https://ir.kdu.ac.lk/handle/345/4472 2026-04-22T00:15:21Z https://ir.kdu.ac.lk/handle/345/4782 Association between Ankle Dorsiflexion and Non-contact Low Back Pain among Adolescent Fast Bowlers in Division 1 Boys’ Schools in Colombo Jayasinghe, HWUS; Swaris, TIS; Weerasooriya, DS; Mayura, NVD; Bandara, IMS; Disanayaka, DMKH; Perera, ADP Despite the popularity of Sri Lankan cricket, there are a drastically low number of studies related to school level fast bowlers. This study aimed to investigate the association of ankle dorsiflexion with non-contact low back pain (LBP) among adolescent fast bowlers aged between 15-19 years at Colombo division 1 boys’ schools in Sri Lanka. Eighty-five participants completed the prerequisites and an interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to gather the demographic data regarding general characteristics and the severity of low back pain respectively. Bowlers were prospectively observed throughout the competition period of the 2019 cricket season and the ankle dorsiflexion of both lower limbs was recorded. The Spearman correlation test was used to evaluate the association between ankle dorsiflexion and non-contact low back pain, and the Mann Whitney U test was used to assess the difference between two groups with and without LBP. 43.5% (n=37) of the players were identified as presenting with non-contact LBP. An increase in ankle dorsiflexion of non-dominant side leg was found to be significantly associated with non-contact LBP (P<0.05) while a conflicting result was found for the association of ankle dorsiflexion of dominant side leg with non-contact LBP (P>0.05). There was a significant difference in the ankle dorsiflexion of the non-dominant side leg between the fast bowlers with and without lower back pain. The results concluded that higher ankle dorsiflexion of non-dominant side leg has a crucial role in predisposing a fast bowler to have an increase in non-contact low back pain which occurred due to internal factors. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.kdu.ac.lk/handle/345/4781 Effects of Respiratory Muscle Training (RMT) on Ventilatory Parameters and Respiratory Muscle Strength (RMS) in Different Postures of the Rowing Stroke in Professional Male Rowers in Sri Lanka Perera, ADP Rowing places ‘extreme’ demands on ventilation due to the cramped body posture during the rowing stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week respiratory muscle training (RMT) program on ventilatory parameters and respiratory muscle strength (RMS) in different postures of the rowing stroke in professional male rowers in Sri Lanka. Twenty national male rowers, aged 20-35 years, were grouped randomly into an experimental (n=11) and a control (n=9) group. Prior to the study, baseline measurements of ventilatory functions (spirometry) and RMS were assessed by a portable spirometer and a handheld mouth pressure meter respectively. Subsequently, rowers in the experimental group were prescribed an RMT program comprising of breathing and abdominal exercises, while the control group was prescribed a general exercise programme for 12 weeks, after which all the above parameters were assessed again. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) within factors and post hoc Fisher least-significant-difference (LSD) tests were used to assess respiratory functions in the three different postures. Ventilatory functions and RMS were not statistically significant amongst the different rowing postures (p>0.05). Ventilatory functions were observed to be significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group following the respective training programs (p<0.05). The novel RMT program had a beneficial effect on improving the ventilatory functions in the experimental group of the different postures of the rowing stroke. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.kdu.ac.lk/handle/345/4780 Impact of Work-Related Characteristics on the Job Satisfaction of Physiotherapists Working in Government Hospitals in the Western Province, Sri Lanka Bogahawatta, BDPA; Rajapakse, RDIL; Vithanage, VV; Senavirathna, SADCS; Govindapala, BGDS In today's world, physiotherapists are facing many challenges due to the dynamic nature of their working environment. This study aimed to investigate the influence of work-related factors on job satisfaction among government physiotherapists in the Western province, Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 135 consented physiotherapists through a self-administered, validated survey questionnaire, adopted from Spector’s job satisfaction nine facet scale. A 6-point Likert scale was used to evaluate answers for each facet of job satisfaction. Based on the overall score, job satisfaction was categorized as satisfied (>144), ambivalent (108-144) and dissatisfied (<108). Descriptive statistics and Pearson A Chi-square test were performed using SPSS. The majority of the participants were between 31-40 years of age (50.4%) and females (51.9%). Most of them were degree holders (56.3%) and had 6-10 years of work experience (54.1%). Out of the 135 physiotherapists, 95(70.4%) were working in Teaching Hospitals. However, only 50 (37%) of them were practicing in their preferred clinical area. Although 102 (75.5%) participants were working more than five days per week, most of them (57.8%) were not performing night duties. Eighty-nine (65.9%) participants were engaged in private practice. In the assessment of overall job satisfaction, 39 (28.8%) were satisfied, 85 (62.9%) were ambivalent, and 11 (8.1%) were dissatisfied with their job. A significant association was found between the place of work, involvement in private practice, and job satisfaction (P<0.05). The field of work, working patterns, and night shifts had no significant impact (P>0.05) on the job satisfaction of the physiotherapists. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.kdu.ac.lk/handle/345/4779 A Critical Review on Pulse Measuring Devices W.S.R. to A̅yurveda Na̅di Parikṣa̅ as a Non-invasive Diagnostic Method Keerthisinghe, SMMD; Dushmantha, WKT; Kulanatha, IGPR Na̅di Parikṣa̅ is a non-invasive key diagnostic and prognostic method found in Aṣṭastha̅na Parikṣa̅ in A̅yurveda, which can be correlated with the palpation component of general patient examination in modern medicine. This review aims at studying the developmental and applicational mechanisms and sample testing methods used in pulse measuring devices in selected studies. This study was done by referring to previous research articles related to developing pulse measuring devices from modern and A̅yurveda perspectives on ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, PubMed®, Google Scholar, etc. Articles published in peer-reviewed English journals in the past seven years were inclusively selected with specific keywords. After reviewing the articles according to the aforementioned criteria, we obtained the main five pieces of research which were done separately to develop a pulse measuring device with an advancement of previously done experimental research works. Out of those five, two were done in Sri Lanka while the others were in India. From the total, two were designed as doctor wearable devices, and others as patient wearable devices. Sample sizes (n) used to get the results of these researches were different from each other. All focused on selecting a sensor, pre-processing utilizing suitable filters, amplifiers, software, and computational methods. It can be concluded that new technological advancements are needed to develop standard devices at the research-based experimental level and to implement them for distinguishing the health status (Deha Prakriti) and the disease status (Vikriti) of an individual from these devices. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z