Lorenna Marques de Melo Santiago

Immediate effects of adding mental practice to physical practice on the gait of individuals with Parkinson’s disease: Randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND Mental practice has shown benefits in the rehabilitation of neurological patients, however, there is no evidence of immediate effects on gait of individuals with Parkinsons disease. OBJECTIVE Determine the effects of mental practice activity added to physical practice on the gait of individuals with Idiopathic Parkinsons Disease (IPD). METHODS 20 patients classified with stage 2 and 3, according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale were randomized into 2 groups. The experimental group (N = 10) was submitted to a single session of mental practice and physical practice gait protocol and the control group (N = 10) only to physical practice. The primary outcomes were stride length and total stance and swing time. Secondary outcomes were hip range of motion, velocity and mobility. Subjects were reassessed 10 minutes, 1 day and 7 days after the end of the session. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference between the groups. An intragroup difference was observed in velocity, stride length, hip range of motion, and mobility, as well as total stance and swing time. These results were also observed on follow-ups. CONCLUSIONS Mental practice did not have a greater effect on the gait of individuals with IPD than physical practice, after a single session.

Does dual task walking affect gait symmetry in individuals with Parkinson’s disease?

Abstract Purpose: To investigate if dual task walking (DTW) alters spatiotemporal and angular symmetry of lower limbs of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Material and methods: Kinematic gait data of 22 volunteers (aged 40–75 years) with moderate Parkinson’s disease (Modified Hoehn and Yahr scale 2–3) were collected. Participants were evaluated while walking at a maximum speed, without a secondary task (usual walking - UW) and performing a cognitive task often referred to as DTW. Spatiotemporal index for gait asymmetry and angular gait variables of hip, knee and ankle were assessed in both limbs. Results: Spatiotemporal index showed asymmetry in both conditions, with no difference in the degree of asymmetry between the two conditions (p = .136). Angular variables showed no significant interaction TASK x MEMBER, indicating that angular differences between right and left legs do not exist, in UW and in DTW. Conclusion: Spatiotemporal asymmetry in DTW seems to be similar to the UW and no greater angular asymmetry seems to occur during this type of dual task. These results suggest that both assessments and gait treatments could be done in DTW condition, without significantly compromising the gait symmetry of individuals with moderate Parkinson’s disease.

Aspectos sociodemográficos e clínicos de homens com lesão medular traumática em um centro urbano do nordeste brasileiro

Introducao: A identificacao das causas mais frequentes para o acometimento por lesao medular e de suma importância para os gestores de saude no planejamento de acoes de prevencao de acidentes dessa natureza em populacoes de risco. Objetivo: Caracterizar, de acordo com aspectos sociodemograficos e clinicos, uma amostra de homens com lesao medular, residentes na cidade de Natal (RN), Brasil. Metodos: Estudo transversal realizado com 48 individuos, nos quais foi utilizado um questionario estruturado e autoaplicavel sobre aspectos sociodemograficos e clinicos. Os dados foram tratados e analisados atraves da analise quantitativa descritiva. Resultados: A media de idade foi de 33,38 anos (desvio padrao – DP=9,87), sendo a maioria solteira (37,5%), com renda de dois a quatro salarios-minimos (47,9%) e tendo como principal causa de lesao a arma de fogo (43,8%). A media do tempo de sequela foi de 9,35 anos (DP=8,16), com tempo minimo de 3 meses e maximo de 36 anos, a maior parte encontrava-se entre 3 e 10 anos de lesao (41,7%). A sequela mais prevalente foi a paraplegia (66,7%). Conclusao: Os dados revelaram que os homens jovens sao ainda os mais acometidos. Poucos deles voltam a trabalhar apos a lesao e a maioria passa a depender de aposentadorias. Ha ainda, uma tendencia para o crescimento de lesoes por arma de fogo, ultrapassando as lesoes por acidentes de trânsito e por quedas.