Chest physiotherapy (CP) is seen as a cornerstone of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) treatment. However, previous studies have suggested that adherence to CP is low. This study of adults with CF (N = 563) investigated CP adherence and associated factors. Only 29.5 per cent reported undertaking daily CP. Predictors of adherence included problems with fitting CP into lifestyle, a perception that CP does not...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise using a rehabilitational sliding machine and conventional neurological physical therapy on the balance of stroke patients. [Subjects] Forty patients with hemiplegia resulting from stroke were divided into a rehabilitational sliding machine exercise group (ST group, n=20) and a conventional neurological physiotherapy ...

BACKGROUND Knowledge about early physiotherapy to preterm infants is sparse, given the risk of delayed motor development and cerebral palsy. METHODS/DESIGN A pragmatic randomized controlled study has been designed to assess the effect of a preventative physiotherapy program carried out in the neonatal intensive care unit. Moreover, a qualitative study is carried out to assess the physiotherap...

[Purpose] Over the years physiotherapy has been recognized as a popular mode of treatment that decreases the disability and dependency rate of patients. However, there is still a need for its recognition in multidisciplinary health care structures. If a physician were well aware of how a physical therapist could help with treatment if patients and prevent complications, hospital patient load co...

BACKGROUND The Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor has been suggested as a potential tool to measure depth of sedation in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients. The primary aim of our observational study was to assess the difference in BIS values between the left and right sides of the brain. Secondary aims were to compare BIS and COMFORT score and to assess change in BIS with tracheal suct...

We performed a prospective, randomised trial on 106 patients to compare the effects of local corticosteroid injections with physiotherapy as advocated by Cyriax in the treatment of tennis elbow. The main outcome measures were the severity of pain, pain provoked by resisted dorsiflexion of the wrist, and patient satisfaction. At six weeks 22 of 53 patients in the injection group were free from p...

All patients who presented to our Accident & Emergency Department over a 6-month period with an acute knee injury were randomly assigned to receive either immediate physiotherapy or not prior to further follow up at an out-patient clinic. Patients with trivial injuries not requiring follow up and patients with severe injuries requiring immediate admission were excluded from the study. Patients ...

Confidentiality is known to be a challenging aspect of physiotherapy practice. This paper explores current guidance available to the profession in New Zealand. Using a contentious real life case study from health care practice nine undergraduate physiotherapy students were asked to provide their responses to the ethically complex scenario using the Values Exchange web-based decisionmaking tool....

Background. Mobility limitations are a key feature of MS and 25% will require the use of a walking aid 15 years after diagnosis. Few studies have specifically evaluated the effectiveness of physiotherapy and exercise interventions delivered in the community for those with significant disability. Methods. An assessor blind, block randomised, and controlled study recruited participants who requir...