Open Access Publications
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Open access publications by faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students in the Department of Physical Therapy.
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- ItemEffect of Symptom Duration on Injury Severity and Recovery in Patients With Achilles Tendinopathy(Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2023-05-22) Hanlon, Shawn L.; Scattone Silva, Rodrigo; Honick, Brian J.; Silbernagel, Karin GrävareBackground: Achilles tendinopathy is a common overuse condition. Distinguishing between early- and late-stage tendinopathy may have implications on treatment decisions and recovery expectations. Purpose: To compare the effects of time and baseline measures of tendon health on outcomes among patients with varying symptom durations after 16 weeks of comprehensive exercise treatment. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Participants (N = 127) were categorized into 4 groups based on the number of months since symptom onset: ≤3 months (n = 24); between >3 and ≤6 months (n = 25); between >6 and ≤12 months (n = 18); or >12 months (n = 60). All participants received 16 weeks of standardized exercise therapy and pain-guided activity modification. Outcomes representing symptoms, lower extremity function, tendon structure, mechanical properties, psychological factors, and patient-related factors were assessed at baseline and at 8 and 16 weeks after the initiation of exercise therapy. Chi-square tests and 1-way analysis of variance were used to compare baseline measures between groups.Time, group, and interaction effects were evaluated using linear mixed models. Results: The mean age of the participants was 47.8 ± 12.6 years, 62 participants were women, and symptoms ranged from 2 weeks to 274 months. No significant differences were found among symptom duration groups at baseline for any measure of tendon health. At 16 weeks, all groups demonstrated improvements in symptoms, psychological factors, lower extremity function, and tendon structure, with no significant differences among the groups (P > .05) Conclusion: Symptom duration did not influence baseline measures of tendon health. Additionally, no differences were observed among the different symptom duration groups in response to 16 weeks of exercise therapy and pain-guided activity modification.
- ItemInformation Available to Parents Seeking Education about Infant Play, Milestones, and Development from Popular Sources(Behavioral Sciences, 2023-05-19) Orlando, Julie M.; Cunha, Andrea B.; Alghamdi, Zainab; Lobo, Michele A.Parents commonly seek information about infant development and play, yet it is unclear what information parents find when looking in popular sources. Play, Milestone, and Development Searches in Google identified 313 sources for content analysis by trained researchers using a standardized coding scheme. Sources included websites, books, and apps created by professional organizations, commercial entities, individuals, the popular press, and government organizations/agencies. The results showed that for popular sources: (1) author information (i.e., qualifications, credentials, education/experience) is not consistently provided, nor is information about the developmental process, parents’ role in development, or determining an infant’s readiness to play; (2) milestones comprise a majority of the content overall; (3) search terminology impacts the information parents receive; (4) sources from the Milestone and Development Searches emphasized a passive approach of observing developmental milestones rather than suggesting activities to actively facilitate learning and milestone development. These findings highlight the need to discuss parents’ online information-gathering process and findings. They also highlight the need for innovative universal parent-education programs that focus on activities to facilitate early development. This type of education has potential to benefit all families, with particular benefits for families with children who have unidentified or untreated developmental delays.
- ItemUnderstanding Recruitment Yield From Social Media Advertisements and Associated Costs of a Telehealth Randomized Controlled Trial: Descriptive Study(Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2023-05-18) Aily, Jéssica Bianca; Copson, Jennifer; Voinier, Dana; Jakiela, Jason; Hinman, Rana; Grosch, Megan; Noonan, Colleen; Armellini, Megan; Schmitt, Laura; White, Mika; White, DanielBackground: Recruiting study participants for clinical research is a challenging yet essential task. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, offer the opportunity to recruit participants through paid advertisements. These ad campaigns may be a cost-effective approach to reaching and recruiting participants who meet specific study criteria. However, little is known about the extent to which clicks on social media advertisements translate to the actual consent and enrollment of participants who meet the study criteria. Understanding this is especially important for clinical trials conducted remotely, such as telehealth-based studies, which open the possibility to recruit over large geographical areas and are becoming more common for the treatment of chronic health conditions, such as osteoarthritis (OA). Objective: The aim of this study was to report on the conversion of clicks on a Facebook advertisement campaign to consent to enrollment in an ongoing telehealth physical therapy study for adults with knee OA, and the costs associated with recruitment. Methods: This was a secondary analysis using data collected over the first 5 months of an ongoing study of adults with knee OA. The Delaware Physical Exercise and Activity for Knee Osteoarthritis program compares a virtually delivered exercise program to a control group receiving web-based resources among adults with knee OA. Advertisement campaigns were configured on Facebook to reach an audience who could be potentially eligible. Clicking on the advertisement directed potential participants to a web-based screening form to answer 6 brief questions related to the study criteria. Next, a research team member called individuals who met the criteria from the screening form and verbally asked additional questions related to the study criteria. Once considered eligible, an electronic informed consent form (ICF) was sent. We described the number of potential study participants who made it through each of these steps and then calculated the cost per participant who signed the ICF. Results: In sum, between July and November 2021, a total of 33,319 unique users saw at least one advertisement, 9879 clicks were made, 423 web-based screening forms were completed, 132 participants were successfully contacted, 70 were considered eligible, and 32 signed the ICF. Recruitment costed an average of US $51.94 per participant. Conclusions: While there was a low conversion from clicks to actual consent, 32% (32/100) of the total sample required for the study were expeditiously consented over 5 months with a per-subject cost well below traditional means of recruitment, which ranges from US $90 to US $1000 per participant. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrails.gov NCT04980300; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04980300 J Med Internet Res 2023;25:e41358 doi:10.2196/41358
- ItemAdults with lower-limb amputation: Reduced multifidi muscle activity and extensor muscle endurance is associated with worse physical performance(Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 2023-05-24) Sions, Jaclyn M.; Seth, Mayank; Beisheim-Ryan, Emma H.; Hicks, Gregory E.; Pohlig, Ryan T.; Horne, John R.Trunk muscles may be an overlooked region of deficits following lower-limb amputation (LLA). This study sought to determine the extent that trunk muscle deficits are associated with physical function following amputation. Sedentary adults with a unilateral transtibial- (n = 25) or transfemoral-level (n = 14) amputation were recruited for this cross-sectional research study. Participants underwent a clinical examination that included ultrasound imaging of the lumbar multifidi muscles, the modified Biering-Sorensen Endurance Test (mBSET), and performance-based measures, that is, the Timed Up and Go (TUG), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and 10-m Walk Test (10mWT). Associations between trunk muscle metrics and performance were explored with regression modeling, while considering covariates known to impact performance postamputation (p ≤ 0.100). Average ultrasound-obtained, lumbar multifidi activity was 14% and 16% for transfemoral- and transtibial-level amputations, respectively, while extensor endurance was 37.34 and 12.61 s, respectively. For TUG, nonamputated-side multifidi activity and an interaction term (level x non-amputated-side multifidi activity) explained 9.4% and 6.2% of the total variance, respectively. For 10mWT, beyond covariates, non-amputated-side multifidi activity and the interaction term explained 6.1% and 5.8% of the total variance, respectively. For TUG, extensor endurance and an interaction term (level x mBSET) explained 11.9% and 8.3% of the total variance beyond covariates; for BBS and 10mWT, extensor endurance explained 11.2% and 17.2% of the total variance, respectively. Findings highlight deficits in lumbar multifidi activity and extensor muscle endurance among sedentary adults with a LLA; reduced muscle activity and endurance may be important factors to target during rehabilitation to enhance mobility-related outcomes.
- ItemA reliable and efficient adaptive Bayesian method to assess static lower limb position sense(Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 2023-05-15) Wood, Jonathan M.; Morton, Susanne M.; Kim, Hyosub E.Highlights - We developed a novel static lower limb position sense assessment during standing. - The method, a 2AFC task, uses a Bayesian adaptive algorithm to improve efficiency. - The method achieved reliable lower limb position sense estimates in 50 trials. - This method should serve as a useful tool for gait and balance researchers. Background Lower limb proprioception is critical for maintaining stability during gait and may impact how individuals modify their movements in response to changes in the environment and body state, a process termed “sensorimotor adaptation”. However, the connection between lower limb proprioception and sensorimotor adaptation during human gait has not been established. We suspect this gap is due in part to the lack of reliable, efficient methods to assess global lower limb proprioception in an ecologically valid context. New Method We assessed static lower limb proprioception using an alternative forced choice task, administered twice to determine test-retest reliability. Participants stood on a dual-belt treadmill which passively moved one limb to stimulus locations selected by a Bayesian adaptive algorithm. At the stimulus locations, participants judged relative foot positions and the algorithm estimated the point of subjective equality (PSE) and the uncertainty of lower limb proprioception. Results Using the Bland-Altman method, combined with Bayesian statistics, we found that both the PSE and uncertainty estimates had good reliability. Comparison with existing method(s) Current methods assessing static lower limb proprioception do so within a single joint, in non-weight bearing positions, and rely heavily on memory. One exception assessed static lower limb proprioception in standing but did not measure reliability and contained confounds impacting participants’ judgments, which we experimentally controlled here. Conclusions This efficient and reliable method assessing lower limb proprioception will aid future mechanistic understanding of locomotor adaptation and serve as a useful tool for basic and clinical researchers studying balance and falls.