Back ground and aim: Osteoporosis, a multifactor disease characterized by reduction of bone mass. It is a major cause of fractures especially femoral fractures leading to morbidity, mortality and decreased quality of life. Although there is no known cure, osteoporosis and related fractures are largely preventable. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) are the important components of any effective preventive program.The purpose of this investigation was to determine the level of KAP of osteoporosis among a group of Iranian adolescent females.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted to determine the KAP level of osteoporosis on 626 randomly selected school girls aged 10-19 (13.9±1.4) years coming from rural and urban regions of Tehran and  other provinces to students' camp in north of Tehran. A designed questionnaire with four parts containing questions regarding demographic information, knowledge, attitude and practice was used in this study. Questions were made based on YES/NO and Don't Know in knowledge and attitude (this third option allowed the respondent a choice without guessing) and just Yes /No related to the practice. Students were asked to read the guidelines and then to complete the questionnaire when they were in the camp. We descript +2 for correct responses, 0 for incorrect responses and +1 for don't know answers. The ethical committee of the Iran University of Medical Sciences & Health services approved the study. The SPSS version 11.5 statistical software was used for analysis. ANOVA, Pearson and student t-test were performed to compare mean values and significant P- value was considered at P<0.05.

 Results: The total score of KAP was 2-65(43.3±13.8) .In details a range between 14-30(23±2.9), 10-22(19.2±2.4) and 2-18(10.1±2.8) were seen in knowledge, attitude and practice respectively. There was a direct correlation between total score of KAP and parents' education. Students' Knowledge and attitude, and also attitude and practice had a positive correlation. There were no relationship between parents' occupation, family number and total score of KAP.

 Conclusion: Iranian adolescent females would have relevant knowledge about osteoporosis but attitude and practice of them were less than knowledge. We recommend to perform further training programs to increase practice of Iranian young women about osteoporosis.

Background and Aim: One of the most common defects after stroke is deficit in trunk control and balance which can lead to disability or dependency in many functional activities in life. Many therapeutic approacheswere used in the stroke rehabilitation, but there is not any unique accepted approach in this field yet. However there are many evidences that show task-oriented practice for neuro-movement rehabilitation can be efficient. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of intensive task-oriented balance practices on functional balance and mobility in patients with chronic stroke.

Materials and Methods: This was an interventional - quasi-experimental study on 13 patients (4 women, 9 men, mean age 55.07 ± 8.41) with chronic stroke which were selected according to inclusion criteria. The intervention included 10 days of intensive practice during 2 weeks ,5 days per week and 3 hours a day. The assessments (Berg Balance Scale, Time Up-Go) were performed before and after the intervention.

Results: Intensive task-oriented balance training in patients with chronic stroke significantly increased the functional balance (p=0.005) and reduced the time of functional mobility (p=0.001)

Conclusion: The results showed that intensive task-oriented balance training can improve functional balance and functional mobility. Because this study was done only in one group, conducting more studies with appropriate control group is suggested.it is recommended to follow up the long lasting effects of training.

Background and Aim: The number of elderly population in the world and also in Iran has increased due to health improvements and therefore, the quality of life has been focused in this group of population. Physical disabilities and particularly balance disturbances are among the consequences of the ageing process and hence, would affect the quality of life in elderly population. Mental practice is in fact the cognitive review of a physical skill without performing obvious bodily movements. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mental practice of a movement skill on improvement of the quality of life in elderly men (60-80 yrs).

Materials and Methods: This was a Single blind Randomized controlled trial (RCT) study. The study was approved by the research ethics committee of the Tehran university of medical science (Irct ID: IRCT201107041722N3). The elderly population was 44 elderly men (60-80 yrs.) who were living in Kahrizak Nursing Home. They were randomly assigned in two groups and entered the study based on inclusion criteria. After baseline assessment, the quality of life of all of participants were assessed by SF36 test and also at 3 various stages (i.e. respectively, before the beginning of ,baseline assessment two weeks after intervention ,short term follow up and 3 months after intervention, long term follow up). Elderly population in the intervention group did mental practice of one movement skill for 4 weeks and during this periods, the control group did no mental practice.

Results: The results of our study showed the scores of SF36 in physical component, after the intervention of mental practice, have had a significant difference between the control and intervention groups. Although test scores in mental component and the whole test score showed no significant difference between the case and control groups at 3 stages of assessments.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed the significant effects of mental practices on physical component of SF36 in elderly population. However, these results also showed that this type of mental practice had no significant effects on mental component and total score of SF36.

Key Word: Quality of life, Balance, Mental practice, Elderly men

Background and Aim : One of the most common defects observed after stroke is deficit in trunk control and balance which can lead to disability or dependency in many functional activities in life. Many therapeutic approaches are used in the rehabilitation of stroke patients, but there is no any unique accepted approach in this field yet. However there are many evidences that show task-oriented practice for neuro-movement rehabilitation can be efficient. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of intensive task-oriented balance practices on functional balance and mobility in patients with chronic stroke.

Materials and Methods: This study was an intervention - quasi-experimental with chronic stroke on 13 patients (study on 4 women, 9 men, mean age 55/07 ± 8/41)which were selected according to inclusion criteria. The intervention included 10 days of intensive practice during 2 weeks , 5 days per week for 3 hours a day. The assessments (Berg Balance Scale, Time Up and Go) were performed before and after the intervention.

Results: Intensive task-oriented balance training in patients with chronic stroke significantly increased the functional balance (p=0/005) and reduced the time of functional mobility (p=0/001)

Conclusion: The results showed that intensive task-oriented balance training can improve functional balance and functional mobility. Because this study was done only in one group, conducting more studies with appropriate control group is suggested. Follow up were recommended in order to show durability effect for future researches.

Key word s: Stroke, Functional balance, Functional mobility, Task- oriented approach, Intensive practice