The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Psychological Flexibility and Emotional Regulation in Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Saeed Khanjani ◽  
Javad Kazemi ◽  
Jalal Younesi ◽  
Asghar Dadkhah ◽  
Akbar Biglarian ◽  
...  

Background: Patients with spinal cord injuries suffer from some psychological problems, such as inadequate emotional regulation and flexibility for adapting to the post-injury condition. In this regard, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can improve psychological flexibility and emotional regulation. Objectives: The main goal of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of ACT in improving psychological flexibility and emotional regulation in patients with spinal cord injuries. Methods: This quasi-experimental design study was based on a pretest-posttest method with a control group. The study population consisted of all patients with spinal cord injury referred to Jalaeipour Rehabilitation Center in Tehran. The study sample included 30 patients with spinal cord injury selected by the purposive sampling method. The inclusion criteria were patients aged 20 to 55 years, residing in Tehran, and with at least a high school diploma. The injury duration varied between one and five years, and the injuries were thoracic and lumbar injuries and an intermediate score of psychological flexibility and emotion regulation. The exclusion criteria were patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, as well as patients who were simultaneously receiving another psychological treatment together with the subjects who suffered from brain damage. Patients were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups based on random numbers. There were 15 patients in each group. The intervention group received ACT during eight sessions (1.5-hour group therapy) held once a week at Jalaeipour Rehabilitation Center in Tehran (2018), while the control group received routine care. Dennis and Vander Wal’s cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI) and Gross and John’s emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) were completed before and one week after the intervention. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: There was a significant difference in demographic indicators between the two groups. Based on MANCOVA with the baseline score, the mean scores of psychological flexibility and emotion regulation had a significant difference regarding the results of ACT between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the findings, ACT can improve psychological flexibility and emotional regulation in patients with spinal cord injuries.

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 938-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Zemestani ◽  
Sharmin Mozaffari

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on depressive symptoms in physically disabled persons. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: State welfare organization in Kamyaran, Kurdistan, Iran. Participants: Fifty-two physically disabled participants with a primary diagnosis of depression were randomly assigned to either ACT or control groups. Interventions: Participants in the ACT group ( n = 23) received eight weekly 90-minute group sessions based on standard ACT protocol for depression. Participants in the control group ( n = 29) received psychoeducation regarding depression. Main measures: Measures were recorded at baseline, eight weeks (end of treatment), and 16 weeks (follow-up). The outcomes were the change in the depressive symptoms, measured by Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, and psychological well-being measured by Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), respectively. Results: After eight weeks, significant changes in depressive symptoms was observed in the experimental group (ACT –10.39 ± 0.79 vs control 0.66 ± 0.68, P < 0.001). Compared to the control group, the experimental group also showed significant improvement in psychological flexibility (ACT 8.13 ± 0.52 vs control –0.03 ± 0.51, P < 0.001), adaptive emotion regulation strategies (ACT 10.74 ± 0.62 vs control 0.03 ± 1.03, P < 0.001), and psychological well-being (ACT 66.95 ± 4.01 vs control –1.90 ± 1.04, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Compared with control group, ACT significantly reduced the participants’ depression, and changed psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, and psychological well-being in persons with physical disability.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 4181-4181
Author(s):  
Damianos Sotiropoulos ◽  
Eleni Siotou ◽  
Evangelia Athanasiou ◽  
Christos Kalpouzos ◽  
Panayotis Kaloyannidis ◽  
...  

Abstract Mice, unlike rats and humans, have a self recovery mechanism of spinal cord injury. Whether the hematopoietic system is involved in this mechanism is under investigation. In this study we tested whether bone marrow cells transplanted or mobilized by a growth factor in mice with spinal cord injury, can accelerate the recovery. C57bl/6 female mice 10 to 12 weeks of age underwent spinal cord incision in an open operation. The injury was performed as a complete transection including the dura mater and the whole circumference of the cord at the T10-T11 intervertebral space with a micro scalpel (No 11). Group A mice received 200μg/kg/day G-CSF subcutaneously for 7 days, starting 24 hours after operation. Group B mice received 106 light density bone marrow cells from C576bl/6 donor mice intravenously 24 hours after operation. Control group mice received no treatment. Histological evaluation was performed at 48 hours, 1 week, 3 weeks and 5 weeks postoperatively. Paraffin embedded longitudinal samples of spinal cord were cut as serial sections. Spinal cord damage was estimated by measuring the maximum diameter of the area of axonal damage and disruption of astrocytic network using immunostaining for neurofilaments and GFAP. Antibodies against CD68 were applied to identify macrophage aggregations. All measurements were performed by morphometric photo analysis. The volume of fibroblastic infiltration was estimated using a grading system (0–7), based on Van Gieson stain for connective tissue. Functional deficits and recovery over time were evaluated by testing hind limb reflex and coordinated motor function (Kuhn and Wrathal functional tests, modified by Seki et al, 2002). All tests have been videotaped. Outcome scores at 48 hours, 1 week, 3 weeks and 5 weeks postoperatively for the control group, group A and group B mice were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test. 48 hours post operatively all mice in all groups were paralyzed in both hind limbs. Gradual improvement was observed in all groups. At week 3 there was a significant difference between the mean scores of functional tests for both treated groups (A and B) compared with the mean scores of the control group. Statistically significant difference (p&lt;0,05) was observed in 5 out of 7 tests for group A and in 3 out of 7 tests for group B. Same difference between Group A mice and control group mice was observed by 5 weeks, while group B had no statistically significant difference. No animal in any of the groups had a complete recovery 5 weeks postoperatively. Spinal cord in control group mice showed a gradually increase of fibroblastic infiltration until 5 week which entirely separated the two ends of the cord. In group A and group B mice a significant decrease of fibroblastic infiltration was observed at week 5 compared with week 3. Macrophage aggregations were evident at weeks 1 and 5 but not at week 3 in all groups. In conclusion our results indicate that light density bone marrow transplanted cells or G-CSF treatment can accelerate spinal cord injured mice recovery. It is possible that this is associated with a decrease in fibroblastic infiltration of spinal cord. Macrophage aggregation may also play an important role in the mechanism of recovery in mice, while in rats a different reaction including cavitation and delayed demyelination prohibits neurological recovery.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Ruge ◽  
Grant P. Sinson ◽  
David G. McLone ◽  
Leonard J. Cerullo

✓ Maturity of the spine and spine-supporting structures is an important variable distinguishing spinal cord injuries in children from those in adults. Cinical data are presented from 71 children aged 12 years or younger who constituted 2.7% of 2598 spinal cord-injured patients admitted to the authors' institutions from June, 1972, to June, 1986. The 47 children with traumatic spinal cord injury averaged 6.9 years of age and included 20 girls (43%). The etiology of the pediatric injuries differed from that of adult injuries in that falls were the most common causative factor (38%) followed by automobile-related injuries (20%). Ten children (21.3%) had spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA), whereas 27 (57%) had evidence of neurological injury. Complete neurological injury was seen in 19% of all traumatic pediatric spinal cord injuries and in 40% of those with SCIWORA. The most frequent level of spinal injury was C-2 (27%, 15 cases) followed by T-10 (13%, seven cases). Upon statistical examination of the data, a subpopulation of children aged 3 years or younger emerged. These very young children had a significant difference in level of injury, requirement for surgical stability, and sex distribution compared to 4- to 12-year-old children.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmaiel Soleymani ◽  
Mojtaba Habibi ◽  
Mani B. Monajemi ◽  
Esmaiel Soleymani

Background: Dyscalculia tends to debilitating for children with respect to their social interactions and learning process. Although it can cause so many problematic consequences in developmental stages of children, by implementing precise and in time therapeutic intervention, it can be mitigated. Current paper examines the efficacy of emotional regulation techniques among students who suffer from dyscalculia. Materials and Methods: This study was experimental study with pre-test and post-test and control group. Statistical Society of this study included all students (4th, 5th, 6th grader), who suffered from dyscalculia in Bileh town (Urumieh Province/Iran) during 2013-2014(N=76). This study consisted 34 students, who suffered from dyscalculia. These students were chosen via systematic random sampling. Data were collected using Raven IQ test, Shalev mathematical Test, Alexithymia Scale, Psychological wellbeing questionnaire. Regarding analyzing data, MANOVA was used. Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance show that between case group and control, significant difference in components of alexithymia and psychological wellbeing were noticed. Hence, it can be inferred that emotional regulation strategies improves component of alexithymia and psychological well being of students with dyscalculia. Conclusion: According to results, teaching emotion regulation strategies to students considered to be effective in promoting awareness and positive attitudes. Thus, it is plausible that implementing these strategies tend to play major role as an intervention among students with dyscalculia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Ramezani ◽  
S. Mazraeh

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most debilitating diseases that affects all aspects of person’s life. Researches have indicated that life satisfaction in these patients is lower than that of others. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of life skills training on life satisfaction in patient with spinal cord injury. This study, having a quasi-experimental design, was performed with pre-test, post-test, and control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of patients with spinal cord injury (only men) that is covered by the home health care team of the Kahrizak Charity Foundation of Tehran. To do research, 30 patients of the center were selected by availability sampling and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, 10 sections of life skills training were performed, while no intervention was used for the control group. The research tool used in this study was a Self-Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and a univariate analysis of covariance was used to test results. Findings from the analysis of covariance showed that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups (p&lt; 0,05). This indicated that life skills training improved the life satisfaction in patients with spinal cord injury.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 536-543
Author(s):  
Gitanjali Sikka ◽  
Joginder Yadav ◽  
Roop Singh ◽  
Gupta K B

There is reduction in lung compliance in first week after spinal cord injury (SCI) that deteriorates further and neuroprotective therapies like strength training of respiratory muscles should begin in first month after SCI  since both motor and sensory scores at baseline and their further recovery is maximum during this phase. Few studies on SCI subjects within first month of injury have supported use of resistive inspiratory muscle training (RIMT), but have advocated the need for further research in this patient population owing to pitfalls in these studies. The present study was a prospective randomized control trial being carried out to determine whether RIMT programme of four weeks duration is effective in improving respiratory functions and strength in motor complete cervical SCI patients (AIS grade A, B) during in-patient rehabilitation. Patients within first week of cervical SCI (C4-C7 level) were assigned to RIMT (48 patients) and Control (48 patients) group and completed 40 supervised training sessions over a period of four weeks. Outcome measures included: - Spirometry, inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength.  No significant differences of Chi-square test (P < 0.05) and unpaired “t” test (P < 0.05) were found between RIMT and Control group for all demographic and pre-training measurements. Following results were recorded after 2 weeks and 4 weeks of training on all outcome measures: - Highly significant difference  (P<0.01) within both groups with One–way ANOVA; Highly significant difference (P<0.01) with unpaired “t-test” between RIMT and control group. Cohen “d” effect sizes for RIMT vs. Control group were in large effect size zone i.e. greater than 0.8. The findings of present study show beneficial effect of RIMT on respiratory functions and strength in patients with tetraplegia in first month post injury and we propose that RIMT should be included early in acute phase rehabilitation of these patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saadi Lotfali ◽  
Alireza Moradi ◽  
Hamed Ekhtiari

Introduction: Considering the high prevalence of anger problems in adolescence and the importance of emotion regulation in this age period, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of emotional regulation training in anger management and emotion regulation difficulties in adolescents by means of body postures, breathing pattern, and facial expressions.Method: A quasi-experimental research design along with pretest-posttest and control group was employed for the conduct of this study. For this purpose, the number of 50 adolescents was selected via purposive sampling through screening based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. These participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups and the experimental group then received 8 sessions of emotion regulation training. In this period, the control group received the treatment unrelated to emotion regulation training. Both groups were assessed in terms of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) before and after the treatment as well as in the three-month follow-up. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics, including covariance analysis.Results: Data analysis showed that emotion regulation training has a significant effect on anger management and components emotion regulation difficulties in adolescents.Conclusion: As per the results of this study, it is recommended that emotion regulation training be extensively conducted in the form of educational and training programs for adolescents, especially in schools.


2013 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 672-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samford Wong ◽  
Ali Jamous ◽  
Jean O'Driscoll ◽  
Ravi Sekhar ◽  
Mike Weldon ◽  
...  

Certain probiotics may prevent the development of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD), but their effectiveness depends on both strain and dose. There are few data on nutritional interventions to control AAD/CDAD in the spinal cord injury (SCI) population. The present study aimed to assess (1) the efficacy of consuming a commercially produced probiotic containing at least 6·5 × 109 live Lactobacilluscasei Shirota (LcS) in reducing the incidence of AAD/CDAD, and (2) whether undernutrition and proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are risk factors for AAD/CDAD. A total of 164 SCI patients (50·1 (sd 17·8) years) with a requirement for antibiotics (median 21 d, range 5–366) were randomly allocated to receive LcS (n 76) or no probiotic (n 82). LcS was given once daily for the duration of the antibiotic course and continued for 7 days thereafter. Nutritional risk was assessed by the Spinal Nutrition Screening Tool. The LcS group had a significantly lower incidence of AAD (17·1 v. 54·9 %, P< 0·001). At baseline, 65 % of patients were at undernutrition risk. Undernutrition (64·1 v. 33·3 %, P< 0·01) and the use of PPI (38·4 v. 12·1 %, P= 0·022) were found to be associated with AAD. However, no significant difference was observed in nutrient intake between the groups. The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified poor appetite ( < 1/2 meals eaten) (OR 5·04, 95 % CI 1·28, 19·84) and no probiotic (OR 8·46, 95 % CI 3·22, 22·20) as the independent risk factors for AAD. The present study indicated that LcS could reduce the incidence of AAD in hospitalised SCI patients. A randomised, placebo-controlled study is needed to confirm this apparent therapeutic success in order to translate into improved clinical outcomes.


BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyyed Arman Hosseini Zarvijani ◽  
Ladan Fattah moghaddam ◽  
Samaneh Parchebafieh

Abstract Background Nursing in psychiatric wards is considered a highly stressful career due to the type of patients and the problem of communicating with them. Finding appropriate solutions to overcome this stress can improve the general health of nurses and improve their quality of work. The aim was to investigate the impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on the perceived stress (PS) and psychological flexibility (PF) of nurses in psychiatric wards. Methods A total of 70 nurses of Razi Psychiatric Center of Tehran were randomly selected and divided into two experimental and control groups of 35. In addition to routine interventions, the experimental group was provided with eight 2-h sessions of ACT training, whereas the control group only received routine interventions. Prior to the intervention sessions and a month after the last session, demographic information, PS scale, and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (2nd Edition) were completed in both groups. Results There was a significant difference regarding the PS level (P = 0.002) and PF (P = 0.001) in the control and experimental groups; the experimental group showed lower PS and higher PF. Conclusions ACT can lead to reduced PS and improved PF, which can be considered as a solution to empower nurses working in psychiatric wards. Trial registration This was registered in Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) (clinical trial code: IRCT20180506039557N1. Registered 2018-10-31. Retrospectively registered, https://en.irct.ir/trial/31040


Author(s):  
Łukasz Szymczak ◽  
Tomasz Podgórski ◽  
Katarzyna Domaszewska

The aim of the study was to reveal the difference in the hematological reaction to the applied exercise-induced workload between the able-bodied and physically active people with cervical spinal cord injury. The study covered 11 males with spinal cord injury and 11 able-bodied persons. An incremental stress test was carried out until the maximum individual workloads were achieved. The peak oxygen uptake was measured with the use of the ergospirometric method. Venous blood test results at rest and after finishing the maximal exercise showed hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, hematocrit (HCT) value, erythrocytes (RBC), leukocytes (WBC) and platelets (PLT) counts as well as the relative percentage of granulocytes (GRA), lymphocytes (LYM), and monocytes (MON). RBC, HCT as well as Hb and PLT among people with the injury were statistically lower (p < 0.001) large effect size, than in the control group. Statistically significant difference between the test and control group, subjected to the maximal exercise stress test, was observed in the exercise induced change of the PLT [p < 0.001, (ES: 2.631)] WBC [p < 0.05, (ES: 1.429)] and the percentage of LYM and GRA [p < 0.05, (ES: 1.447) for LYM and (ES: 1.332) for GRA] between both groups, subjected to the maximal cardiac stress test on the manual cycloergometer. The analysis of the obtained results indicates that people with spinal cord injury are much more vulnerable to the occurrence of microcytic anemia compared to able-bodied people. The after-exercise percentage shift of selected subpopulations of leukocytes in both groups indicates a delayed post-exercise recovery among people with spinal cord injury.


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