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Posts tagged theraband
Proprioceptive Exercises: Are they effective?
Feb 4th
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Neuromuscular and proprioceptive exercises are increasing in popularity during rehabilitation following sports injuries such as ankle sprains and ACL tears. These interventions typically include balance exercises such as Thera-Band® kicks and balance board training. Researchers from Germany completed a systematic review of studies evaluating the effectiveness of proprioceptive and neuromuscular training. 15 clinical trials involving ankle sprains and ACL rehabilitation met the researchers’ inclusion criteria.
The authors concluded that proprioceptive exercise and neuromuscular training are effective at improving function, decreasing symptoms of instability, and preventing re-injury after ankle sprains. Surprisingly, the authors concluded that neuromuscular training was not more effective than strengthening exercise for post-operative ACL reconstruction. In addition, proprioceptive training after injury had no effect on muscle strength, muscle activation or edema, and had more impact on dynamic balance than static balance. There was conflicting evidence on training effects on joint position sense and muscle reaction.
The researchers recommended that training must last 6 to 12 weeks, but the wide variety of exercise and prescription (volume and intensity) made it difficult to recommend specific dosages of exercise. They also commented on the poor methodological quality, lack of applicable studies More >
Early Thera-Band® strengthening for rotator cuff tear repair may speed recovery
Feb 3rd
The rotator cuff is crucial for proper function of the shoulder and activities of daily living (ADL). Full-thickness rotator cuff tears require surgical repair and a lengthy recovery, often lasting 6 months or more. Early physical therapy exercises are very conservative, focusing more on allowing the repair to heal. For fear of re-injury, dynamic resistance exercise is sometimes avoided for the first 4 months post-op. Swedish researchers investigated if accelerated rehabilitation after full-thickness rotator cuff tear surgery was safe and beneficial. In their prospective, randomized and controlled trial, one group of 7 patients underwent traditional physical therapy, while another group of 7 patients performed accelerated physical therapy, utilizing dynamic elastic resistance earlier in the rehabilitation protocol. Patients in the accelerated group removed their slings after 4 weeks to begin gentle motion and early strengthening against aquatic resistance. They also initiated elastic resisted internal rotation and external rotation at 8 weeks. Both groups received clinical and home exercise programs. The researchers concluded that the accelerated group had slightly faster recovery than traditional therapy without any adverse effects. While these results are encouraging, further research with more subjects is obviously needed.
Klintberg IH, et al. Early loading in physiotherapy treatment after full-thickness rotator cuff repair: a prospective randomized More >
Thera-Band® program helps improve lower extremity strength and biomechanics in female athletes
Feb 1st
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears occur in about one in every 3000 Americans; 80% of these injuries are non-contact, often requiring surgical reconstruction. Female athletes have a higher incidence of ACL injury, likely due to biomechanical differences compared to males. Research has focused on exercise programs that help improve these biomechanics in order to prevent ACL injuries. Dr. Dan Herman MD, PhD received a research award from Thera-Band Academy to investigate the effects of a strengthening program on jump-landing biomechanics of female athletes at the University of North Carolina. The protocol utilized Thera-Band® elastic bands and exercise balls.
Initially, Dr. Herman published a study concluding that while the protocol was effective at improving strength, the biomechanics of the athletes remained unchanged. He concluded that strengthening alone was not sufficient, and set out to find what needed to be combined with the training program. His subsequent study combined the Thera-Band strengthening protocol with video-assisted feedback, and he compared the combined intervention to a group receiving feedback only. Dr. Herman and his colleagues found that the group receiving both feedback and strengthening improved their biomechanics more than the feedback-only group. The paper won the 2008 O’Donoghue award from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, given to the best More >
Thera-Band® elastic bands as effective as expensive weight machines
Jan 27th
Muscle strengthening activities are now recommended as part of a regular exercise program. The recent Physical Activity Guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States recommend strengthening exercises for all adults at least twice a week. Unfortunately, only about 20% of adults participate in regular strengthening exercises (CDC, 2006). Access to strength training equipment is frequently cited as a barrier to meeting this recommendation. Researchers in Spain compared 2 training programs using either weight machines or Thera-Band® resistance bands. They wanted to determine if there were any differences between band or machine strength training. 45 middle-aged women were randomly assigned an elastic group, a machine group, or a non-exercising control group. The 2 strength training groups performed the same exercises, using the OMNI scale of perceived exertion to be sure both groups trained and progressed at the same intensity. The periodized program lasted 10 weeks for 2 sessions per week. After the training, both groups significantly increased their muscle mass and decreased their fat mass, as well as improved in muscular endurance. There was no significant difference between the groups; both groups improved significantly more than the control group. Researcher Drs. Juan Carlos Colado and N. Travis Triplett noted that elastic bands were More >
Preventing shoulder impingement in overhead workers with Thera-Band® resistance bands
Jan 26th
Shoulder impingement is common in people who perform repetitive overhead work. For example, as many as 70% of construction workers report shoulder pain, compared to 25% of the general population. Physical therapy researchers studied shoulder pain in 240 construction workers. In their prospective study, ½ of the workers participated in a home exercise program designed to prevent shoulder injuries, while the other half served as controls. The home program included stretches and exercises with elastic resistance to strengthen the shoulder. Exercises were performed every other day, beginning with 3 sets of 10, progressed to 3 sets of 20. At the end of the 2 year study, the workers participating in the exercise program had fewer injuries than the non-exercising control group; in fact, the workers not performing the exercise program were 1 ½ times more likely to have a shoulder injury. An exercise program with Thera-Band elastic resistance may be beneficial in reducing shoulder injuries in overhead workers.
Visit the Thera-Band Academy Shoulder Impingement resource center here.
