Shallon Atuhaire1*, Akin-Tunde A. Odukogbe2, John F. Mugisha3, Oladosu A. Ojengbede

1Pan African University of Life and Earth Sciences Institute, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan / University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

3Cavendish University, Kampala, Uganda

Introduction: Obstetric fistula is highly debilitating with effects acknowledged as beyond treatment thus, it requires physical and social rehabilitation. The study described the extent to which obstetric fistula patients have been involved in social rehabilitation services at Kitovu Hospital in Uganda.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey that used mixed methods was done among 390 obstetric fistula patients and 12 key informants at Kitovu Hospital in Uganda. The 390 patients responded to a semi-structured questionnaire, and 10 of them were involved in in-depth interviews. The 12 key informants were hospital staffs actively involved in the management of obstetric fistula, and patients’ partners who were involved in care giving. The variables under investigation included: socio-demographic and obstetric factors alongside whether the patients had been empowered, earned daily, had received aid to startup an income generating activity, had skills training, counseling, physiotherapy, health education, needs assessment and whether their needs had been addressed.

Results: Among the 390 participants, 192 (49.2%) had had fistula repair, 198 (50.8%) had not had repair, 215 participants felt they had not been empowered at all, 215 did not earn daily. Again, 211 indicated that they had not received aid to startup an income generating activity, 235 had not received skills training, 195 had not received counseling, and 299 had not had physiotherapy. A significant difference was noted across all the variables (empowerment, daily earning, having received aid to startup an income generating activity, skills training, counseling, physiotherapy, health education, needs assessment and having their needs addressed) and their repair category with a P-value of <0.001. Qualitative findings also indicated that patients received inadequate social rehabilitation due to inadequate resources. Patients preferred fistula repair before they could be socially rehabilitated as they still felt incapacitated.

Conclusions: A larger proportion of patients with unrepaired fistula had not been involved in social rehabilitation compared to those whose fistula had been repaired. More repair and rehabilitation centers ought to be constructed and adequately facilitated for the patients to receive the services they desire for effective social rehabilitation.

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Edwards David*, Brickner Joseph, Hadadzedeh Mohammad, Molek Joseph, Shapiro Elina

Wheeling Jesuit University, United States

Background: Often clinicians attempt to correct the longitudinal arch of the foot in those with pes planus to improve physical performance, this theory has not been studied extensively. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between increased navicular drop/low arched feet and explosive jump performance in young adults.

Methods: A correlational design was used to carry out this study. The study took place at four centers and a convenience sample was selected from these locations. One-hundred and five healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 35, with a mean age of 23.23 (+/- 2.62) participated. The participant’s measurement of hyper pronation was quantified through navicular drop test. Explosive performance was then measured through vertical and broad jump. A Pearson correlation and follow-up Spearman correlations were then performed to analyze the relationship between navicular drop and vertical and broad jump while keeping level of significance at alpha= .05.

Findings: There was no signifigant correlation between an individual’s navicular drop and their vertical jump measurement (r=-0.077, p=.268; rs=.-.059, p=.550). or broad jump (r= 0.012, p=.382; rs= .007, p= .945).

Interpretation: There was no correlation between navicular drop and vertical and broad jump measurements in young adults. A low arched foot did not predispose an individual to decreased explosive performance in the form of vertical and broad jump measurements. This could have implications on the decision to attempt to correct pes planus with measures such as orthotics or taping to improve performance.

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Gabrielly Marques Moreira1, Elis Marina Romão de Lima2, Ingrid Thaíse Machado2, Ana Paula Cunha Loureiro3, Elisangela Ferretti Manffra1*

1Health Technology Graduate Program, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil

2Physical Therapy Undergraduate Program, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil

3Department of Physical Therapy, School of Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil

Background: Stroke causes somatosensory and motor deficits that compromise the static and dynamic balance. The recovery of these skills is an essential goal in the rehabilitation process and physiotherapy treatments have employed video games (VG) for therapeutic purposes.

Objective: To investigate the effects of employing VG in static and dynamic balance of individuals after stroke.

Design: Quasi-experimental study.

Method: The sample consisted of 28 individuals with hemiparesis, divided into experimental (EG) and control groups (CG), with 14 participants in each. The EG underwent conventional physiotherapy and commercial video games training. The interventions were individualized, with duration of 30 minutes, twice a week, for 10 sessions. The CG received only conventional physiotherapy. The groups were evaluated before and immediately after completion of the study. Individuals were assessed with Berg Balance Scale, MiniBESTest, Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke, Functional Reach Test and 1-minute sit-to-stand test.

Results: Both groups increased their scores on the scales. However, this increase was significant only for the EG in the Berg Balance Scale (p = 0.001), MiniBESTest (p = 0.001) and Functional Reach Test (p = 0.041). Correlation analysis indicated that the increase in functional scales was related to progress in the Tightrope game.

Conclusion: These results suggest that VG can be a valuable tool for physiotherapy practice, bringing potential benefits to improve static and dynamic balance in stroke individuals.

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Giovanni Scibilia1, Serena V. Capobianco1*, Adriana Bonifacino2, Valter Santilli1, Teresa Paolucci1

1Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome (Italy)

2Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Translational Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Sant'Andrea University Hospital, Rome, Italy

3Unit of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medical and Oral Sciences and Biotechnologies, DSMOB, University G. d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara,Italy

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women over 35 years. The primary adverse consequences after surgical treatment and often after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, are pain, upper limb impairment, postural imbalances, lymphedema, fatigue, and depression. The aim of this study is to review rehabilitative Clinical Practice Guidelines in breast cancer patients after surgical treatment and to analyze recommendations and their level of evidence.

Materials and Methods: The articles were searched for the MeSH terms “breast cancer,” “guidelines,” “rehabilitation,” “lymphedema,”, “survivor,” “survivorship,” “therapy,” “exercise,” “complementary,” “cognitive,” “integrative,” “body image,” “physical therapy,” “treatment,” and “quality of life” in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PubMed, Science Direct. We restricted our search to full-text English language publications published between July 2006 and June 2017 and we considered only international practice guidelines that focus on rehabilitation after breast cancer surgery.

Results: We selected four guidelines focusing on primary care, rehabilitative approaches and integrative approaches. They recommend the early taking charge of the patient and to manage upper limb dysfunctions, lymphedema, pain, fatigue, peripheral neuropathy, body imagine concerns and lifestyle recommendations.

Conclusions: The current model of care for women with breast cancer focuses mostly on treatment of disease; this approach too often lacks attention to patients’ physical and functional well-being. Many criticisms emerge from this review.

We suggest that there is a need to strengthen the level of evidence for many commonly used clinical practices and to better describe innovative rehabilitative approaches.

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women over 35 years;

• There is an increasing of survivor patients;

• The latest guidelines on breast cancer are not exhaustive about rehabilitation and complications after surgery;

• There is the need to strengthen the level of evidence of many commonly used clinical rehabilitation practices and to better describe rehabilitative approaches for breast cancer survivors.

• Only 4 breast cancer guidelines were interested in rehabilitation for survivor patients in the latest 10 years.

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Jousielle Márcia dos Santos1, Vanessa Amaral Mendonça1,2,3, Vanessa Gonçalves Cesar Ribeiro3, Vinicius Cunha Oliveira2, Sueli Ferreira da Fonseca3, Hércules Ribeiro Leite1,2,3, Ana Carolina Coelho de Oliveira1, Pedro Henrique Scheidt Figueiredo1,2,3, Mario Bernardo-Filho4, Vanessa Pereira Lima1,2, Ana Cristina Rodrigues Lacerda1,2,3*

1Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation and Functional Performance, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil

2Physiotherapy Department, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), Diamantina, Minas Gerias, Brazil

3Multicenter Postgraduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Sociedade Brasileira de Fisiologia (SBFis), Diamantina, Brazil

4Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Introduction: Whole Body Vibration (WBV) exercise has been widely applied in the clinical practice. Thus, the present review aims to provide an updated review of current literature on the effects and efficacy of WBV alone or combined with exercise in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: The works were identified and selected from the PubMed, Cochrane-Central-Register-of-Controlled-Trials and Physiotherapy Evidence-Database (PEDro) databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and case-control studies were selected without language restrictions. Articles including single or multiple WBV sessions have been identified.

Results: Nine works were included in the review (1 case-control study and 8 RCTs). The average PEDRro score was 7.44 ± 0.95. The sample size varied from 20 to 46 participants, involving only women diagnosed with FM. The outcomes identified were pain, balance, quality of life, fatigue and disability. Only one study investigated FM-related inflammatory biomarkers.

Conclusions: Although WBV treatment appears to be safe and feasible, there is limited evidence to support WBV application in clinical practice in patients with FM.

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