Subjects with poststroke hemiparesis exhibit greater trunk repositioning error than age-matched controls. Trunk position sense retraining, emphasizing sagittal and transverse movements, should be further investigated as a potential poststroke intervention strategy to improve trunk balance and control.

Ultrasound continues to be a popular adjunctive modality in orthopedic physical therapy. These findings may help researchers prioritize needs for future research on the clinical effectiveness of US.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of four different forms of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on sympathetic tone in healthy subjects. Twelve subjects received high frequency, low frequency, burst frequency, and placebo stimulation to one upper extremity. Treatments were given on different days. Ipsilateral and contralateral fingertip skin temperatures were measured at three intervals for each treatment: 1) after a 25-minute rest period before stimulation, 2) after a 25-minute treatment, and 3) 25-minutes posttreatment. High, low, and burst frequency TENS significantly increased sympathetic activity in the ipsilateral extremity immediately after treatment. Similar trends in temperature change were seen on the contralateral side. The effects of the three nonplacebo treatments did not differ from each other. Further research is needed to assess sympathetic effects of TENS on patient groups. The results suggest that monitoring skin temperature as part of a TENS assessment may be warranted, especially in patients with distal vascular impairments.

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The Northern Health Diabetes Hospital Admission Risk Program is a chronic disease management program that aims to improve the glycemic management of patients with diabetes. The aim of this project was to determine if there was any relationship between psychological characteristics and glycemic outcome in a diabetes management program. A prospective study of patients attending the diabetes management program investigated validated measures of cognition, stage of change, locus of control, self-efficacy, depression and anxiety, and quality of life. The study investigated 86 type 2 diabetes patients (mean age 59 years, 49% female). Glycemic control (HbA1c) was measured at baseline and after 12 months in the program. Glycemic control was poor on admission to the service with a mean HbA1c of 8.9%. The measures of cognition, self-efficacy, locus of control, mental health, and quality of life were not associated with improvements in HbA1c. Those participants with shorter duration of disease and more contacts with the service were significantly more likely to experience improvements in HbA1c. Psychometric data were not predictive of glycemic outcome. Rather, in this chronic disease management program, glycemia improved more in patients who were seen earlier in their disease course and managed more intensively, regardless of their psychometric status.

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