Balance is used in our everyday lives. It is defined as the ability to move or to remain in a position without losing control or falling (Sibley, 2013). It is achieved from the mix of integration and coordination of several body systems such as the vestibular, visual, auditory, motor, and higher level premotor systems. Maintaining ones balance must incorporate maintaining his/her center of mass over the base of support or within ones limits of stability. Impairments with balance can occur in a big part of today’s population and have a big impact on function and daily activities. Since the prevalence is so high, there is a big focus on balance assessments from Physical therapists, and Occupational therapists. These assessments can diagnose potential …show more content…
This test can be done quickly by the therapist, either alone or combined while observing gait analysis. There are two parts to the test, balance and gait. The balance part of the test is scored out of sixteen possible points and looks at the patients balance while turning in different circumstances, standing, and sitting. The gait part of the test is out of a possible 12 points and looks at stance, trunk sway, stepping, and gait initiation (Ponce 2012). The score is determined for each section and then the sum of the two sections. To administer the balance portion (Ponce 2012) have the patient seated in a hard, armless chair. Sitting balance looks at if the patient leans or slides in the chair or if they are steady and safe. Rising from the chair looks at if the patient is able to rise from the chair with or without assistance, or uses arms to help and how many attempts it takes. Next it looks at the first five seconds of immediate standing balance. Are they unsteady, steady but uses assistive device, or steady without an assistive device and then if they are unsteady, steady or have narrow stance without support in standing balance. It then goes on to look at the patients balance if they are nudged, have their eyes closed, turning 360 degrees, or if they are sitting down. The gait section looks at the initiation time of gait, the step length and height, …show more content…
The DGI was developed to assess gait, balance and fall risk. The test takes about ten minutes to complete by the therapist and assesses the patient’s ability to modify his/her gait in response to changing elements in gait. The equipment needed for the assessment is a shoebox, two cones, stairs, and a 20’ walkway (Lubetzky 2012). It has eight items in the test and each item is scored on a four-point scale; (3) Normal; (2) Mild impairment; (1) Moderate impairment; (0) Severe impairment; with a maximal score of 24. The eight items tested are: gait on a level surface, change in gait speed, gait with horizontal head turns, gait with vertical head turns, gait and pivot turns, stepping over an obstacle, and steeping around an obstacle (Lubetzky 2012). It has been shown that the DGI shows high reliability and showed evidence of concurrent validity with other balance and mobility scales (Lubetzky
A person that over pronates will land with with the inside if their foot. The ankle drawer assessment will help determine the integrity of the ligaments in the ankle. Also the client should get a proper diagnosis for the exact reason why the foot is over pronating.
Sacket et al, cited in, Duncan, E,A,S, (2006) Foundtions for practice in Occupational Therapy, 4th edition, Elsevier Ltd.
Fatigue, decreased mobility and impaired balance from the rheumatoid and osteoarthritis pain also increases the risk of falls (Stanmore et al., 2013). Age related changes such as sarcopenia causes muscle tone and strength to decrease, especially in the lower limbs and as a result, balance and gait become impaired (Culross, 2008). These factors significantly influence the risk of falls and also affect the ability to carry out daily activities therefore, with a physiotherapists assistance, the nurse could introduce a personalised exercise regime to enhance muscle tone and strength (Culross, 2008). According to Neuberger et al (1997), exercise lessens fatigue and improves muscle tone and balance in older people. Recommending an exercise programme for Mrs Jones that incorporates strength training exercises and aerobics, could potentially improve muscle tone and strength and as a result improve mobility, balance and lessen the risk of falls (Bird, Pittaway, Cuisick, Rattray & Ahuja, 2013). The nurse could also suggest safety precautions such as advising Mrs Jones to use a mobility aid (Gooberman-Hill & Ebrahim,
A head to toe assessment consists of a general safety survey, vital signs, mental status, psychosocial, head, eyes, ears, nose, throat, neck, chest, abdomen, upper and lower extremities, activity, therapeutic devices (Haugh, 2015). The next step is for the nurse is to detail the assessment that she / he will undertake on the
Meagher, D., Pan, T., Wegner, R., & Miller, J. (2012a). MAT Basics: Test Structure and Score Interpretation. Pearson.
During testing, most patients are found to need correction in all 14 balance tests, depending on the ailment the patient complains of and how well they react to the muscle correction will tell whether or not further treatment is needed. The physical aspect of the therapy, despite the name and basic principles, is not the only aspect required for optimal results. One must also report lifestyle and diet changes ranging from daily stress levels to pat...
There are several tests and measure that can be done in a physical therapy examination in order to rule out certain diagnoses, as well as come closer to a physical therapy diagnosis. First, an observation of the patient standing, walking, and sitting should be done in order to associate any visible deficits in the patient that could be associated to the ...
A., de Rijk, A., Van Hoof, E., & Donceel, P. 2011). The therapist has to assess the patient to see if they have a need for splints or supports which may benefit the patient and then step in to help design the specific assistive devices needed. It is the job of the occupational therapist to come up with plans to overcome the inconvenient limitations while still helping the patient to reduce strain and prevent further damage by teaching them techniques that will conserve their energy. There are a variety of different ways to make daily living much easier. The most crucial part of therapy is assessing the patient's environment. All the people, cultural conditions and physical objects that are around them, create their environment. The behavior and development of people is a direct result of the interaction between them and their surroundings. A patient's behavior is greatly affected when they are mismatched with their environment. A person's environment match is present when the person's level of competence matches the demands of the environment. Full participation by the patient is required to make it practicable. “The science and practice of occupational therapy are well suited to develop, refine, and test approaches to translate therapeutic gains into
Dind, A., Short, A., Ekholm, J., & Holdgate, A. (2011). The inaccuracy of automatic devices taking postural measurements in the emergency department. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 17, 525-533. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-172X.2011.01958.x
The first component of the MUST involves measuring the patient’s height and weight to establish their Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is the’ relationship b...
A doctor will take your medical history and perform an examination of the back, hips, and legs to test for strength, flexibility, sensation, and reflexes. Other tests may include:
O’Brien, J. C., & Hussey S. M. (2012). Introductory questions. Introduction to occupational therapy (4-5). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
“Integration is a method of utilising more than one theory in the belief that by combining or integrating these theories the chance of a successful outcome for the client is increased.”
Health psychology is a relatively new concept rapidly growing and could be defined as the biological and psychological influences affect ones behaviour also bringing in social influences of health and illness (MacDonald, 2013). Biological determinants consider genetic and biological factors of an illness whereas psychological determinants focus on the psychological factors such as why people behave the way they do when dealing with issues such as anxiety and stress. Models such as the Health Belief Model and Locus of Control were developed in attempt to try and explain psychological issues around a chronic illness such as breast cancer (Ogden, 2012). Sociological factors can cause an enormous amount of pressure for one to behave in a certain way for example gender roles in society and religious considerations when dealing with health beliefs. Health Beliefs can be defined as one’s own perception to their own personal health and illness and health behaviours (Ogden, 2012). There are also theories and models used to explain pain and coping with diagnosis such as Moos and Schaefer (1984) Crisis theory and Shontz (1975) cycle of grief people go through when being diagnosed with a serious illness.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several