Research and News
Balance Products
Balance training improves risk factor for ACL injury
Jun 20th
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Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are often detrimental to an athlete’s season. Biomechanical analysis of the lower extremity suggests that cutting maneuvers increase the load on the ACL by increasing valgus and internal rotation forces when the knee is extended. While reconstructive surgery and rehab are often successful, it’s obvious that preventing ACL injuries through training and conditioning would be beneficial.
Some controversy exists regarding the optimal method of training for preventing ACL injuries in athletes. Researchers recruited 50 Australian Rules football players and randomly assigned them to one of 4 training programs: machine weights, free weights, balance training, and machine weights plus balance training. The balance training groups performed exercises using balance boards, mini trampolines, inflatable disks, and exercise balls. Subjects were tested before and after the 12-week programs for knee loads during running and cutting maneuvers. The balance training group significantly decreased their peak valgus and internal rotation moments during the cutting maneuver, which may help reduce the risk of ACL injuries.
In contrast, the strength training groups (machine weight and free weight) tended to increase their knee loads that place stress More >
Are unstable surfaces appropriate for rehabilitation of low back pain patients?
Jun 15th
Unstable surfaces have been suggested to be used in training trunk and core stability. However, the use of unstable surfaces in training has come under question lately with research suggesting lower levels of activation compared to stable surfaces (Behm et al., 2010). The instability requires additional muscle activation to maintain stability. Therapists sometimes prescribe exercises using unstable surfaces such as Thera-Band® Stability Trainers and Stability Discs for patients with low back pain.
Researchers measured trunk muscle activity, lumbar range of motion, and balance during 5 common lumbar stabilization exercises performed on stable and unstable surfaces using an inflatable disk: quadruped, side bridge, modified push-up, squat, and shoulder flexion.
They found that patients with low back pain had adaptive recruitment patterns while maintaining similar levels of balance and lumbar range of motion compared to healthy subjects. There was little increase in electromyographic (EMG) activation among low back pain patients between the stable and unstable surface, and some exercises actually increased lumbar range of motion on unstable surfaces, which is not desirable during lumbar stabilization exercise. Based on these findings, the researchers questioned the need and benefit for using labile surfaces in patients with low back pain.
It’s important to note that the researchers only investigated More >
Thera-Band Academy well-represented at ACSM annual meeting
Jun 6th
I attended the American College of Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting in Denver last week. As always, there were lots of excellent scientific presentations, including several by Thera-Band Research Advisory Committee (TRAC) members from around the world. TRAC members presenting their research had their abstracts published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise supplemental issue. The topics included older adult exercise programs including the Thera-Band Exercise Station, validating exercise intensity of Thera-Band elastic resistance, and its use in patients with neck-shoulder pain. I’ve summarized their research abstracts for the blog and will be posting them over this week. Today: Japanese-American Studies; Wednesday: Danish Studies; Friday: Spanish Studies
Researchers wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Thera-Band® Exercise Station as part of an aerobic and resistance exercise circuit training program in Japanese older adults. They first determined that the program provided an adequate stimulus for aerobic training as participants exercised at 60% of their heart rate; they also achieved low to moderate intensity resistance training based on RPE levels (Imai et al. 2011). The researchers then randomly assigned 39 older adults to either a Thera-Band Exercise Station circuit or a non-exercising control group. They exercised for 12 weeks, 3 times per week More >
Improving Function after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) with Balance Training
May 31st
Exercises with Thera-Band elastic bands have been shown effective at improving strength and function in knee osteoarthritis patients before total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. Dr. Robert Topp and his colleagues have published several research papers on their “prehabilitation” pre-operative exercise program using Thera-Band that benefits total knee replacement patients before and after surgery.
Knee osteoarthritis patients are expected to receive 3 million total knee replacements per year by 2020 in the United States. Unfortunately, over one third of total knee patients experience deficits in function one year after surgery (Franklin et al 2008). Few exercise intervention studies have evaluated the effectiveness of balance training in combination with traditional rehabilitation exercises after early post-operative rehabilitation. Most total knee replacement patients receive in-patient exercises and some outpatient rehabilitation for a few months after surgery. Previous research has suggested that total knee rehabilitation patients plateau at 3 months after surgery (Mizner et al. 2005).
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh wanted to determine the feasibility of a balance exercise program in total knee replacement patients 2 to 6 months post-surgery. They randomly assigned 43 patients to either a ‘functional’ training group or a functional training group with additional balance exercises. Each group completed 6 weeks of supervised exercise over More >
A successful treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis
May 19th
Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition caused by an inflammation of the plantar fascia, affecting nearly 2 million in the US annually (Martin et al. 2001). While most cases of plantar fasciitis are resolved with conservative treatment within a year, severe cases usually result in a surgical intervention.
A recent case report in the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy describes a successful intervention in a 61 year old patient with a 10-year history of chronic plantar fasciitis who used night splints. Plantar fasciitis can increase the risk of falls in older adults, although the condition is not as prevalent as in younger adults.
In the case report, physical therapists Stephanie Peplinski and Kent Irwin described their 4-week intervention. The patient received 8 sessions of individualized physical therapy, twice a week for 4 weeks. She received soft tissue mobilization and iontophoresis with dexamethasone, and performed 4-direction ankle Thera-Band resistance band exercises for 10 repetitions in the clinic and at home. She also used a balance board and foam pad for balance training in the clinic.
At discharge, she reported decreased pain and improved activities of daily living (ADL). This case report demonstrated that an individualized physical therapy program with targeted interventions can improve the symptoms in chronic More >
