Group rehabilitation for dementia is more effective for improving cognitive function and global severity of dementia than personal rehabilitation in Roken.

Kyphosis is associated with subjective poor health in the community-dwelling female elderly in this study population, but not with functional activity and blood pressure both in males and females.

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) in stroke inpatients. We measured the BBS score of 46 stroke patients, and simultaneously assessed the following neurological conditions: attention, mental status, emotion, agnosia, visual perception, sensation and motor status of the affected lower extremity. We also assessed functional independence in the basic activities of daily living using the Barthel Index. Patients' functional walking abilities were categorized into 4 levels (from with assistance to independent within hospital). The mean BBS scores were associated with attentional deficits, emotional distress, proprioceptive sensation problems and motor status. These neurological conditions explained 43% of the BBS scores. The BBS scores correlated with the Barthel Index and were associated with functional walking ability. The BBS scores and walking ability explained 67% of the Barthel Index. 83% of patients scoring above a score of 40 were independent within hospital in functional walking ability. These results provide information to support construct validity of the BBS in stroke inpatients.

It is conjectured that kyphosis in the elderly is affected by the ability to control dynamic posture. In this study, with quantitative assessment of kyphosis as the objective, we performed measurement of the index of kyphosis based on the method of Milne et al. which uses a flexible curve ruler, on elderly persons undergoing physical therapy at our hospital, and investigated its reliability and validity. The inter-and intra-class correlation coefficients were 0.858 and 0.851, respectively, both showing a high reliability, and according to the observations, a significantly high correlation was found in their relationship to kyphosis assessment, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 0.819 (p<0.01). It is considered that the measurement of the index of kyphosis can be used clinically. Furthermore, according to the observations, since scattering of the index of kyphosis was found at each level of kyphosis assessment, it suggests that measurement of the index of kyphosis is of use as a method which can assess kyphosis in detail.

ABSTRACT:The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical usefulness of the forward reach test in the sitting position for patients with cerebrovascular disorders. Twenty-two cerebrovascular disorder patients performed the forward reach test in the sitting position and we investigated its relationships with Optical Righting Reactions (ORR), the Trunk Control Test (TCT), the Functional Reach Test (FRT), the Functional Movement Scale (FMS), and the Function Independence Measure motor item (FIM-m). A moderate correlation with ORR was found for the forward reach test, and the participation of the trunk was also seen. A significant correlation between the forward reach test and FRT was found, and this is very meaningful in the context of its potential use in prognosis, as the forward reach test can be performed in the early stage after the onset of stroke. A moderate correlation was found between the forward reach test in the sitting position and FMS, and we consider measurements including the lower limbs useful. The forward reach test in the sitting position quantitatively follows temporal changes in the trunk function, and we consider it to be clinically useful, because it is an evaluation index which can be performed easily and in a short time.