No abstract

Pedaling exercise decreased spinal excitability in patients with severe hemiparesis. Pedaling may be effective in rehabilitation following stroke.

Background: The importance of fall prevention rehabilitations has been well recognized. Recently telerehabilitation was developed, however, there have been no reports on telerehabilitation with direct support from specialists for fall prevention among the elderly. We herein reported telerehabilitation by caregivers educated by our novel educational program.Methods: Caregivers were educated with our educational program using a telelecture system and supported telerehabilitation following instructions from rehabilitation specialists in our university using the telemedicine system every two to four weeks for three months. Caregivers were assessed with our original questionnaire before and after the telelecture. Participants were assessed by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up & Go test (TUG test), Hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) before and after telerehabilitation. Wilcoxon's signed-rank test was used for the statistical analyses. A value of P<.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Nine elderly people were enrolled. The mean age was 84.7 (78-90) years old and the sex ratio was 1:8 (males:females). The average number of telerehabilitation sessions was 4.7. The average score of nineteen caregivers before the lecture was 15.3, while that after the lecture was 18.3. Caregivers' understanding was significantly increased after the telelecture (P<.001). No adverse events occurred during the study period. The median values of the BBSs, TUG test, right and left HHD and MMSE before and after 3 months' telerehabilitation were 43 (95% confidence interval [

Background: The importance of fall prevention rehabilitations has been well recognized. Recently, telerehabilitation was developed, however, there have been no reports on the use of telerehabilitation with direct support from specialists for fall prevention among the elderly. We herein reported telerehabilitation by carers educated by our novel educational program.Methods: Nine elderly people in two nursing homes were enrolled using our original criteria. Carers are educated with our educational program using telelecture system. Telerehabilitation was performed by carers following the instruction from rehabilitation specialists in Asahikawa Medical University using the telemedicine system every 2-4 weeks for three months. Carers were assessed with our original questionnaire before and after the telelecture. Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up & Go test (TUG test), Hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were assessed before and after telerehabilitation.Results: The average number of times to perform telerehabilitation in all institutes was 4.7. Levels of understanding of carers were significantly increased after the telelecture. No adverse event occurred during the study period. Median BBSs before and three months after telerehabilitation were 43 and 49, respectively. Those of TUG test, right and left HHD and MMSE were 17.89 and 18.53, 7.95 and 11.55, 9.85 and 13.20, and 16 and 19, respectively. All results were improved after telerehabilitation.Conclusions: Our telerehabilitation program exhibited significant effects in elderly people as well as levels of understanding rehabilitation of caregivers in the facilities for the elderly people safely.Trial registration: University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry（UMIN-CTR）UMIN000041439, August 17th, 2020

We aimed to determine the effects of a handrail on reaching distance, moving speed, acceleration, and the time to reach maximum speed during an attack in wheelchair fencing. We enrolled five healthy students and observed their attacks under three conditions：no railing, low railing, and high railing. The performance was photographed and analyzed using a three-dimensional motion analysis device. There was no significant difference in the maximum distance traveled during an attack under the three conditions. Speed and acceleration were significantly faster with the railing. Similarly, the time to reach maximum speed was significantly shorter with the railing. The difference in heights of the handrail did not affect the performance in any item. The handrail increased the speed and shortened the time to reach maximum speed. The handrail is important in wheelchair fencing, which requires quick movements and turnovers with attacks and defenses.