Purpose. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are generally confined to bed leading to limited mobility that may have detrimental effects on different body systems. Early mobilization prevents or reduces these effects and improves outcomes in patients following critical illness. The purpose of this review is to summarize different aspects of early mobilization in intensive care. Methods. Electronic databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were searched using a combination of keywords. Full-text articles meeting the inclusion criteria were selected. Results. Fifty-six studies on various aspects such as the effectiveness of early mobilization in various intensive care units, newer techniques in early mobilization, outcome measures for physical function in the intensive care unit, safety, and practice and barriers to early mobilization were included. Conclusion: Early mobilization is found to have positive effects on various outcomes in patients with or without mechanical ventilation. The newer techniques can be used to facilitate early mobilization. Scoring systems—specific to the ICU—are available and should be used to quantify patients’ status at different intervals of time. Early mobilization is not commonly practiced in many countries. Various barriers to early mobilization have been identified, and different strategies can be used to overcome them.

Flow and volume incentive spirometry can be safely recommended to patients undergoing open abdominal surgery as there have been no adverse events recorded. Also, these led to a demonstrable improvement in pulmonary function and exercise tolerance.

To determine the effect of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength (RMS), and functional capacity in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases were searched from inception to June 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated patients who underwent cardiac surgery were included in this review. Meta-analysis performed using a random-effects model showed that the mean difference in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 6-minute walk distance, and RMS was 3.47% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 6.36), 5.80% (95% CI, 2.03 to 9.56), 78.05 m (95% CI, 60.92 to 95.18), and 4.8 cmH2O (95% CI, -4.00 to 13.4), respectively. There is strong evidence that IMT improves inspiratory muscle strength, pulmonary function, and functional capacity, and reduces the length of hospital stay in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Objective: To review the role of physiotherapy and its effects in hospice care of patients with advanced cancer. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and PEDro. The search strategy was devised, articles were screened, and 2 independent reviewers conducted data extraction. Eligible studies were methodologically assessed for quality rating using modified Downs and Black’s checklist. The extracted data was summarized according to site/stage of cancer, details of intervention, outcome measures and the results. Result: The total number of screened articles were 2102, out of which 9 were identified as suitable for the purposes of comprehensive review. The studies included exercise therapy, massage therapy, relaxation therapy, compression bandaging and use of TENS as the various physiotherapy interventions under consideration. Studies were generally of low to moderate quality. A broad range of outcomes were employed including physical symptoms like loss of function, pain, fatigue, edema, sleep disturbances and quality of life. The findings of the studies supported the benefits of the interventions. Conclusion: A structured exercise protocol, massage therapy, TENS and compression bandaging are useful in alleviating the symptoms experienced by patients with advanced cancer in hospice care. The reduced symptom burden has reflected as an improvement in their quality of life. However, there is a further need for high quality studies to strengthen the findings of this review.

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Background and Aim. Children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) have impaired trunk control. Joint position sense, a component of proprioception, plays a crucial role in maintaining spinal mobility and stability. The current study is aimed at analysing the relationship between trunk control and trunk position sense in children with spastic CP. Methods. In this study, 24 children with spastic CP aged between 8 and 15 years were recruited. They were classified based on their functional performance using Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Trunk control and trunk position sense were assessed using the trunk control measurement scale (TCMS) and digital goniometer, respectively. The correlation between these variables was tested using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results. Significant negative correlation was found between trunk position sense and TCMS score. Similarly, a significant moderate correlation was found between trunk position sense and GMFCS. A strong negative correlation was also found between GMFCS and TCMS. Conclusion. Children with spastic CP with better trunk position sense had better trunk control. Similarly, children with higher functional performance had better trunk control and lesser error in trunk position sense. The current findings imply the relevance of proprioceptive training of the trunk for enhancing trunk motor control in children with spastic CP.

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Background: The biomechanical changes in foot among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus often leads to various foot complications which could further add to diabetes related morbidity mortality. These changes could be seen due to musculoskeletal factor like reduction in intrinsic foot muscle strength, tightness of lower limb muscles, postural changes, etc. Aim: To design and determine the efficacy of a structured exercise program on foot kinetics and kinematics among type 2 participants Materials and methods: A total of 35 participants with type 2 diabetes (n=15, type 2 diabetes mellitus without neuropathy and n=20, type 2 diabetes with peripheral neuropathy) were recruited. All participants were screened clinically biochemically and given a set of structured exercise program, three times a week for 12weeks along with standard medical care. Results: The mean age of the participants was 5610.5 (Non neuropathy) 62.37.35 (Neuropathy) years, mean duration of diabetes was 8.78.95 (Non neuropathy), 10.978 (Neuropathy) years, mean Body mass index was 26.54 4.83(Non neuropathy), 24.393.58 (Neuropathy), Significant differences have been observed in kinetic and kinematic variables. Conclusion: The present study shows that the structured exercise protocol is very effective in improving the biomechanics of foot in people with type 2 diabetes with and without neuropathy. It could help to correct the structure and function of the foot and eventually could reduce the risk of foot complications like diabetic foot ulcers.