Backward Walking Research Articles

Random walk: Random number generation during backward and forward walking- the role of aging.

Deficits in executive function, visuospatial abilities, and cognitive embodiment may impair gait performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of age on random number generation (RNG) performance during forward and backward locomotion to assess cognitive flexibility and cognitive embodiment during walking. Another aim was to examine the effect of age on the associations of RNG performance during walking with stride time variability (STV), the percentage of double support (DS%), and visuospatial abilities as measured by a spatial orientation test (SOT). Twenty old (age 68.8 ± 5.3, 65% female) and 20 young (age 25.2 ± 2.2, 45% female) adults generated random numbers during backward walking (BW) and forward walking (FW) over-ground and over a treadmill with an internal focus of attention and visual-attentive distraction; six walking conditions in total. To assess cognitive flexibility, sample entropy was calculated for each RNG sequence. The average of the first 5 numbers in each RNG task was calculated to assess the relationship between small/large numbers and movement direction. STV and DS% were recorded using inertial measurement units, and spatial orientation was measured using a computerized test. The older subjects had less flexibility in generating random numbers in three of the six walking conditions. A negative correlation between RNG flexibility and STV was found in older adults during treadmill BW with visual-attentive distraction and forward over-ground walking, whereas no correlations were demonstrated in the young group. The spatial orientation score (a higher value means a worse outcome) correlated positively with RNG flexibility in the older group under all walking conditions, suggesting that older adults with better visuospatial orientation have lower cognitive flexibility, and vice versa. There was no correlation between small/large numbers and direction of motion in either group. The correlation between RNG flexibility and STV may indicate similar executive control of verbal and gait rhythmicity in old adults. Conversely, our results suggest that cognitive flexibility and visuospatial ability may decline differently.

Implications for balance in 11- and 12-year-old children in northern Spain during SARS-CoV-2 lockdown.

IntroductionThe home lockdown due to the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 in Spanish society led to changes in certain habits in children and adolescents. These habits were related to the practice of physical activity and the implications of higher rates of sedentary activities. This lockdown lasted from March to June 2020. The aim of this study was to determine the implication that lockdown in Spain due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak had on balance in 11–12 year-old schoolchildren.Materials and methodsIn total, 50 Spanish children aged 11–12 years (M = 11.40, SD = 0.50) participated, 33 (66%) boys and 17 (34%) girls. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (Movement ABC-2) and an ad hoc questionnaire for sociodemographic data and other relevant information were used for the three data collections.ResultsThere are significant differences (p < 0.05) in the results for balance variables measured by static balance tests on supports in the total sample, in boys and girls. There are also significant differences in the total sample as well as in the boys in the heel-toe backward walking test. In addition, there are significant differences in mean, scalar and percentile dimension scores for balance between before and after lockdown in both boys and girls. No significant differences were found in the total sample or by gender in measurements related to the zigzag jumping test with dominant as well as non-dominant leg in girls (p = 0.317).ConclusionAs a consequence of SARS-CoV-2 confinement, there was a worsening of balance values in children aged 11–12 years.

Examining the Influence of Cognition on the Relationship Between Backward Walking and Falls in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes motor, cognitive, and sensory impairments that result in injurious falls. Current fall risk measures in MS (ie, forward walking [FW] speed and balance) are limited in their sensitivity. Backward walking (BW) velocity is a sensitive marker of fall risk and correlates with information processing speed (IPS) and visuospatial memory (VSM) in persons with MS. Backward walking is a complex motor task that requires increased cognitive demands, which are negatively affected by MS; however, whether cognitive function modifies the sensitivity of BW as a fall risk assessment in MS remains unknown. This study examines the influence of cognition on the relationship between BW and falls in persons with MS. Measures of BW, FW, IPS, VSM, and retrospective falls were collected. Hierarchical regression tested moderation and included an interaction term predicting number of falls. Covariates for all analyses included age and disease severity. Thirty-eight persons with MS participated. Although BW, IPS, and covariates significantly predicted the number of falls (R 2 = 0.301; P = .016), there was no evidence of moderation. Backward walking, VSM, and covariates also significantly predicted number of falls (R 2 = 0.332, P = .008), but there was no evidence of moderation. The FW models generated comparable results. The relationship between BW velocity and falls was not conditional on IPS or VSM in this sample. Larger-scale studies examining additional cognitive domains commonly affected by MS and prospective falls are needed to characterize neurobiological processes relevant to BW and its clinical application in the assessment of fall risk.

Variation In Interlimb Coordination Of Healthy Adults At Different Backward Walking Speeds

The central pattern generator is demonstrated to produce both rhythmic forward walking (FW) and backward walking (BW). Compared with FW, BW reduces the likelihood of anterior cruciate ligament rupture and osteoarthritis. Because visual feedback is absent in BW, abundant motor units are recruited and interlimb coordination becomes more variable. Walking speed is one of the primary constraints to affect interlimb coordination in FW. However, backward walking speeds that produce the optimal coordination in foot-shank and shank-thigh couplings are unclear in the healthy group. PURPOSE: To explore the effect of different backward walking speeds on the interlimb coordination of healthy adults. METHODS: Forty healthy adults (20 males and 20 females) were recruited, and gait data at preferred backward walking speed (PBWS), maximum backward walking speed (MBWS), 80% MBWS, 60%MBWS and 40% MBWS were collected using a three-dimensional gait analysis system. Continuous relative phase (CRP) method was applied to analyze the interlimb coordination (shank-foot and thigh-shank couplings) at different backward walking speeds and respective CRP was averaged across the subjects. CRPs between the shank-foot and thigh-shank couplings at different speeds were compared using one-way ANOVA. Level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: The average CRP of the shank-foot coupling was the highest at 60% MBWS, reaching 8.61° ± 0.40°, while the average CRP at 80% MBWS was the lowest, which was 6.30° ± 0.11°. The average CRPs of 100% MBWS and 40% MBWS were similar, second only to that of 60% MBWS. For the thigh-shank coupling, the average CRP of 100% MBWS was the largest among five backward walking speeds, while the minimum average CRP was 7. 18° ± 1.27° when BW was performed at 80% MBWS. The interlimb coordination of the thigh-shank and the shank-foot couplings are significantly distinct at different backward walking speeds (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The interlimb coordination of the shank-foot coupling was the largest when walking backwards at 60% MBWS, while, for the thigh-shank coupling, the largest interlimb coordination was noticed at 100% MBWS. Backward walking speed for optimal locomotion ability varied in different couplings. This study provides a preliminary insight to rehabilitative backward walking training.

A Meta-analysis Of Effectiveness On Interventions To Improve Balance, Gait, And Upper Extremity Function In Persons With Stroke.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of interventions for improving balance, gait, and upper extremity function in persons with stroke. METHODS: The National Assembly Library, Research Information Sharing Service(RISS), Korea Research Information Service(KISS), and Academic Paper Knowledge Service(Dbpia) were searched from 2016 through October 2021, 48 randomized controlled trials studies were selected for the final inclusion to the study. Each implemented intervention for persons with stroke and reported that balance, gait, and upper extremity function were chosen as outcome measures and complied with methodological standards according to 11 evaluation items of AMSTAR(Assessment of Multiple Systematic Review). For analysis, meta-analysis programs CMA ver.3 and SPSS 23.0 were used and total of 646 subjects (389 males, 257 females) were studied, and excluding unreported data, 122 hemorrhages and 200 patients with infarction were analyzed. The effects of intervention type, time, duration, frequency per week, and dependent variables were analyzed. RESULTS: As a result, among the intervention program, walking backward (0.915) was the most effective, followed by compound exercise (0.821). And the intervention time was found to be most effective when it was performed for 60 minutes (1.241), twice a week (0.888), and for 12 weeks (0.952). And the age range was 71-75 years old (1.010), and the onset period was found to be effective in 51-60 months (1.155) and less than 10 months (1.016). By dependent variable, in balance, the backward walking intervention (1.071) showed the greatest effect, followed by the PNF pattern exercise (0.639). In walking ability, PNF pattern exercise (0.905) was the most effective, followed by balance exercise (0.781). Lastly, for upper extremity function, virtual reality intervention (0.637) was the most effective, followed by mirror therapy (0.558). CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, findings of the present study suggest considering different intervention strategies to improve the balance, gait, and upper extremity function in persons with stroke.

It's Not Just about Bicycle Riding: Sensory-Motor, Social and Emotional Benefits for Children with and without Developmental Disabilities.

Background: A developing area for therapy is teaching children to ride a bicycle. Little has been written about the effectiveness of these programs. This study explored outcomes from participation in a novel bicycle riding program for children with a wide array of developmental challenges. Method: Two studies were conducted; a nonconcurrent, multiple baseline design with four participants and a pretest–posttest single group with 15 children. Results: Study 1 participants improved on broad jump. Balance positions showed variable responses. Study 2 participants showed significant improvement on broad jump, and a trend toward significance walking forwards and backwards. Parents reported improvement in following rules, participating in daily routines, interacting with peers, and feeling good about him/herself and a change in child’s participation in community and extracurricular activities. All children improved in glide time or achieved independent riding. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence was found for the effectiveness of one approach for developing motor and social skills within the context of learning to ride a bicycle. Children over the age of 6 years were able to ride a two-wheeled bicycle at the end of the program. Participation suggested improvement in motor coordination and dynamic balance as well as changes in measures of social interaction and self-esteem.

“Walking Backwards”: From Truth to Reconciliation

“Walking Backwards”: From Truth to Reconciliation

Effects of ATLAS 2030 gait exoskeleton on strength and range of motion in children with spinal muscular atrophy II: a case series

BackgroundChildren with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) present muscle weakness and atrophy that results in a number of complications affecting their mobility, hindering their independence and the development of activities of daily living. Walking has well-recognized physiological and functional benefits. The ATLAS 2030 exoskeleton is a paediatric device that allows gait rehabilitation in children with either neurological or neuromuscular pathologies with gait disorders. The purpose is to assess the effects in range of motion (ROM) and maximal isometric strength in hips, knees and ankles of children with SMA type II after the use of ATLAS 2030 exoskeleton.MethodsThree children (mean age 5.7 ± 0.6) received nine sessions bi-weekly of 60 min with ATLAS 2030. ROM was assessed by goniometry and strength by hand-held dynamometer. All modes of use of the exoskeleton were tested: stand up and sit down, forward and backward walking, and gait in automatic and active-assisted modes. In addition, different activities were performed during the gait session. A descriptive analysis of all variables was carried out.ResultsThe average time of use was 53.5 ± 12.0 min in all sessions, and all participants were able to carry out all the proposed activities as well as to complete the study. Regarding isometric strength, all the measurements increased compared to the initial state, obtaining the greatest improvements for the hip flexors (60.2%) and extensors muscles (48.0%). The ROM increased 12.6% in hip and 34.1% in the ankle after the study, while knee ROM remained stable after the study.ConclusionImprovements were showed in ROM and maximal isometric strength in hips, knees and ankles after using ATLAS 2030 paediatric gait exoskeleton in all three children. This research could serve as a preliminary support for future clinical integration of ATLAS 2030 as a part of a long-term rehabilitation of children with SMA.Trial registration: The approval was obtained (reference 47/370329.9/19) by Comunidad de Madrid Regional Research Ethics Committee with Medical Products and the clinical trial has been registered on Clinical Trials.gov: NCT04837157.

EFFECTS OF BACKWARD WALKING ON GAIT PARAMETERS IN PEOPLE WITH STROKE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

According to the Centers for Disease Control, roughly 795,000 people in the United States experience a stroke each year. A common result of a stroke is the negative impact on the person’s gait, including an asymmetrical gait pattern, a slower cadence, and decreased stride and step lengths. A well-structured, comprehensive rehabilitation program is necessary to address the gait deficits and reduce the risk of falls in people following stroke. Backward walking training has been reported as an appropriate therapeutic intervention to address these deficits for people following a stroke. Due to the range of benefits reported, the purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effects of backward walking training on gait parameters in people following stroke. A search of Embase, CINAHL, and PubMed databases was performed using specific search terms related to backward walking, stroke, and gait parameters. Following a defined process of title screen, abstract screen, full text screen, and application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, six articles were included in the final systematic review. Study results indicate significant evidence within the experimental groups for improvement in gait speed, step length, stride length, endurance, and balance. The findings from this systematic review indicate that backward walking training is an effective therapeutic intervention to improve gait parameters in people following stroke.

Protecting Source Location Privacy in IoT-Enabled Wireless Sensor Networks: The Case of Multiple Assets

A major limitation to the use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in asset monitoring applications is security and privacy, particularly the privacy of source location information. In this article, we develop two phantom routing-based solutions to provide source location privacy for the case of multisource/asset scenario—the case that has received very little attention in the literature. The idea of phantom routing is to relay the packets to a distant node in a random fashion to obfuscate the traffic flows and confuse the attacker. The first technique phantom routing-based backward random walk (PRBRW) uses a combination of backward random walk (RW) and a greedy forwarding approach to route the packets to the base station (BS). Although the first approach has better performance improvements in terms of capture ratio and safety period it hampers the lifetime of the network and has a poor entropy metric. To better this problem, an improved phantom routing scheme phantom routing-based L-path RW (PRLPRW) is proposed. The second technique has three phases: 1) pure RW; 2) L-walk; and 3) greedy walk. This technique performs well in terms of capture ratio, safety period, and entropy metrics. The improvement in network lifetime is 10-folds and entropy is 477-folds when compared with PRBRW. The performance is evaluated using the developed analytical models and compared with the baseline protection-less scheme shortest path routing (SPR). It is observed that PRBRW and PRLPRW, respectively, have 60- and 73-fold improvements in terms of capture ratio when compared with SPR, whereas existing phantom routing-based pure RW and forward RW techniques, respectively, have only 54- and 34-fold improvements.

Comparison of Immediate Effectiveness between Forward and Backward Walking on Treadmill Training by Measuring Muscle Recruitments, Gait Parameters, and Dynamic Balance

Comparison of Immediate Effectiveness between Forward and Backward Walking on Treadmill Training by Measuring Muscle Recruitments, Gait Parameters, and Dynamic Balance

Primary School Pupils: Unequal GMC Developmental Pathways in a Single School Year.

Gross motor coordination (GMC) is essential for the development of specific motor skills and long-term participation in physical activities and sports. Group analysis reveals that, on average, children develop these skills gradually; however, how individuals develop GMC is less clear. The main aim of this study is to increase the understanding of developmental patterns within one school year, and whether children’s grade, gender, or baseline GMC proficiency are associated with these developmental patterns. In total, 2594 Dutch children aged 6–12 years performed the modified Körper Koordinations Test für Kinder (KTK3+) twice in one school year (autumn and spring). The KTK3+ includes four subtests: walking backwards, moving sideways, jumping sideways, and eye-hand coordination (EHC) test. On average, children developed significantly on all subtests (p < 0.001). At baseline, children in higher grades scored significantly higher than children in lower grades, and children in grades 5 and 6 (age 9 and 10 years) showed most development (raw scores on average, p < 0.001). Boys outperformed girls on EHC across all grades, whereas girls outperformed boys on walking backwards. Nevertheless, both boys and girls developed similarly. Children with lower scores at baseline developed more quickly across all grades. Noteworthy is that 12.1–24% (depending on the test item) of the children scored lower in the spring than in the autumn tests. On average, children develop their GMC; however, we report large differences in their individual trajectories and note that a substantial number did not show a positive GMC development. Further research should examine GMC development with more possible influencing factors as well as over a longer time span to better understand differences in children’s GMC development. This may result in more individualized programs in PE lessons, enabling children to optimally develop their GMC, and better use of GMC assessment tools to monitor children’s development.

Reverse six minute walk

Introduction: Exercise helps to combat many health conditions and diseases. Walking is a simple way of exercise to increase aerobic capacity. To provide even greater health benefits we studied backward walking on flat surface. Aims and Objectives: To compare the difference in heart rate when walking forward and walking backward for 6 minutes on a flat surface. Methods: Healthy subjects above 18 years with no comorbidities were recruited for the study. Pre test and post test vitals and distance walked was measured in both 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and Reverse 6MWT. Results: The mean distance walked in 6MWT and Reverse 6MWT was 505.3 meters and 381.7 meters respectively (p=0.00 Statistically significant). The mean Heart Rate (HR) after 6 MWT and Reverse 6MWT was 115.52 and 127.70 respectively (p=0.00 Statistically significant). Conclusion: Reverse walking improves aerobic capacity more than forward walking.

A Combined Sensing System for Intrusion Detection Using Anti-Jamming Random Code Signals.

In order to prevent illegal intrusion, theft, and destruction, important places require stable and reliable human intrusion detection technology to maintain security. In this paper, a combined sensing system using anti-jamming random code signals is proposed and demonstrated experimentally to detect the human intruder in the protected area. This sensing system combines the leaky coaxial cable (LCX) sensor and the single-transmitter-double-receivers (STDR) radar sensor. They transmit the orthogonal physical random code signals generated by Boolean chaos as the detection signals. The LCX sensor realizes the early intrusion alarm at the protected area boundary by comparing the correlation traces before and after intrusion. Meanwhile, the STDR radar sensor is used to track the intruder’s moving path inside the protected area by correlation ranging and ellipse positioning, as well as recognizing intruder’s activities by time-frequency analysis, feature extraction, and support vector machine. The experimental results demonstrate that this combined sensing system not only realizes the early alarm and path tracking for the intruder with the 13 cm positioning accuracy, but also recognizes the intruder’s eight activities including squatting, picking up, jumping, waving, walking forward, running forward, walking backward, and running backward with 98.75% average accuracy. Benefiting from the natural randomness and auto-correlation of random code signal, the proposed sensing system is also proved to have a large anti-jamming tolerance of 27.6 dB, which can be used in the complex electromagnetic environment.

Mass Shootings Are Actually Pretty Rare, But Here’s What to Do If You’re Ever in One, and: Planet Fitness

Mass Shootings Are Actually Pretty Rare, But Here’s What to Do If You’re Ever in One, and: Planet Fitness Matt Donovan (bio) Keywords Matt, Donovan, poetry, prose poetry, shootings, mass shootings, police brutality, Terence Crutcher After Self Magazine & Wislawa Szymborska Mass Shootings Are Actually Pretty Rare, But Here’s What to Do If You’re Ever in One It could happen. Once it happens.Earlier, later. Closer todaybut not to you. You’ll survive because you ran, because you hid.Because you were first. Because last.Because alone. Because the others. Of course, highly unlikely.Of course, situationally aware.Be sure the door won’t open.Be sure the door won’t close.Conceal. Barricade.To the left, the right. Accept the soundfor what it is. If you’re lucky, there will be a fence.If you’re lucky, the fence has been removed.Perhaps a mug of coffee, door wedge, scissors,the broken leg of a chair. A turn, a shirt, a second.Perhaps a ballpoint pen. [End Page 232] Thanks to calm, an element of surprise. In spite of,& yet. What would happen if the eyes, the throat,the knees, a step away? So he is here? Straight from the momentwithout end? The net, the gun? But you, the mesh?I can’t be silent enough.Listen,how quickly your heart is beating & mine. [End Page 233] Planet Fitness I’m watching the police shoot an unarmed Black man while I run on a treadmill. His arms are raised and he’s walking backward toward his car as I run in place and an officer aims a gun and others arrive on the scene. The man’s hands are empty when he falls against his car and they’re empty when he drops to the ground. From the viewpoint of the helicopter hovering above, Terence Crutcher—his name, I’ll later learn, after looking it up, since no one said it as the footage played—walks backward, then dies on continuous loop on four of the fourteen screens. There’s Terence Crutcher on the ground once more. There are his hands raised. There’s his car, stopped in the middle of the road. There’s the guardrail, ditch. Here’s the moment—it’s becoming familiar already—when the helicopter swings to one side and the view becomes partially blocked before Terence Crutcher drops from sight and then he’s on the ground. Now the footage begins to play on a split screen—there’s the backward walk, his empty hands raised, the circling as he falls to the road—but his death is already a bit smaller because people have begun to speak. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I watch their mouths move across from where Terence Crutcher lies in the road. Behind the row of TVs, in bright gold on the wall, a gigantic thumbs-up crashes through a cogged wheel next to emblazoned slogans. No Critics. Judgment Free Zone. Someone out there wants me to feel comfortable. Someone wants me to feel good. On other days when I’m running, I’ll anchor my eyes on that gigantic thumb or perhaps stare directly into one of the O’s in the words You Belong!, but today, instead, I’m watching Terence Crutcher stand in the road with his arms raised. The sound is off, but captions appear in boxes at the bottom of the screens. That looks like a bad dude, someone says from the helicopter hovering above, and then, just after the shots are fired, They’re going to need to get this eastbound closed down. The words lag then lurch forward again each time someone speaks. A day or two from now, I’ll learn that Terence Crutcher was born three minutes before his twin sister, that he loved the Dallas Cowboys and the gospel song “I Won’t Complain,” that he left behind three teenage daughters and a four-year-old son, but none of that fills the boxes on the screens. I’m running in place as Terence Crutcher walks backward or raises his hands or dies next to his car once...

The Day,

The Day, John Koethe (bio) as in "back in," which was never really there.I dislike the myth of the exceptional past,Since everyone has one, but let's face it: the sixtiesReally were exceptional, though no one cared at the time,And they could seem silly (remember bell-bottoms?).Art, politics and music were aligned for a while,Not so much in agreement as in clarity, and thoughEven poetry seemed part of it, that wasn't true,Since poetry is never really part of anything,Though it wants to be. I discovered New York PoetsIn 1965, when Lewis brought Peter SchjeldahlAnd Kenward Elmslie to campus to read, and afterwardsWe went to a bar off Witherspoon Street, where some guysFrom my eating club yelled, "Close the door Hairpiece"At Peter as we stumbled in from the cold. It's all jumbled now: the poems we read,The poems we wrote, the poems we talked aboutFor hours and then forgot. I remember Peter saying,"Clepsydra" is the poem of our time, on the wayTo a party at Jane Freilicher's after a reading of John'sIn New York, and he was right. "You'll be so greatWhen you move to New York," Linda told meWhen I said something catty, though I never did move—I just circled around it as though it were the sun, and still do.I haven't seen Peter in almost twenty years, And now he's dying in The New Yorker."Everybody dies," as Stephen Sondheim says [End Page 43] In Company, and yet it still seems so unreal.We're going to see Company in New York in April,But it won't be the same. Peter brought New York backTo me as it probably never was, the way it was to me.Reading him that life returned, though nothing in particularReturned, since life isn't particulars but possibilitiesAnd ideas of particulars, more real in the abstractAnd in memory than they were when they were just alive.He said that there's no yellow patch in View of Delft,Yet there are three, though there was only one when Bergotte died.It made me feel nineteen again, and also on the vergeOf death, as though inhabiting an imaginary state of mindWhen poetry and the possibility of poetry, New YorkAnd the idea of New York were both the same, instead ofDisparate and real. But that was back in the day. [End Page 44] John Koethe john koethe is the author of several collections of poetry, including Beyond Belief and Walking Backwards: Poems, 1966–2016. He has received the Lenore Marshall, Kingsley Tufts, and Frank O'Hara awards, and teaches at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Copyright © 2022 Yale University

Worlds Enough and Time

Worlds Enough and Time John Koethe (bio) It's presumptuous, but if you're reading this youProbably know my usual obsessions and preoccupations:The "world"—both the word and what it stands for—and time,Which is or isn't real, depending on my mood. I've alwaysHated poems about philosophy, and I hope I still do,But since I don't know what that means anymore, here I am,Musing on my ends and my beginnings one more time,As though to be alive were just to wonder what they were,While all the while inhabiting three worlds: the private worldThat's coextensive with my life and ends with it; the worldThat everyone inhabits, that's indifferent to anything that anyoneBelieves or feels; and the problematic one behind them bothThat spreads through time in ways that make it hardTo understand how the other two could possibly be real. Meanwhile I'm on the balcony with a drink in my handAnd looking at the leaves. If I were a different kind of poetI'd note the contrast with a deprecating irony and just leave it there,But I'm not and I won't. People write books about philosophy and physicsWe're supposed to understand and don't, and nobody complains.Life is more complex than either, since it includes them both, yet poems,Which are simply life articulated, are supposed to be as clear as dayTo anyone who takes the time to read them on the run. When I'm askedWhat my poems say, I say that it's whatever's on my mind— for life [End Page 45] Means having something on your mind, whether you understand it or not.Right now it's the idea that as it flows through time the world keepsBranching into versions of itself, and I do too—an idea that's meant to bePure mathematics, though I haven't got a clue to what it means. Whatever else exists beyond the page of the mind, there'sSomeplace hidden from us where we don't exist at all. I guessIt's all around us, though by definition we don't really know.I went to a talk this afternoon on the quaint idea of GodPhilosophers of religion love to play around with, though I didn'tStay for the discussion, since I didn't want to play. I grew up believingSomething like it; then it disappeared. Theories have to answerTo both our private and public worlds, and that one didn't.Sometimes I wonder if the hidden world I do believe in isn't doomedTo vanish too, since it can't accommodate the others, as the mindOf seventy-three can't understand the infant consciousness it used to beAnd can't even imagine anymore. Confined to the imaginationOr released from it, you're limited to what you understand and feel,Which keeps diminishing over the years, until you're finallyLeft with nothing new to say. I hope they'll get it right someday,Though by then I'll be gone. For now, feeling it's somethingI don't understand will have to do, sitting out here on the balconyUnder the trees and an empty blue sky, looking at the leavesAnd living within the limits. And anyway, it's what I want to do. [End Page 46] John Koethe john koethe is the author of several collections of poetry, including Beyond Belief and Walking Backwards: Poems, 1966–2016. He has received the Lenore Marshall, Kingsley Tufts, and Frank O'Hara awards, and teaches at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Copyright © 2022 Yale University

Walking backwards into the future: Setbacks of Brazil's pesticides bill.

Walking backwards into the future: Setbacks of Brazil's pesticides bill.

The 3-m backward walk test: reliability and validity in ambulant people with multiple sclerosis.

To investigate: (a) the interrater and test-retest reliability of the 3-m backward walk test (3MBW) in ambulant people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS); (b) minimal detectable change (MDC); (c) concurrent and known-groups validity; and (d) the cutoff time to best discriminate fallers from nonfallers with multiple sclerosis (MS). Forty-nine PwMS and 36 healthy people were included in this cross-sectional study. The 3MBW was administered with the timed up and go test, Berg Balance Scale, four square step test, Falls Efficacy Scale-International, and Expanded Disability Status Scale. The 3MBW was simultaneously performed by two independent raters to examine the interrater reliability while was repeated after 7-10 days to examine the test-retest reliability. The 3MBW showed good interrater reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.987-0.989] and excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.854-0.889). The MDC was found to be 1.69 s. The 3MBW had moderate-to-strong correlations with the other measures. For the 3MBW, PwMS had worse performance than healthy people ( P < 0.001), whereas fallers with MS had worse performance than nonfallers with MS ( P < 0.001). The 3MBW time of 7.86 s was determined to best discriminate fallers from nonfallers with MS. The 3MBW is a reliable, simple, and easy-to-administer tool for assessing backward walking among ambulant PwMS.

Comparison of Effectiveness of Forward Walking vs Retro Walking on Pain and Function in Patients with Postmenopausal Osteoarthritis of Knee

Background and Objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and the leading source of physical disability with severely impaired quality of life in people. The overall prevalence of OA in India is found to be higher in females than in males. Rehabilitation exercises in the form of Closed Kinetic Chain Exercises (CKCE) are an effective way in the management of OA knee. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of forward walking versus retrowalking on pain and function in postmenopausal women with OA knee. Methods: 30 postmenopausal females diagnosed with OA knee were randomly allocated into 2 groups. Group A received forward walking while Group B received retrowalking. Both the groups received conventional physiotherapy such as strengthening exercises and Ultrasound along with their assigned interventions. The outcomes were measured in terms of Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) at the start of the intervention and at the end of 6 weeks. Results: The results of the present study showed statistically significant difference within the groups for all outcome measures; but significant difference was found only for WOMAC scores between the groups. Further it was also found that ROM of the knee showed a significant difference both within the groups as well as between the groups. Group B showed better improvement that Group A for pain and function of the knee. Interpretation and Conclusion: The present study concludes that both forward walking and retrowalking are individually effective in reducing pain and improving function of post-menopausal women with OA knee. However, retrowalking results in greater reduction in pain and improved function of postmenopausal women with OA knee. Keywords: Retro walking, Forward Walking, Osteoarthritis, Menopause.