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Rehabilitation of Neuromotor Disabilities in Aquatic Microgravity Environment

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Respiratory Ailments in Context

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((NR,volume 1113))

Abstract

The aquatic environment has a high potential in rehabilitation treatment of acute lesions and in chronic diseases. The Safe Bearing Back method is proposed to stimulate the reorganization of deteriorated sensory neuromotor skills. The aim of the present study was to verify the effectiveness and the long-term maintenance of the benefits of a specific thermal rehabilitation training in neuromotor and neurological disabilities. Seventy four patients were evaluated using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Tinetti Gait-Balance Scale (TIN), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain. In addition, a general health index was developed, conceived as a linear combination, with unit weights, of the normalized FIM, TIN, and VAS indicators. Measurements were made at T1 (baseline before treatment), T2 (after a five-month treatment, which was the end of treatment), and T3 (6 months after the end of treatment). Self-sufficiency, walking ability, and subjective pain perception were improved after the treatment. The improvement tapered off during the six-month-long follow-up, but the patients’ condition remained well compared with the baseline level before the implementation of the treatment program. We conclude that hydrokinesitherapy with the Safe Bearing Back method demonstrates is clearly effective in the immediate and medium-term rehabilitation of neuromotor diseases.

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests in relation to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oral and Biotechnological Science, “Gabriele d’Annunzio” University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy

    Giovanni Barassi, Annamaria Porreca, Giuseppe Giannuzzo, Giuseppe Irace & Raoul Saggini

  2. Department of Biomolecular Sciences, ‘Carlo Bo’ University, Urbino, Italy

    Rosa Grazia Bellomo

  3. Rehabilitation Department, Local Health Unit of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

    Leonardo Trivisano

Authors
  1. Giovanni Barassi
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  2. Rosa Grazia Bellomo
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  3. Annamaria Porreca
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  4. Giuseppe Giannuzzo
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  5. Giuseppe Irace
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  6. Leonardo Trivisano
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  7. Raoul Saggini
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Correspondence to Giovanni Barassi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Opole Medical School, Opole, Poland

    Mieczyslaw Pokorski

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Barassi, G. et al. (2018). Rehabilitation of Neuromotor Disabilities in Aquatic Microgravity Environment. In: Pokorski, M. (eds) Respiratory Ailments in Context. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1113. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2018_164

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