been widely examined in the patients with neurological disorders, provides a more detailed account of central control from the primary motor cortex through the spinal cord to the muscles. This assessment of neuromuscular control will serve to illuminate the ability of the shoulder muscles to handle the stress from activities such as overhead sports activities and carrying or lifting heavy objects. This approach could be used to help design efficient training program for athletes and effective rehabilitation program for patients with shoulder injuries. The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate the effect of exercise treatment effect on the proprioception, kinematics, EMG and corticospinal excitability of shoulder muscles, including the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles.
The purpose of the study is to determine the validity of a point-of-care nerve conduction device (NeuroMetrix) and Rydel-Seiffer tuning fork in assessing the level of peripheral neuropathy in patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common, persistent toxicity among patients who receive chemotherapy. It is characterized by a variety of sensory and motor symptoms such as numbness, tingling, reduced sense of touch, reduced proprioception (awareness of your limb and body position in space), pain, weakness, balance disturbances, and deficits in motor skills.