Kavitha Raja

JSS College of Physiotherapy

Background: Several attempts have been made to quantify postural sway, from simple observational techniques to advanced computer technology. Measuring sway using commercial motion tracking devices and force plates are expensive and not feasible in evaluation on non-standardised surfaces. Video cameras can be used as an affordable alternative to pe...

Introduction Comprehensive and interdisciplinary measurement of rehabilitation outcome is an essential part of the assessment and prognosis of a patient. Thus, this requires substantial contributions from the patient, their family and the rehabilitation professional working with them. Moreover, the measurement tool should be comprehensive and must...

Introduction: Comparison of sway parameters of visually impaired participants to that of the sighted population may give insight into the intrinsic risk of falls relative to the surface. Sway is a natural mechanism to adjust the posture and maintain balance. But the sway characteristics on uneven surfaces are ill explored. There is a paucity of evi...

Introduction: Comprehensive and interdisciplinary measurement of rehabilitation outcome is an essential part in the assessment and prognosis of a patient. This requires input from various disciplines working with the patient and the rehabilitation team. Moreover, the evaluation measures should consider the cultural compatibility, cost, and comprehe...

Purpose: Gait impairment is a common disability among stroke survivors and is a known risk factor of falls. Outdoor ambulation is essential for everyone, even for basic activities of daily living, but routine assessment of stroke survivors concentrates mainly on indoor ambulation and function. This study is an attempt to document gait parameters in...

Background: Backpacks are an efficient way of manual carriage used by people of all ages, and is commonly used by schoolchildren. Carrying heavy backpacks may result in cumulative trauma later in life due to biomechanical adaptations during gait. Gait parameters are known to be sensitive to force vectors, which can be altered by load carrying. This...

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Impaired walking ability is a common disability in stroke survivors and is a known risk factor of fall. Navigation of uneven terrain is essential for rural residents of regions in much of the developing world even for basic activities of daily living. AIMS: This is a preliminary exploratory study to evaluate kinematic gait par...

BACKGROUND: People with disability (PWD) living in the community often require ongoing assistance for self‑care and for continuing rehabilitation maintenance programs. While awareness material is easily available, training for volunteers working with disabled population and family members of PWD is hard to come by. AIM: The aim of this study was to...

Background: India has a diverse cultural heritage, with a wealth of indigenous folk games that are culturally ingrained. Due to the ease of acquisition, low costs, and widespread acceptability, this form of games can be incorporated to facilitate and improve physical fitness among children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Hence this study focu...

Background and purpose: It is necessary to bring the current understanding of pain to undergraduate, postgraduate, and academic faculty of physiotherapy in all the universities and independent institutions in India. Approximately 15,000 students are graduated every year from various physiotherapy institutions in India. More than 20,000 physiotherap...

BACKGROUND: The work capacity assessment (WCA) tool is a new tool developed specifically to assess worker suitability for working conditions in India. This study presents the preliminary results of reliability (interrater) and internal consistency of the WCA tool. AIMS: The aim of this study is to develop a work capacity tool for working conditions...

Purpose: This study aims to validate and report responsiveness of Energy Expenditure Index (EEI) during walking on outdoor uneven surface in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: Eighty ambulant children with spastic diplegia (Gross Motor Function Classification System II & III) aged between six and 18 years and 58 age matched typically d...

Purpose: Development of an easy to use tool for the assessment of Developmental Coordination Disorder that is applicable to Indian children. Methods: The steps for instrument development were followed stringently. In order to ensure the robustness of the tool, psychometric properties were determined with 127 children attending various schools. T...

Background In most developing countries, accessibility for people using walking aids is limited due to architectural and environmental barriers. As observed from anecdotal accounts, even a minor orthopaedic injury/disorder may restrict a person's ambulation due to fatigue associated with using walking aids. Hence this study was undertaken with the...

Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of spinal cord injury (SCI) in India. This may be due to increasing number of vehicles on the road, non-adherence to traffic rules, non-adherence to road safety measures etc. We conducted focus group interviews of persons with paraplegia regarding their care post injury. Data was collected till d...

Study design: A qualitative study. Objective: The aim of this study was to understand expectations of persons with paraplegia in India regarding their care. Setting: India. Methods: This study used a qualitative methodology to have a focus group interview of persons with paraplegia in India. Focus group consisted of two to four participants...

Purpose: This review aimed to identify the practice guidelines/ recommendations for physiotherapy management in acute /post-acute/ chronic/long-term phase of rehabilitation of clients with paraplegia due to traumatic causes. Methods: Of the 120 articles retrieved, 26 met the inclusion criteria. After quality appraisal, 16 articles were included in...

Distance mode pain course based on IASP pain curricula had resulted in increasing the modern neuroscience-based pain neurophysiology knowledge among physiotherapists and positive perceptions on conceptualizing of the chronic pain and impairment relationships, particularly an increased functional expectations in chronic pain patients.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of DCD in children between ages of 6-15 years attending mainstream schools in a school district in southern India using criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Methods: A total of 2282 children, were screened with Kannada version of DCDQ'07. All the children w...

Purpose: The revised version of Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ’07) is a widely used parent-reported screening tool for DCD. The tool is not available in any Indian language. This article reports on the results of the cross-cultural validation of DCDQ’07 into Kannada, a South Indian language. Methods: The questionnaire was f...

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop an assessment tool for in-hand manipulation skills (IHMS) and establish its psychometric properties. Design: Items are pooled based on literature and expert opinion. Content validation was performed by ten rehabilitation professionals. The test was administered to 123 typically developing, and 15 child...

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common aneuploidy of chromosome 21, characterized by the presence of an extra copy of that chromosome (trisomy 21). Children with DS present with an abnormal phenotype, which is attributed to a loss of genetic balance or an excess dose of chromosome 21 genes. In recent years, advances in prenatal screening and diagnos...

Purpose: This study attempted to profile the prevalence of childhood health conditions and the factors that contribute to the disablement process leading to disability among children who visit a tertiary referral hospital in Mysore, India.

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide preliminary estimates of effects of box taping as an adjunct to stretching-strengthening exercise program on scapular alignment in healthy subjects with forward shoulder posture (FSP). Methods: Sixty subjects were screened and 38 asymptomatic subjects with FSP were allocated into box taping and...

Background: Childhood fitness is an emerging area of concern as prevalence of childhood obesity is rising. Indian studies, have identified decreased fitness levels and increased obesity in urban children. However, studies incorporating a comprehensive fitness evaluation are unavailable. In order to establish appropriate school fitness programs, bas...

Purpose: To devise a viable programme of intervention for older people with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Methods: Using focus group interviews, a ‘top down’ model of intervention was devised among older children and adolescents with CP. Ten participants volunteered and a custom tailored approach was employed, in keeping with the participants’ goals. Resu...

In the ICF framework of health and functioning, AT is recognized as an enabling factor. AT covers gamut of devices and adjustments that help the differently abled to function in society. A multifaceted assessment and involvement of the client in the decision making process from start to finish is essential for AT to fulfill its role as an enabler....

The aim of this study was to report the responsiveness and minimal clinically important difference of the Edinburgh Visual Gait Score (EVGS), used to measure gait deviations in children with cerebral palsy. Fifty ambulant children with spastic diplegia (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II and III) aged between 6 and 19 yrs were rec...

Advances in medical science have resulted in a concomitant increase in the life span of persons with disabilities. The prevalence of chronic disease, an aging population and the ongoing shift of the site of care from institutions to the community, have resulted in a significant increase in the informal care provided by family members and friends of...

The objective of this study was to evaluate interrater reliability of the craniocervical flexion test (CCFT) on asymptomatic subjects. A cross-sectional repeated-measures study design was used. Thirty asymptomatic subjects (15 men and 15 women; mean age, 33.7 years; range, 22-48 years) were recruited for the study. Subjects were positioned in supin...

A systematic analysis was conducted on the effectiveness of knee braces and foot orthoses in conservative management of knee osteoarthritis. The methodologic quality of the randomized clinical trials, controlled clinical trials, and observational studies were systematically reviewed using the Structured Effectiveness Quality Evaluation Scale. Twent...

This study was carried out as a postal survey. The aim of this study was to ascertain employment after paraplegia in India. This study was conducted in India. The study was conducted by means of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was mailed to the identified individuals (n=600) on the addresses obtained from the medical records section of hospital...

To examine transference of dexterity skills to the contralateral hand after ipsilateral hand training, retention of skills at 1 mo, and the influence of hand dominance, sex, and age on interlimb transfer of these skills. This is an interventional study involving 200 healthy adults in the age group of 20-30 yrs and >30 yrs, who were block randomized...

A postal survey. To ascertain the incidence of pain in individuals with paraplegia in India and to associate it with demographic characteristics. India. The study was done by means of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was mailed to the identified individuals (n=600) on the addresses obtained from the medical records section of hospitals and from...

Adhesive capsulitis (AC) is a common musculoskeletal manifestation in elderly having long standing history of diabetes. This hinders the function of shoulder which is crucial in many activities of daily living. This painful, functional deficit may decrease the quality of life in elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of AC on...

Postal survey from August 2004 to May 2006. To ascertain the morbidity trends in individuals with paraplegia in India and to find its association with demographic characteristics. India. The questionnaire was mailed to the identified individuals (n=600) whose addresses were obtained from the medical records section of our hospital and by contacting...

Retrospective descriptive analysis of data of patients with spinal injuries admitted to a tertiary referral medical center from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2004. To identify the demographic profile of patients with spinal injuries admitted in this hospital. Medical records department, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, Karnataka, India. A total of 207...

The study was undertaken to evaluate whether the Physiological Cost Index (PCI) can be used as a reliable index of efficiency of gait and as an outcome measure in cerebral palsy (CP). Physiological Cost Index was calculated in normal subjects by recording the heart rate manually and with electrocardiograph recording, and the values compared. In ano...

The autonomy of patients in making medical decisions is increasingly recognised globally, but is not fully adhered to in India. Information is the first step for a patient to be able to make a decision on his or her health care. The objective of this survey was to ascertain patients' perspectives on the amount of information given to them by health...

A 3-mo prospective descriptive study of 50 Indian ambulant children with cerebral palsy using different types of walkers or elbow crutches was done to determine compliance with use of the prescribed device. Children were between 6 and 16 yrs of age and of either sex. Data were collected by means of proxy log entries made by the child's caregivers t...

A three month prospective self report study of 50 children using different types of walkers or elbow crutches was done to determine compliance with use of the prescribed device. Data were collected by means of log entries made by the child's care givers throughout the day. The data collected consisted of number of times and the distance the child w...