Research Report Abstracts - Gesundheit

eS870
should lead to development of assessment and intervention
techniques designed to prevent falls by the elderly.
Participants: Participants were 20 healthy elderly adults
recruited from the community. Potential participants found
to have orthopedic disorders, neurological disorders, or mental
disorders as might hamper the conduct of this study were
excluded. The study was explained to participants beforehand
and their consent to participate in the study was obtained.
Methods: Participants performed the task of discerning the
hardness of five foam rubber mats with differing hardnesses
using the sole of the foot. The number of correct responses
was recorded and served as an indicator of plantar hardness
discrimination ability. In addition, participants were fitted
with a wireless triaxial accelerometer in the vicinity of the
spinous process of the third lumbar vertebra, and changes in
acceleration during walking were measured. The root meansquares
(RMSes) of the X, Y, and Z-axes were calculated
based on the acceleration data obtained, and these values
served as indicators of gait stability.
Analysis: The relationship between plantar hardness discrimination
ability and the X-axis RMS, Y-axis RMS, and
Z-axis RMS was analyzed using the Pearson product-moment
correlation coefficient.
Results: Significant correlation between plantar hardness
discrimination ability and the X-axis RMS and Y-axis RMS
was noted.
Conclusions: Results of the current study suggested that
there is an association between plantar hardness discrimination
ability and gait stability in the elderly.
Implications: Introducing plantar hardness discrimination
tasks as a form of training for the elderly may improve plantar
hardness discrimination ability and thus affect gait stability,
and such tasks may have broad clinical applicability.
Keywords: Discrimination ability; Gait stability; Elderly
Funding acknowledgements: None.
Ethics approval: The experimental protocol was approved
by the ethics committee of Setsunan General Hospital.
Research Report Poster Display
Number: RR-PO-210-10-Thu Thursday 23 June 13:00
RAI: Exhibit Halls2&3
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIDGETY
GENERAL MOVEMENTS (GMS) AND
DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME IN THE LOW
BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS
Nakano H. 1 , Kihara H. 2 , Takaya R. 3 ,TagaG. 4 , Nakano J. 5 ,
Konishi Y. 6
1Kyorin University, Dept. of Physical Therapy, School of
Health Sciences, Hachioji-City, Tokyo, Japan, 2Nagano Children’s Hospital, Rehabilitation, Azumino-City, Japan,
3Fukushima University, Faculty of Human Development and
Culture, Fukushima, Japan, 4University of Tokyo, Graduate
School of Education, Tokyo, Japan, 5The Institute of Statistical
Mathematics, Center for Development of Statistical
Computing, Tokyo, Japan, 6Doshisha University, Center for
Baby Science, Kyoto, Japan
Purpose: This study explores the relationship between fidgety
general movements (GMs) and developmental outcome,
and illustrates the reliability of the assessment of fidgety GMs
as a tool in the prediction of neurological outcome of low birth
weight infants.
Relevance: Several authors report that Infants who are very
preterm and very low birth weight are at risk for poor
developmental outcomes. If it is possible to predict infants’
developmental outcomes in their early stage, they can get
early intervention by physical therapists.
Participants: Forty preterm infants were included in
this study (10 males, 30 females, mean gestational age
27w6d ± 21d, and mean birth weight 976 ± 288 g).
Methods: The spontaneous movements of the participants
were videotaped for 5–10 minutes when each infant was
48–60 weeks postmenstrual weeks of age (PMA). We
recorded their GMs from above when they were awake and
moving good-humoredly (state 4 of Prechtl). GMs’ quality
was assessed using Gestalt perception by three observers
unaware of the infant’s history. Fidgety GMs quality was
classified as normal and abnormal according to Prechtl’s
method. The inter observer reliability was good (Siegel’s
kappa is 0.70). If scores for an infant were different among the
observers, they discussed to reach a decision. At the corrected
age of 6, children were assessed by the pediatric neurologists
and were checked their intelligence using Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III). Full
scale IQ (FIQ) was calculated and classified as normal, border
and abnormal. Several predictive values of fidgety GMs
quality for neurodevelopmental impairment were calculated.
Analysis: We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive
value and negative predictive value between fidgety
GMs and the result of WISC-III FIQ and also between GMs
and developmental outcome at corrected age of 6.
Results: Twenty infants (50.0%) showed normal and 20
infants (50.0%) showed abnormal fidgety GMs. The results of