Browsing by Subject "Health and Rehabilitation Sciences"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Open Access
    Do psychosocial factors predict pain after participation in an ultramarathon race?
    (2019) Rabbitte, Jessica; Parker, Romy; Burgess, Theresa
    BACKGROUND Participation in ultramarathon races is increasing globally. Although endurance running has numerous physical and psychological benefits, due to the excessive volume of training and the physical and emotional demands of completing an ultramarathon event, exercise-induced muscle damage and delayed-onset muscle soreness are common. Recovery is central to improving performance and is also a determining factor in return to training. Recovery requires both physical and psychological adaptation. However, there is limited research exploring the effect psychosocial factors play on pain recovery following competition, particularly in endurance runners. More specifically, the role fear avoidance beliefs, pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy play in pain recovery following an ultramarathon race. This information is important to contribute to the limited research on the association between psychosocial factors and recovery from pain in endurance runners. Additionally, this information may provide insight into pain recovery following the Comrades Marathon and reduce time away from running. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychosocial factors (fear avoidance beliefs, pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy beliefs) and pain recovery in runners following the 2017 Comrades Marathon. The specific objectives of the study were to explore whether the psychosocial factors of pain catastrophizing, fear avoidance beliefs and self-efficacy beliefs: a) predict pain in ultramarathon runners after competing in the Comrades Marathon; and b) affect recovery in runners competing in the Comrades Marathon. METHODS This study had a descriptive, longitudinal cohort design. Healthy ultramarathon runners between the ages of 20 and 60 who had qualified for and were intending to compete in the 2017 Comrades Marathon were included in this study. Participants who failed to provide informed consent, reported any signs of illness two weeks prior to the race or any relevant medical or surgical procedure that would prevent participation in the race, were diagnosed with a history of chronic pain or who did not complete the race were excluded. All participants were required to complete a medical and sports history questionnaire and baseline psychosocial questionnaires (Athlete Fear Avoidance Questionnaire, Pain Catastrophizing Questionnaire, Self-Efficacy Questionnaire) two weeks prior to the race at a presentation evening held at participating running clubs. Recovery from pain was recorded by completing a pain logbook (Pain Severity Score of the Brief Pain Inventory) starting the evening of the day on which the Comrades Marathon was run and on each night for nine days following the race, with a total of 10 entries. The questionnaires were validated in previous studies by a panel of experts and were available in both hard copy and electronic format. RESULTS The study sample consisted of 77 participants with a mean age of 41 years, 45 (58%) of whom were male and predominantly English speaking (74%). The majority of participants (78%) had completed the Comrades Marathon previously with 13% being novices to the ultramarathon distance. The average finishing time for the study participants in the 2017 Comrades Marathon was 10 hours and 16 minutes. Seventy percent reported that they had previously used pain-relieving medication after a race. The majority of participants(86%) documented a history of injury, with 55% reporting a current injury. Only 6% reported currently using chronic pain-relieving medication. The baseline psychosocial questionnaires revealed that the majority of the participants demonstrated low fear avoidance beliefs (79%), low pain catastrophizing beliefs (88%) and high self-efficacy beliefs (97%). It took five days from the day of the Comrades Marathon for 75% of the runners to score a pain rating of one or lower in the pain logbook and seven days for 75% of the runners to report no pain. There were no correlations between psychosocial factors and pain recovery in this sample of Comrades runners. There was no correlation between finishing times and pain during recovery. CONCLUSION In conclusion, this study showed that in this sample of ultramarathon runners pre-race psychosocial factors had no effect on recovery following the 2017 Comrades Marathon. High self-efficacy scores, previous experience, higher pain tolerance and better coping strategies in ultramarathon runners may be contributing factors to these results. Future research needs to explore endurance runners who do not complete the race, assess the profile of the ultramarathon race and assess different recovery markers
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    Open Access
    An exploratory case study on the preparation of undergraduate civil engineering students at the University of Cape Town to contribute to an inclusive society for people with disabilities
    (2016) McKinney, Victor John; Amosun, Seyi L; Howell, Colleen Jane
    Based on the experiences of the researcher who is a quadriplegic, people with disabilities still encounter many challenges within the built environment. As civil engineers play a central role, this study set out to address the question - How are undergraduate Civil Engineering students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) being prepared to contribute to an inclusive society that accommodates people with disabilities? Based on a conceptual theoretical framework that draws from a broader context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, a production line analogy was adopted to explore the resources, approaches and experiences of key stakeholders involved in the preparation of the students. The adopted model recognised the students as the "raw materials", the graduates as the "products", UCT as the "factory", the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as the "quality controller", the Engineering Industry "utilised and refined" the product, while people with disabilities were the "consumers". A qualitative, exploratory, multiple case design was utilised incorporating interviews with representatives of UCT, the Engineering Industry, and people with disabilities, while the contents of the website of ECSA was reviewed. ECSA has a transformation agenda that does not explicitly identify issues about disability. However, there were opportunities to incorporate the concept of Universal Design (UD) into the exit level outcomes of the undergraduate civil engineering programme. Furthermore, while UCT, Industry and people with disabilities identified legislation around disability as a major resource for the training of students, and UCT and Industry shared an open minded approach to the concept of UD, its inclusion in the education programme is still lacking. There was a conspicuous gap for collaboration between the stakeholders, which seem to hinder the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach in the preparation of the students. The study highlighted the need to formalise a platform that brings the key stakeholders together in the preparation of civil engineering students to contribute to the development of an inclusive society that accommodates people with disabilities.
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    Exploring evidence-based practice in Namibia - a co-operative inquiry
    (2012) Burger, Helga; Buchanan, Helen; Van Niekerk, Lana
    Since no scientifically obtained information existed on engagement in EBP by Namibian-based occupational therapists, the researcher set out to explore the usefulness and feasibility of evidence-based practice (EBP) for occupational therapists in Namibia. An action research, specifically co-operative inquiry was chosen as methodology. This enabled the researchers to simultaneously raise awareness of and disseminate information reading EBP and collect experience based data from co-researchers. Purposive sampling, in particular maximum variation sampling, promised a wide yield of data; this was collected from participants' experiences as they engaged in and reflected on retrieving evidence and participation in focus group meetings. A qualitative content analysis and coding of verbatim transcriptions of focus group meetings together with written reflections of participating occupational therapists (co-researchers) revealed three themes. Co-researchers reported mixed feelings about the possibilities of evidence-based practice; they observed shifts in their understanding and skills base of EBP; and they provided suggestions on how EBP could be implemented in Namibia. An interpretation of the findings of the study suggest, however, that intent to change and gain knowledge and skills do not necessarily lead to changed behaviour; social structures, including hegemonies related to lack of access to evidence, are shown to impact negatively on implementing EBP in Namibia. It is suggested that a group approach with agreed upon targets, incorporating monitoring of attitudes and intention to perform, broadening and deepening knowledge and skills, while addressing structural constraints and bad habits, could deliver positive results.
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    Occupational adaptation : the lived experience of fathers with HIV/AIDS
    (2002) Coetzee, Zelda; Mayers, Pat; Wegner, Lisa,
    This qualitative, phenomenonological study describes fathers living with HIV/AIDS' experience of occupational adaptation. Rich data was collected through unstructured interviews. The data was analysed by thematic analysis. The level describing the fathers living with HIV/AIDS' experience emerged as adaptive occupations and proxy occupations.
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    The prevalence and characteristics of chronic musculoskeletal pain in adult triathletes in South Africa
    (2022) Francis, Glenda Chantelle; Parker, Romy; Limakatso, Katleho
    Background Chronic pain, a growing problem globally, affects 11% to 55% of the world's adult population. The prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain amongst adult triathletes is unclear due to conflicting prevalence reports. The rise in sport participation at professional, amateur, and recreational levels, has led to an increase in the incidence of sports-related injuries among athletes and suggests that the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries amongst triathletes, in particular, could also be increasing. However, pain and injury don't always go hand-in-hand. There is consistent support for exercise induced analgesia and pain perseverance in athletes. The lack of prevalence studies of chronic musculoskeletal pain in adult triathletes does not provide a definitive estimate of prevalence, and therefore leaves a gap in our understanding of chronic pain, and the characteristics thereof, in this population group. Therefore, two studies were conducted: (i) a systematic review of the literature to determine the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain in adult athletes competing in the sports of swimming, cycling and running and adult triathletes and (ii) a cross-sectional survey of South African triathletes to determine the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain in this group. Methods Phase 1 : Systematic review A systematic review was developed according to the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocol (PRISMA-P) guidelines (Shamseer et al., 2015) and registered on PROSPERO [ID: CRD42020214094]. A customized search strategy containing relevant words and terms was used to search the following databases: MEDLINE/PubMed (via EBSCOhost), Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, SCIENCEDIRECT and AFRICA-WIDE INFORMATION (via EBSCOhost), Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, PsycArticles and PsycINFO. The risk of bias tool for prevalence studies was used to evaluate risk of bias in eligible studies. Studies were pooled for meta-analysis using the random effects model to determine a summary estimate of the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain in triathletes across included studies. Statistical significance was set at a level of p < 0.05. Phase 2: Cross-sectional survey A cross-sectional study was conducted online via the social media platforms of Triathlon South Africa (TSA) and all other triathlon and multisport clubs in SA who gave approval. A password protected online survey using Microsoft Forms was created making use of a consent form, demographic questionnaire as well as the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) and the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK). The sampling frame consisted of adult South African triathletes over the age of 18 years and currently participating in triathlon in SA in either the Sprint, Olympic, Half Iron Man or Iron Man distances. Sample size was calculated based on the estimated number of registered triathletes with TSA and its affiliated clubs. With a confidence level of 95% and a sampling of error of 5%, a sample of 333 would make our findings generalisable to the sampling frame. Ethical approval to conduct this study was granted from University of Cape Town, Faculty of Health Sciences, Human Research Ethics Committee. Results Phase 1: Systematic review The initial literature search returned 590 records of which 588 remained after removal of duplicates. Initial screening of titles and abstracts identified 48 studies eligible for full-text review. Chronic musculoskeletal pain is experienced by athletes and triathletes with a pooled prevalence of48.96% and is consistent with global prevalence rates for chronic pain of between 11% and 55%. None of the literature reviewed reported on the effects of gender, culture, and level of income as possible contributing factors for chronic pain and none of the studies reported on whether the participants were disabled by their pain. Phase 2: Cross-sectional survey 297 triathletes responded to the survey, a sample size sufficient for 89.19% confidence. The prevalence of chronic pain was 29.29%. The association between the presence of chronic pain, sociodemographic characteristics, training and injury history were explored by comparing each variable in those with chronic musculoskeletal pain to those reporting without chronic musculoskeletal pain. Triathletes reporting chronic pain were significantly older than their counterparts. Apart from swimming, where those with pain were spending significantly longer training, the respondents showed no significant differences in training history or training characteristics. Respondents with chronic pain had sustained significantly fewer triathlon related injuries in the past 6 weeks than those without chronic pain. Conversely, respondents with chronic pain sustained more triathlon related injuries in the past 12 months . Respondents with chronic pain lost fewer training days due to injury in the last 6 months but lost more training days due to injury in the last 12 months. Conclusion The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of chronic musculoskeletal pain in adult triathletes in South Africa. The results of the systematic review and the cross-sectional survey offer substantial support for the hypothesis that chronic musculoskeletal pain is prevalent among adult triathletes. Notably, even with our small sample size, the results of the cross-sectional survey show a significant level of chronic pain without disability in this athletic population. We hope that future studies will explore the differences between chronic pain and high impact chronic pain (chronic pain with associated disability) and the effect thereof on participation on meaningful life roles in athletes. The role of physiotherapy in treating people with chronic pain is to minimise disability associated with pain, in both athlete and non-athlete populations.
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    Women's journey of recovery from sexual assault trauma : a grounded theory
    (2006) Duma, Sinegugu; Mekwa, JN; Denny, Lynette
    Thousands of women and children experience sexual assault trauma annually in South Africa. The challenge posed by recovery from sexual assault trauma is a reality that confronts the victims and survivors of sexual assault, their families and the larger community of service providers in the context of the threat of HIV/AIDS. Yet, little research has been conducted on recovery from sexual assault as a phenomenon. There are even fewer studies about the women's response to or recovery from sexual assault trauma. The purpose of the study was to explore and analyse the journey of recovery which is undertaken by women who have been sexually assaulted, with the aim of discovering and developing the grounded theory of recovery from sexual assault trauma within the first six months following the event of rape. The main research question was: What constitutes the journey of recovery undertaken by women within the first six months following sexual assault?