Background: Muscle weakness in the lower limbs has adverse effects on walking performance and functional mobility in patients with stroke. Therefore, interventions aiming to improve muscle strength post stroke are considered crucial part of stroke rehabilitation.Objective: To determine the effectiveness of isokinetic strength training for knee and ankle muscles of the affected side on muscle strength, gait and functional mobility in chronic stroke. Materials and Methods:Thirty patients with stroke of both sexes (46-62 years) shared in this study. They were randomly assigned into two equal groups; experimental and control groups. Patients in the experimental group received a traditional physical therapy program in addition to isokinetic training for knee and ankle muscles in the affected side. Those in the control group received only the traditional physical therapy. Treatment was provided three times per week for eight successive weeks. The participants received pre and post-treatment assessments for the peak torque of the trained muscles, gait parameters and functional mobility as measured by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test.Results: Patients in both groups showed significant improvement post treatment in peak torque of knee and ankle muscles, gait parameters and TUG test (p<0.05). Additionally, after the intervention, between-group comparison revealed significant difference for peak torque of both knee and ankle muscles (p<0.05), walk speed (t=2.44, p=0.02), gait cycle time (t=-3.43, p=0.002), single limb support (t=3.58, p=0.001) and TUG test (t=-3.45, p=0.002) in favor of the experimental group.Conclusion: Isokinetic strength training of the affected lower limb muscles in conjunction with proper physical therapy exercise program is effective in improving muscle strength, walking performance and functional mobility in patients with stroke.

Background/Aim: Cortical visual impairment (CVI) is a temporary or permanent visual dysfunction resulting from damage to the visual systems in the brain that deal with processing and integrating visual information. The aim of current study was to investigate the effect of visual-based training program on motor functions in cerebral palsied (CP) children with CVI. Methods: Twenty six spastic CP children with CVI from both sex, ranged in age from 2 to 4 years, participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to two groups of equal number; control (I) and study (II) groups. Children in group I received the conventional physical and occupational therapy program inside the normally lighted room. Children in group II received the same program given to group I using visual stimulation modalities inside the sensory room. Treatment duration for both groups was 2½ hours, 3 days per week for a successive three months. Gross and fine motor functions were evaluated before and after treatment using Gross Motor Function Measure Scale (GMFM) and Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS) respectively. Findings: This study showed a statistically significant improvement of gross motor skills in both groups (P=0.001), however, a significant difference was seen between both groups, but in favour to group II (P=0.000). Regarding fine motor skills, no significant improvement was seen in group I (P=0.15) however, significant improvement was obtained in group II (0.001) after treatment. Conclusion: Training of gross and fine motor skills using visual stimulation modalities inside sensory room is effective for CP children with CIV to improve their gross and fine motor functions.

Background: Obesity is a medical condition that may adversely affect wellbeing and leading to increased incidence of many health problems. Abdominal obesity tends to be associated with weight gain and obesity and it is significantly connected with different disorders like coronary heart disease and type II diabetes mellitus.This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of vacuum therapy as compared to abdominal exercises on abdominal obesity in overweight and obese women.Methods: Thirtyoverweight and obese women participated in this study with body mass index > 25 kg/m2andwaist circumference ≥ 85 cm. Their ages ranged from 28 -40 years old.The subjects were excluded if they have diabetes, abdominal infection diseases or any physical limitation restricting exercise ability. They were randomly allocated into two equal groups; group I and group II. Group I received vacuum therapy sessions (by the use of LPG device) in addition to aerobic exercise training. Group II received abdominal exercises in addition to the same aerobic exercisesgiven to group I. This study was extended for successive 8 weeks (3 sessions/ week). All subjects were assessed for thickness of the abdominal skin fold, waist circumference and body mass index. Results:The results of this study showeda significant difference between group I and group II post-interventionas regarding to the mean values of waist circumference and abdominal skin fold thickness (p<0.05). Conclusion:It can be concluded that aerobic exercises combined with vacuum therapy (forthree sessions/week for successive 8 weeks) have a positive effect on women with abdominal obesity in terms of reducing waist circumference and abdominal skin fold thickness.

Background: Interference between cognitive tasks and motor control activities such as walking is crucial for functional enhancement in patients with neurological disorders. Therefore, both cognitive and motor training should be addressed in planning physical therapy programs. Objective:To assess the efficacy of concurrent cognitive-motor training on gait in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy. Materials and Methods:Thirty children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy of both sexes (10-14 years) shared in this study. They were randomly assigned into two equal groups; experimental and control groups. Children in the experimental group received a traditional physical therapy exercise program in addition to a gait training program given concurrently with cognitive tasks. Those in the control group received the same traditional physical therapy and gait training programs without any concurrent cognitive tasks. Treatment was provided three times per week for three successive months. The participants received baseline and post-treatment assessments for dimension E of Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and some gait parameters including: step length, walking speed, ambulation index and time of support on the affected side (% of gait cycle).Results: Children in both groups showed significant improvement post treatment in GMFM scores and all measured gait parameters (p<0.05) with a higher improvement in the experimental group. After the intervention, between-group comparison revealed significant differences for ambulation index (t=3.16, p=0.004) and time of support on the affected side (t=3.61, p=0.001) in favour of the experimental group. No significant between-group differences were found in GMFS scores, step length and walking speed (p > 0.05). Conclusion:Concurrent cognitive-motor training increased the chance of improving walking ability in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy as compared to the motor training alone.