ThemFis_Vol_4_Issue_3_JunSeptember2006_6-12

Rehabilitation of Cardiovascular Diseases: Basic Principles for the Planning of Exercise Programs

Georgios Papathanasiou

ThemFis_Vol_4_Issue_3_JunSeptember2006_13-20

Reliability of The Berg Balance Scale in a Healthy Elderly Greek Population

Emmanouel Chatzitheodorou, N. Aggeloulis, M. Michalopoulou, V. Gourgoulis

The aim of the present study is the reliability control of the Berg Balance Scale(BBS) in elderly greek people.60 people participated in the study, (29 men & 31 women), of mean age 74.972±6.7 yearis, mean weight 76.2±14.6 kgr and mean height 1.65±0.1m. Of them 34 had sustained a fall in the last 2 years, whereas of the rest 26 no such incident was reported. For the collection of the data the Berg balance scale was used (BBS). The medical history of the participants was recorded and then the scale was applied to each one. The assessment was repeated 3 days after the original application and under the same conditions. The results indicate that the greek version of the scale has high internal consisterncy (Cronbach?s ? 0.995). The ICC was high or the sum of the measurements (0.995, p<.001), and for each separate one 0.991, p<.001). The ICC for the males was 0.988, (p<0.001), and for the females 0.998 (p<0.001). For the subjects under 70 years old the ICC was found to be 0.987 (p<0.001), whereas for those over 70 0.996 (p<0.001). Finally for the subjects with a history of falls ICC was found to be 0.995 (p<0.001), whereas for the fall free ones 0.995 (p<0.001). The Greek version of the BBS seems to be a clinical measurement tool with high reliability irrespective of gender, age and history of falls for the assessment of risk of falling in elderly Greek people.

ThemFis_Vol_4_Issue_3_JunSeptember2006_21-28

Osteoarthritis. Part I. Predisposing Factors in the Occurance of Post - traumatic osteoarthritis

Evangelia Germanou, A. Mpeneka, P. Malliou, G. Godiolas

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multi-factorial disease that is regarded as the most common rheumatic disease which has a tremendous impact on patients? social and financial status. The aim of the present review was to investigate the nature of the factors which predispose joints to develop OA of mechanical etiology. This type of arthritis usually results from degeneration of joint articular surfaces, which is induced by recurrent damage of articular cartilage. It emerges that the risk for the appearance of degenerative alterations in joints and OA development is greater due to the repeated use of joints that present abnormalities in the structure and their function. Structural joint abnormalities, meniscal and ligamentous injuries that differentiate joint?s physiologic function, excessive body weight, muscular weakness, ageing, loss of nervation and proprioception, and the selected method of rehabilitation after an injury are among the factors that are involved in the development of conditions that increase the risk for the development of posttraumatic osteoarthritis.

ThemFis_Vol_4_Issue_3_JunSeptember2006_29-53

The Use of Imagery in the Rehabilitation of Athletic Injuries

Anna Christakou, I. Zervas

The present study reviews the effectiveness of imagery in the rocess of sport injury rehabilitation. It presents the perceptions of sport trainers, physiotherapists, and athletes about the use of psychological interventions in the rehabilitation process. The results of the study reported the positive influence of imagery in the rehabilitation of a sport injury. Further controlled experimental studies should be conducted to investigate the theoretical background explaining the psychophysiological processes in the rehabilitation of a sport injury.

ThemFis_Vol_4_Issue_3_JunSeptember2006_54-64

Reproducibility of the Temporal Parameters of Walking in School - Age Children

Anastasia Sarrimanoli, N. Aggeloulis, V. Gourgoulis, G. Mavromatis

Gait analysis is often used for clinical applications. However, the comparison between normal and not normal gait aiming at the export of conclusions on the type and the gravity of kinetic problems, presents enough restrictions, due to the big number of factors that affect walking. Amongst other factors that differentiate gait patterns in humans, the sex, age, speed and frequency of walking should be taken into consideration. The purpose of this study was to record the speed and the frequency of walking in school age children from Greek population and to determine their reproducibility. 120 children from all classes of two municipal schools of Attica were measured. During the examination children walked at their natural (self selected) speed a distance of 13 m, repeating 10 times for the determination of reproducibility. A system with an electronic chronometer and two pairs of photocells and reflectors, was recording the time that each child needed to cover an intermediary distance of 5 m. The process was recorded by a video camera for the determination of gait frequency, but also for recording the duration of stride, stance and swing. From the application of multivariate analysis of variance, statistically important effects for the factor class with respect to the time of stride and frequency of walking were found. Also, by calculating the coefficient of variation (CV) reproducibility of all the parameters was determined, while intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) between the 10 efforts were more than 0.80 for all the examined parameters. In conclusion, it appears that between 6 and 12 years the age can influence the time of stride and the gait frequency, while sex does not appear to have important effect. Also, these findings can constitute a reliable base of data for children of this age provided that there is high reproducibility of the gait parameters. Certainly, the repetition of the test for at least ten times is required for the conduction of reliable conclusions.