Issue 26: April 2011.

BDA Annual Conference 2011 – Influence with Impact
9th – 11th May in London.
The 2011 conference programme has been designed as three standalone days: but with an overarching ambition to bring the profession together to share the evidence underpinning practice, address the challenges in a new healthcare environment, and develop outcomes in the areas in which we operate. All attending will be encouraged to discuss and contribute to the development of a National action framework to apply in your own practice - and enable you to show where your input adds value beyond the end of the conference.

Working Together For Positive Service User Experience and Outcomes – Trent Region BAOT.
To be held on 19th May 2011 at The Sitwell Arms Hotel, 39 Station Rd, Renishaw, Derbyshire.
The aim of the day is for delegates to increase awareness of partnership working projects including; a "Falls Prevention Project, and a "Wellness for Work project. To gain knowledge of how the outcomes framework will impact on services and to reflect on your own skills and prepare for change.

Department of Health announces £775million investment for NHS research
The funding is part of a total of £4 billion being invested in Research and Development up to March 2015. It will be made available over the next five years to NHS/university partnerships through the National Institute for Health Research. Applications are encouraged to focus on improving health outcomes for patients in high priority disease areas such as dementia, cancer and heart disease.

Hope, influence and the challenge ahead:
Karen Middleton, Chief Health Professions Officer, looks at the implications of the Health and Social Care Bill.
As the Health Bill begins its path through Parliament, it is clear that this will be a significant year of transition, whatever part of the system you are working in. It is crucial, as we go through a particularly uncertain and difficult period, that we keep our eye on the ball and focus on continuing to drive up quality and improving productivity – our core purpose has not changed.

‘Natural break’ in NHS reform offers chance to promote OT A ‘natural break’ in the reform of England’s health services has opened up a window of opportunity to promote OT services. NHS reform has proceeded rapidly since the coalition government took power a year ago, but criticism about how the plans will be implemented has built from the health select committee, professional bodies and the public during spring.

Physiotherapy works: musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
Physiotherapy is clinically effective and cost effective in the management and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs are one of the most common problems physiotherapists treat.

University clinic open for business
The Manchester public can now get acupuncture and physiotherapy from physio students studying at Manchester Metropolitan University.Teaching staff at the university’s physiotherapy department - one of the largest in the country – will run the on-site clinic for staff, students and locals, but physio students will also get the valuable opportunity to practise on patients, under supervision from teaching staff.

Non-pharmacological interventions for perceptual disorders following stroke and other adult-acquired, non-progressive brain injury
An intervention review to examine the evidence for improvement in activities of daily living (ADL) six months post randomisation for active intervention versus placebo or no treatment.
Bowen A, Knapp P, Gillespie D, Nicolson DJ, Vail A. Non-pharmacological interventions for perceptual disorders following stroke and other adult-acquired, non-progressive brain injury. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 4.

Restriction of oral intake of water for aspiration lung disease in children
An intervention review where the objective was to evaluate the efficacy of restriction of oral water ingestion on the pulmonary status of children with thin fluid aspiration demonstrated on a modified barium swallow study.
Weir K, McMahon S, Chang AB. Restriction of oral intake of water for aspiration lung disease in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 4. New search for studies and content updated (no change to conclusions), published in Issue 4, 2011.

Study protocol: Improving patient choice in treating low back pain (IMPACT - LBP): A randomised controlled trial of a decision support package for use in physical therapy
Patel S., Brown S., Friede T., Griffiths F., Lord J., Ngunjiri A., Thistlethwaite J., Tysall C., Woolvine M., Underwood M.
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2011, vol./is. 12/, 1471-2474
Low back pain is a common and costly condition. There are several treatment options for people suffering from back pain, but there are few data on how to improve patients' treatment choices. This study will test the effects of a decision support package (DSP), designed to help patients seeking care for back pain to make better, more informed choices about their treatment within a physiotherapy department. The package will be designed to assist both therapist and patient.

Motor retraining in virtual reality: a feasibility study for upper-extremity rehabilitation in individuals with chronic stroke.
Burdea, Grigore, Cioi, Daniel, Martin, Joseph, Rabin, Bryan, Kale, Angad, DiSanto, Phillip
Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 01 April 2011, vol./is. 25/1(20-29).
Four volunteers, 3 men and 1 woman, were recruited from a local aphasia support group. All individuals were chronic post stroke with right-side hemiplegia. Training took place at the Tele-Rehabilitation Institute at Rutgers University. The intervention was performed on the Rutgers Arm II, a prototype training table that senses supported arm movement and grasp strength and tilts to resist or assist reach. Results show that motor retraining in virtual reality is feasible, well-tolerated by participants, and benefitting them. The Rutgers Arm II system was able to train participants, who varied greatly in their degree of motor impairment, but without a clinician being present. The present study contributes to the body of knowledge on novel virtual rehabilitation interventions for the upper extremity.
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Breathe: a game to motivate the adherence of breathing exercises.
Lange, Belinda, Flynn, Sheryl, Chang, Chien-Yen, Rizzo, Albert, Bolas, Mark
Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 01 April 2011, vol./is. 25/1(30-35).
Breathing often becomes impaired or difficult after surgeries or in the presence of disease or injury. Breathing exercises are imperative to ensure the health of lungs. Despite this, patient adherence with breathing exercise regimes is not commonly assessed. There is a need for breathing exercise programs that will stimulate motivation, the lack of which is often associated with exercise. Typically, breathing exercises must be performed at regular intervals throughout the day while recovering from surgery or undertaking cycles of prophylactic breathing exercises. Furthermore, there is a need for a device that will provide quantitative measures of patient progress and adherence. An incentive spirometer apparatus measures the volume of air inspired and expired, and provides visual feedback while performing breathing exercises. The development of a game-based incentive spirometry system aims to overcome the typical exercise inertia to motivate patients to perform breathing exercises and to provide individualized challenge levels and quantitative measurement of progress and adherence.
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