Academy Blog » function

Thera-Band® Exercises Increase Muscle Size in Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Dr. Phil Page — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:19:14 +0000

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often have leg weakness due to reduced muscle size. Researchers in the UK examined the effects of a 10 week training program of progressive strengthening of the plantar flexors in 13 children with spastic CP. The children began with Thera-Band-resisted plantar flexion in long-sitting and progressed to standing heel raises. They performed 3 to 4 sets of exercises at a 6-12 Repetition Maximum (RM) resistance with a 2-minute rest between sets. Once subjects were able to perform 6 calf raises, they continued that exercise until they could perform 12. Each session started and ended with calf stretches in standing. Exercises were performed 4 times per week, including 3 sessions at home. After the 2 ½ month training program, muscle volume increased 14-17% and was maintained 3 months after training. Interestingly, while the participant’s strength increased, their functional measures did not. The authors concluded that strengthening interventions may be one of the most important interventions in the short term for children with CP in order to support long-term functional gains.

Visit the Thera-Band Academy Cerebral Palsy Center Here

McNee AE, et al.. 2009 . Increases in muscle volume after plantarflexor strength training in children with spastic cerebral palsy . Dev Med Child Neurol: 51(6):429-35.

“Prehabilitation” with Thera-Band® helps total knee replacement patients recover better

Dr. Phil Page — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is common in older adults, affecting about 4.3 million in the United States. Knee OA sometimes leads to joint replacement surgery in advanced stages of the disease – nearly a half-million total knee replacements are performed annually in the US. Researchers at the University of Louisville wanted to evaluate the efficacy of a pre-operative exercise program (“prehabilitation”) for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery. 54 older adults with knee OA were randomized into a control group (usual care) or an exercise group completing exercise 3 times per week (1 supervised session, and 2 at home). Patients used Thera-Band® Resistance Bands supplied by Thera-Band Academy.

Download the Total Knee Prehabilitation Exercise Program here

The study, published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, found that prehab participants significantly increased their leg strength and mobility after surgery, while the control group did not. At 3 months after surgery, the prehab group improved performance on all 4 functional tasks, in contrast to the control group who improved in only 2 out of the 4. Lead investigator, Robert Topp PhD RN, noted, “This Thera-Band exercise program definitely supports the theory of prehabilitation in total knee patients.” Dr. Topp published a similar summary article in the ICAA publication, Functional U. A pre-operative strengthening program with Thera-Band Resistance Bands can help improve function after total knee surgery compared to no pre-op training.

Visit the Thera-Band Total Knee Replacement Center Here

First Step to Active Health® effective for both group- and home-based programs

Dr. Phil Page — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:17:00 +0000

Michael Rogers, PhD of Wichita State University, discussed 2 studies on the Thera-Band® First Step to Active Health® recently presented at the American College of Sports Medicine. Working with researchers from Nagoya City University in Japan, Rogers investigated the effects of 12 weeks of the First Step program on functional fitness in older adults. They found significant improvements in function and balance, as well as increased overall physical activity after the program. In addition, the researchers found that the program was successful when performed supervised in a group or unsupervised at home. “The First Step program is a highly effective program for either home or group based exercise in older adults. Our next step is to evaluate the impact of Internet-based feedback on the program,” said Rogers. Dr. Rogers presented his findings at the TRAC 2009 meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Read the research abstract here.

Visit the Thera-Band Academy Older Adult Exercise Center here.

Elastic resistance improves function in older adults

Dr. Phil Page — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:56:15 +0000

An article recently published by USAToday about a Cochrane review of research on improving function in older adults with resistance training noted that elastic resistance bands are effective:

“In a review of 121 clinical trials that looked at weight-lifting in people over age 60, researchers led by Chiung-ju Liu of Indiana University at Indianapolis, conclude that weight lifting two to three times a week makes everyday tasks easier for the elderly.

“Older adults seem to benefit from this type of exercise even at the age of 80, and even with some type of health condition,” Liu says, in a statement. “The data support the idea that muscle strength is largely improved after the training, and the impact on older adults’ daily activities can be significant.”

Free weights, exercise machines or elastic “resistance” bands (their weight adjusted to the progress of the study participants) all showed benefits. They included “large improvement” in strength and “moderate to large improvement” in tasks such as climbing stairs, according to the study the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.”

Read the Cochrane review here.

New book helps develop “Effective Functional Progressions in Sport Rehabilitation”

Dr. Phil Page — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:47:16 +0000

Developing functional exercise programs for athletes is sometimes difficult, particularly for rehabilitation professionals without much experience in their patients’ sport. Human Kinetics recently released the book, Effective Functional Progressions in Sport Rehabilitation by Todd Ellenbecker, Mark De Carlo, and Carl DeRosa. The book is divided into 2 parts. Part I provides the benefits and guidelines for developing successful sports rehabilitation programs, while Part II reviews functional progressions for 3 body regions: upper extremity, lower extremity, and trunk.

Functional Exercise Progressions

Each regional chapter reviews relevant functional anatomy and describes appropriate functional tests with normative data. The normative data can be used to set goals for the athletes’ rehabilitation, which can be very helpful to practicing clinicians. Exercises are grouped into specific progressions and labeled with different stages in the progression. The exercises start with isolated, joint-specific exercises and progress to more functional movements. Some exercises also include “Pearls of Performance,” which provide additional hints on performing and progressing the exercise. The 3 chapters also include interval programs that provide specific exercise protocols for returning to sports such as tennis, baseball, football, soccer, and basketball. The exercises include easy to use and convenient equipment such as elastic tubing, dumbbells, and exercise balls, making them accessible to virtually anyone.

Online Exercise Database

One of the best features of this book is the ability to access electronic versions of each exercise image in the book for PowerPoint presentations or patient handouts. This provides a great tool for therapists, athletic trainers, or fitness trainers who give written exercise programs to their patients and clients. Too often, exercises depicted in books are not readily available to create patient handouts; however, with the evolution toward electronic media in book publishing, this resource from Human Kinetics helps solve that problem.

A Great Resource for Sports Rehabilitation

Effective Functional Progressions in Sport Rehabilitation is a great resource for athletic trainers and physical therapists, including those who specialize in sports rehabilitation, and those who don’t. Those without sports rehabilitation experience may benefit from a little more review of the biomechanics of specific sports found in other textbooks. Even readers with years of experience will learn a few new exercises from 3 great sports physical therapists. Ellenbecker, De Carlo, and DeRosa have done a great job bringing evidence to practice. Although more research is needed on specific protocols and outcomes for sports rehabilitation, such research will serve well for the next edition.