Ashokan Arumugam

University of Sharjah | US · Department of Physiotherapy

Unanticipated land-and-cut maneuvers might emulate lower limb mechanics associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Reliability studies on landing mechanics of such maneuvers are however lacking. This study investigated feasibility and within-session reliability of landing mechanics of a novel one-leg double-hop test, mimicking a land-...

Introduction: Game-based rehabilitation is an emerging therapeutic intervention that allows intensive, repetitive, task-based training to improve upper limb (UL) function following stroke, based on the principles of neuro-plasticity and motor (re)learning. Rehabilitation using commercial gaming system will be motivating, enjoyable, challenging and...

Background: Knee proprioception is believed to be deficient after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Tests of joint position sense (JPS) are commonly used to assess knee proprioception, but their psychometric properties (PMPs) are largely unknown. Purpose: To evaluate the PMPs (reliability, validity, and responsiveness) of existing knee JPS...

Background and aims Wearing an accelerometer during night-time could conflate sedentary behavior time and sleep hours. It is important to assess the impact of including night-time data on sedentary and upright behavior in a sedentary population. Therefore, we investigated differences in sitting and upright time and associated energy expenditure (EE...

Efficient neuromuscular coordination of the thigh muscles is crucial in maintaining dynamic knee stability and thus reducing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury/re-injury risk. This cross-sectional study measured electromyographic (EMG) thigh muscle co-contraction patterns during a novel one-leg double-hop test among individuals with ACL recons...

Background The joint position sense (JPS) is an element of proprioception and defined as an individual’s ability to recognize joint position in space. The JPS is assessed by measuring the acuity of reproducing a predetermined target angle. The quality of psychometric properties of knee JPS tests after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR...

Purpose: Limited information is known from studies regarding traditional, religious, and cultural perspectives on mental illness and the use of traditional and alternative therapies by mentally ill people in Indonesia. This study explored traditional, religious, and cultural beliefs about causes of mental illness and the use of traditional/alternat...

Patient and public involvement (PPI) in every aspect of research will add valuable insights from patients’ experiences, help to explore barriers and facilitators to their compliance/adherence to assessment and treatment methods, bring meaningful outcomes that could meet their expectations, needs and preferences, reduce health care costs, and improv...

Introduction: Studies indicate that brain response during proprioceptive tasks predominates in the right hemisphere. A right hemisphere lateralization for proprioception may help to explain findings that right-limb dominant individuals perform position matching tasks better with the non-dominant left side. Evidence for proprioception-related brain...

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a common condition lacking strong diagnostic criteria; these criteria continue to evolve as more and more studies are performed to explore it. This investigation sought to identify whether participants with FMS have more frequent and larger postural/spinal displacements in comparison to a matched control group without...

Background Thigh-worn accelerometers can accurately measure time spent sitting, standing and walking in free-living settings. Aim To investigate the concurrent validity of a new Fibion accelerometer and a validated ActivPAL4 accelerometer for estimating sedentary and upright time in healthy individuals. Methods A total of 29 healthy individuals,...

Background Currently, teaching methods for developing physical assessment and palpation skills in manual therapy is challenging for both learners and educators. 3D digital technologies such as virtual reality (VR) may facilitate and/or address these challenges. However, their current usage in improving learning outcomes in manual therapy education...

Purpose Limited information is known from studies regarding traditional, religious, and cultural perspectives on mental illness and the use of traditional and alternative therapies by mentally ill people in Indonesia. This study explored traditional, religious, and cultural beliefs about causes of mental illness and the use of traditional/alternati...

Objectives The current paradigm of teaching manual therapy is ‘teacher centred’ and may not enable learners to develop the complex clinical skills of manual therapy. 3D technologies such as virtual reality may facilitate the teaching and learning of manual therapy. Hence the aim of the current study was to investigate the perception, knowledge and...

Objectives: Manual therapy is a specific hands-on approach used and taught by various professions such as physiotherapy and osteopathy. The current paradigm of teaching manual therapy incorporates the traditional ‘See one, do one, teach one’ approach. However, this ‘teacher centred’ approach may not enable learners to develop the complex clinical s...

Background: Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10-24 years during the past three decades. Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and...

Background Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10-24 years during the past three decades.

Background Injury remains a major concern to public health in the European region. Previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed wide variation in injury death and disability adjusted life year (DALY) rates across Europe, indicating injury inequality gaps between sub-regions and countries. The objectives of this study were...

Background Injury remains a major concern to public health in the European region. Previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed wide variation in injury death and disability adjusted life year (DALY) rates across Europe, indicating injury inequality gaps between sub-regions and countries. The objectives of this study were...

Background Injury remains a major concern to public health in the European region. Previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed wide variation in injury death and disability adjusted life year (DALY) rates across Europe, indicating injury inequality gaps between sub-regions and countries. The objectives of this study were...

Background The Simple Shoulder Test (SST) is a simple and short patient-reported outcome measuring functional limitations of the affected shoulder in patients with shoulder dysfunction. Although it is widely used in different clinical cultures, literature review to date revealed that the SST has not been yet translated nor validated in the Arabic l...

Background Numerous studies have established bilateral changes that underpin a reorganization of the central nervous system in individuals with unilateral tendinopathy. The evidence for sensory and motor profiles of the contralateral limb and neuroplastic (cortical) changes have not been specifically reviewed for rotator cuff related shoulder pain...

Background Threshold to detect passive motion (TTDPM) tests of the knee joint are commonly implemented among individuals with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to assess proprioceptive acuity. Their psychometric properties (PMPs), i.e. reliability, validity and responsiveness, are however unclear. This systematic review aimed to establish the...

Background Disability and mortality burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have risen worldwide; however, the NCD burden among adolescents remains poorly described in the EU. Methods Estimates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. Causes of NCDs were analysed at three different levels o...

The present study investigated the effects of attending lectures in sitting and standing postures on executive function of young adults. In this randomized, counterbalanced, crossover trial on 15 adults (19.2 ± 2.4 years), selective attention and executive control (response inhibition) were measured through reaction times and event related potentia...

Background With increasing age, decreased range of motion of lower limb joints, impaired functional performance and balance, pain status, altered dual tasking, and poor quality of life may predict the risk for falls in older adults. Therefore, this study aimed to identify which of the aforementioned variables and demographic factors predict falls i...

Background: Injury remains a major concern to public health in the European region, particularly among adults younger than 49 years. Previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed wide variation in injury death and disability adjusted life year (DALY) rates across Europe, indicating injury inequality gaps between sub-regions...

Background and Purpose Measurement of movement quality is essential to distinguish motor recovery patterns and optimize rehabilitation strategies post-stroke. Recently, the Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable Taskforce (SRRR) recommended four kinetic and kinematic performance assays to measure upper extremity (UE) movements and distinguis...

Background: Although different types of neural mobilization (NM) exercises induce different amounts of longitudinal nerve excursion and strain, the question whether the increased longitudinal stress and nerve excursion from sliding or tensioning intervention may subtly affect the neural functions has not been answered yet. Objective: To compare...

Abstract Text: Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to identify which of the following variables were able to best predict falls in older adults, age 65+: lower extremity range of motion, functional strength and balance, pain report, and dual task ability. Number of Subjects: n=100 Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, predicti...

Background: Currently, teaching methods for developing complex physical assessment and palpation skills in manual therapy is challenging for both learners and educators. 3D digital technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality may facilitate and/or address these challenges. However, their current usage and/or r...

Background and aims Smartphone applications (e.g., Google Fit) may be a good alternative tool for accelerometers in estimating energy expenditure of physical activities because they are affordable, easy to use, and freely downloadable on smartphones. We aimed to determine the concurrent validity of the Fibion and Google Fit for measuring energy exp...

Background. The aim of this study was to investigate between-day reliability of postural measurements and to examine the effects of prolonged sitting (2 hours) on standing spinal posture using the DIERS Formetric 4D®device. Methods. A test-retest reliability study was performed on 14 healthy university students to assess spinal shape parameters in...

Background: Prolonged sitting in desk-based office workers is found to be associated with increased cardiometabolic risk and poor cognitive performance. Technology-based physical activity (PA) interventions using smartphone applications (SmPh app) to promote PA levels might be effective in reducing cardiometabolic risk among sedentary population b...

Objective: The objective of this review is to evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy, used alone or in combination with conventional therapies, on wound healing and pain reduction in patients with median sternotomy. Introduction: In the previous two decades, the incidence of postsurgical complications following median sternotomy has remaine...

Objective To systematically review and summarise the evidence for the effects of neuromuscular training compared with any other therapy (conventional training/sham) on knee proprioception following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Design Systematic Review. Data sources PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, AMED, Scopus and Physical Education Index...

Background Robotic-Assisted Gait Training (RAGT) may enable high-intensive and task-specific gait training post-stroke. The effect of RAGT on gait movement patterns has however not been comprehensively reviewed. The purpose of this review was to summarize the evidence for potentially superior effects of RAGT on biomechanical measures of gait post-s...

Background Prolonged (excessive) sitting is detrimentally associated with cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health. Moreover, prolonged sitting has been associated with poor executive function, memory, attention and visuospatial skills, which are important cognitive aspects of work performance. Breaking up prolonged sitting with standing or ligh...

Objective: To evaluate and summarize the level of evidence for the immediate, short-term, and long-term effects of game-based rehabilitation on upper limb function in adults within the first six months following stroke. Introduction: A game-based intervention is a valuable therapeutic tool for incorporating principles of motor learning and neuro...

Background. Excessive uninterrupted sitting is found to be associated with increased cardiometabolic disease risk in desk-based employees. Point-of-choice prompts using a smartphone application (SmPh-app) may be a feasible method of promoting physical activity and negating cardiometabolic disease risk. The study aims to investigate the effectivenes...

Objective This study aims to appraise and summarize consistent recommendations from clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for identification and management of frailty to maintain and improve functional independence of elderly population.MethodsA systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL electronic databases using databas...

Background The incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is rising in India and there is a need for a systematic review to corroborate the effects of physiotherapy interventions and their cultural adaptations on CVDs in India. Objectives To summarize the level of evidence for the effects of physiotherapy interventions on disease-specific and gen...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Neuromuscular training may have the potential to enhance knee proprioception in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. To date, there is however no systematic review on the effects of such training on restoring knee proprioception (if deficient) following ACL injury. Our systematic review summarizes the leve...

Background: Stroke has been identified as a major cause of disability often due to the upper-extremity impairments, recovery from which, takes place over a period of time. Prediction models or predictors have been formulated for predicting upper-extremity recovery following stroke. However, we still lack knowledge about the hierarchy of available p...

Background: We designed a novel one-leg double-hop test emulating a cutting maneuver that might challenge anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) integrity. A good neuromuscular control of the thigh muscles is crucial to maintain dynamic knee stability during the task. Therefore, there is a need to assess thigh muscles cocontraction strategies in order to...

Background: A change-of-direction (cutting) maneuver might challenge knee stability or anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) integrity during an unanticipated condition compared to its preplanned counterpart. Therefore, we proposed a novel one-leg double-hop test including a forward hop followed by a 45°-diagonal hop in medial (UMDH) or lateral directio...

Introduction An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury affects knee proprioception and sensorimotor control and might contribute to an increased risk of a second ACL injury and secondary knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, there is a growing need for valid, reliable and responsive knee proprioception tests. No previous study has comprehensively review...

Despite a vast literature on one-leg hops and cutting maneuvers assessing knee control pre/post-injury of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), comprehensive and reliable tests performed under unpredictable conditions are lacking. This study aimed to: 1) assess the feasibility of an innovative, knee-challenging, one-leg double-hop test consisting o...

PEDro synthesis on the following paper: Bort-Roig J, Gilson ND, Puig-Ribera A, et al. Measuring and influencing physical activity with smartphone technology: a systematic review. Sports Med2014;44:671-86. Non-peer reviewed post: https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2018/06/26/can-smartphone-based-motion-sensors-and-applications-measure-and-influence-physic...

Background: A good neuromuscular control of the thigh muscles is crucial to maintain dynamic knee stability by controlling knee motion and loading during functional tasks, thereby preventing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. Purpose: To examine electromyographic (EMG) patterns of the thigh muscles during a novel one-leg double-hop test...

AIM: To evaluate the effects of hop direction (UMDH vs. ULDH) and leg (operated vs. uninjured) using multivariate analysis on a large set of trunk and lower limb biomechanical variables observed during the novel test in individuals with a unilateral ACL reconstruction (ACLR).

A PEDro synthesis of the following paper indexed on the PEDro database: “Al Attar WSA, Soomro N, Sinclair PJ, et al. Effect of injury prevention programs that include the Nordic hamstring exercise on hamstring injury rates in soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 2017;47:907-16.” Non-peer reviewed post: http://blogs.b...

A 36-year-old man with insidious onset of posterior right thigh pain that had started 1 month previously sought physical therapy consultation after his pain was nonresponsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by his physician. Radiographs were noncontributory. Given the atypical findings during examination, the physical therapist r...

Hamstring injuries occur commonly in athletes participating in sports that require sprinting/high velocity running, kicking a ball or agility. In the first instance, clinical assessment and management play a pivotal role in managing these injuries. Radiological investigations such as ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are als...

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the evidence for effectiveness of resistance exercise training in the management of hypertension when compared to aerobic exercise training, no exercise training or usual care. © 2017 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hamstring injuries are common injuries in sports involving sprinting, high-velocity running and kicking. Previous research has shown that injured hamstrings can demonstrate increased electromyographic (EMG) activity during a weight-bearing task such as transition from bipedal to unipedal stance (BUS), and generate decreased isokinetic eccentric tor...