Development Of Body Awareness Research Articles

Sophrology and psychiatry

A relatively new discipline in the field of human sciences, sophrology seeks, through a physical as well as mental approach, to awaken awareness while energising the patient's resources and capacities. In psychiatry, it favours the development of body awareness and the positive activation of the mental structures, for the greater wellbeing of the patient.

Patient Perspectives on Participation in Cognitive Functional Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain.

Cognitive functional therapy (CFT) has been shown to reduce pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate participants' experience of CFT by comparing participants who reported differing levels of improvement after participation in CFT, potentially yielding insight into the implementation of this approach. This was a noninterventional, cross-sectional, qualitative study with an interpretive description framework. Individuals who had participated in CFT in 2 physical therapy settings (in Ireland and Australia) were recruited through purposive sampling based on disability outcomes postintervention (n=9), and theoretical sampling (n=5). This sampling strategy was used to capture a range of participant experiences but was not used to define the final qualitative groupings. Semistructured interviews were conducted 3 to 6 months postintervention. Three groups emerged from the qualitative analysis: large improvers, small improvers, and unchanged. Two themes encapsulating the key requirements in achieving a successful outcome through CFT were identified: (1) changing pain beliefs and (2) achieving independence. Changing pain beliefs to a more biopsychosocial perspective required a strong therapeutic alliance, development of body awareness, and the experience of control over pain. Independence was achieved by large improvers through newly cultivated problem-solving skills, self-efficacy, decreased fear of pain, and improved stress coping. Residual fear and poor stress coping meant that small improvers were easily distressed and lacked independence. Those who were unchanged continued to feel defined by their pain and retained a biomedical perspective. A successful outcome after CFT is dependent on instilling biopsychosocial pain beliefs and developing independence among participants. Small improvers may require ongoing support to maintain results. Further study is needed to elucidate the optimal approach for those who were unchanged.

Influência da seletividade de atenção no desenvolvimento da percepção corporal de crianças com deficiência motora

Influence of selectivity of attention on the development of body awareness in children with motor deficiencies Objective: To investigate the influence of using cognitive strategies for directing attention (learning cues) on the development of body awareness in children with motor deficiencies. Method: Twenty-two children of both sexes, aged 7 to 10 years, were selected based on their similar functional characteristics and were divided randomly into two groups: cue group (n= 11) and no cue group (n= 11). The cue group followed a methodological sequence in which attention was directed using learning cues, while the no cue group followed a different sequence, in which there was no directing of attention. These programs were followed for two weeks, with two sessions of 50 minutes each per week. Pre, post and retention tests were applied using the following instruments: body part identification test, kinetic perception test and critical body part perception test. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and the Tukey multiple comparisons test were used to analyze possible significant differences. Results: The results indicated significant differences (p< 0.01), with superior performance by the cue group in the variables of kinetic perception and critical body part perception. Conclusion: These results suggest that selectivity of attention may contribute towards the development of body awareness in children with motor deficiency.

A Study on the Development of Body-Awareness in Preschoolchildren (III)

A Study on the Development of Body-Awareness in Preschoolchildren (III)