OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Research for occupational therapy

Papers an occupational therapist can act on, across daily living, mental health, hand therapy, paediatrics and rehabilitation, each read in full rather than from its abstract.

10,853 PAPERS · PAGE 185 OF 218 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTRCT2026Multiple eumenorrheic cycles are necessary to observe a significant increase in estrogen exposure and ovulation in exercising women with functional hypothalamic oligo/amenorrhea undergoing a nutritional intervention: Insights from the REFUEL study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationIncreasing energy intake led to menstrual recovery in 58% of exercising females. However, significant estrogen exposure increases and reduced relapse rates were only observed after three consecutive normal cycles. A single period was insufficient for hormonal recovery.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Patient Functional Outcomes in Skilled Nursing Facilities: The Mediating Role of Declining Therapy.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationTherapy minutes dropped sharply in skilled nursing facilities after payment changes and during the pandemic. This decline accounted for nearly half of the increase in patients losing function and significantly reduced the chance of major recovery. Less therapy meant worse outcomes.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Tailored implementation of a behaviour change intervention for post-stroke physical activity: A mixed-methods feasibility study.Clinical rehabilitationStroke teams found a facilitated, tailored process feasible for delivering a physical activity programme after stroke, but all four teams only partially achieved their plans. This is about embedding support, not evidence that the programme improves patient outcomes.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Concussion Classification in a Multicenter Patient Cohort: The Updated ACRM Diagnostic Criteria and Concordance With Physician Impression of Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationApplying the 2023 ACRM criteria to 1447 patients found 96.9% had definite or suspected mild TBI, versus 69.7% diagnosed by physician impression. Most missed cases involved patients with lower symptom severity, suggesting clinical judgment may underdiagnose concussion when symptoms are less obvious.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025A feasibility study of digital self-report measurement for brain injury patients utilizing an adapted version of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory - fourth edition.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePatients with mild to moderate cognitive deficits completed a digital brain injury inventory twice with high consistency. The tool matched community integration scores and showed that naming ability, not overall cognition, linked to reported participation difficulties. This supports using digital self-report for routine monitoring.
• OTCohort2025Divided attention and manual visuomotor control in stroke: a combined dual-task and eye movement study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke patients did not get worse at grip force control when adding a memory or attention task, unlike controls. They still made more tracking errors than controls and showed poorer divided attention and working memory during dual-tasking.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2025Assessing and Managing Agitation During Early Recovery in Children With Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Australia: A National Survey.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationMost Australian clinicians managing agitated children with brain injury use general recovery scales, not agitation-specific tools. They rely on environmental changes and individualized care, with family education key. Practice varies widely, and formal training on agitation management is often lacking.
• PTOTSLPCase Series2025Sustainability of Digital Home Care and Health Care Services in 2 Case Studies in Finland: Combined Climate and Social Impact Assessment.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesDigital home care services are not automatically climate-friendly. Medicine robots significantly reduced travel needs, but video call services using dedicated tablets had a higher carbon footprint than the robot service. Clinicians should assess the specific technology's lifecycle impact rather than assuming digitalization is green.
• PTOTRCT2025Ankle Bracelet Laser as a Novel Portable Device to Improve Walking in Patients With Parkinsonism: Randomized Crossover Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA prototype ankle laser improved gait speed by 0.07 m/s and stride length by 0.17 m in 10 patients with parkinsonism during a brief clinic test. The device automatically projects a line with each step, reducing the need for manual control. These immediate effects have not yet been proven to last in daily life.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025A systematic literature review to explore lived experiences with phantom limb phenomenon following a lower extremity amputation: a qualitative synthesis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPatients with lower limb amputation often receive little or no early education about phantom limb pain, leading to distress and dissatisfaction. They prefer self-management strategies like massage and distraction over medication, and report that phantom sensations can actually help them accept their prosthetic limb.
• PTOTCohort2025Relationship between post-COVID-19 symptoms and daily physical activity.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn adults with post-COVID symptoms, higher dizziness severity predicted fewer daily steps the same and next day. Walking at least 5,000 steps was linked to less fatigue and chest pain the following day. These are observational associations, not proof that activity improves symptoms.
• PTOTCohort2025Longitudinal interaction between muscle impairments and gait pathology in growing children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWeakness in the hips and knees tracked closely with specific changes in walking patterns over time. This confirms that anterior pelvic tilt links to hip weakness, while tiptoeing links to knee weakness. Preserving these strengths may delay the need for compensatory movements.
• PTOTRCT2025Safety and efficacy of add-on robotic therapy for early mobilization in intermediate neurocritical care: a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdd-on robot therapy for early mobilization in neurocritical care was safe, with no adverse events. It improved physical function scores more than standard physiotherapy alone. However, the study was tiny, unblinded, and participants in the robot group received extra daily therapy, so efficacy is not proven.
• PTOTPilot2025Real-time biofeedback monitoring rehabilitation of distal radius fracture.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA wearable prototype used muscle signals to predict hand fracture healing in real time. It triggered vibration warnings when exercises risked slowing recovery. The system worked accurately on healthy volunteers, but has not yet been tested on patients with fractures.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Optimizing the clinical functioning information tool (ClinFIT) in routine clinical practice: development of functional staging cutoff scores for rehabilitation provision and intensity.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdmission ClinFIT scores above 192 identified patients needing high-intensity rehabilitation, while scores below 135 indicated light intensity. These thresholds help triage inpatient cases but are exploratory and require external validation before routine use.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025Recommendations for Combining Brain-Computer Interface, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality in Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation: Qualitative Participatory Design Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesFor upper-limb brain-computer interface, motor imagery, and virtual reality training, stroke survivors and clinicians recommended daily tasks, sessions no longer than 20 minutes, simple to complex progression, and feedback adjusted for attention, neglect, and fatigue. These are design recommendations, not tested effectiveness.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Persistent obstacles for return to work after COVID-19 infection - an explorative follow-up study in Sweden.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesMost patients with post-COVID symptoms returned to work within a year, but often in an adapted way. Women were 3.5 times more likely than men to remain unable to work. Persistent fatigue and cognitive issues were the main barriers, requiring workplace flexibility.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Considerations of race and ethnicity within rehabilitation studies for post COVID-19 condition: A scoping review.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost long COVID rehabilitation studies are done in the UK and US with samples that are 88% White. Few studies considered race or ethnicity in how they recruited or analyzed results. This limits how much current rehab evidence applies to minority patients.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026'I've never heard of pulmonary rehab': Healthcare professionals' perceptions in regards to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Clinical rehabilitationClinicians on general medical wards rarely referred patients to pulmonary rehabilitation, often because they had never heard of it or assumed it was someone else's job. Many primary care staff deferred to nurses or hospital teams, creating a cycle where no one took responsibility for the referral.
• PTOTCohort2026Predictors of wrist extensor muscle recovery following acute traumatic spinal cord injury: A model systems replication study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationThree old clinical prediction rules for wrist extensor recovery after spinal cord injury are much less accurate than previously thought. Positive predictive values dropped to 57% to 74%. Do not rely on a single rule to predict recovery or guide surgical referrals.
• PTOTRCT2026Long-term home-based physical exercise, pain, and use of pain medication over a year after hip fracture - A secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.Clinical rehabilitationOne year after hip fracture surgery, home-based exercise lowered the number of people reporting hip pain and reduced how much pain interfered with daily life compared to usual care. However, it did not change pain intensity scores or reduce the number of people using pain medications.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Sex Differences in Autistic Youth Born Extremely Preterm.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn autistic children born extremely preterm, boys showed more restricted and repetitive behaviors and greater social affect difficulties than girls. However, parent-reported screeners and cognitive scores did not differ by sex. Screening tools alone may miss sex-specific traits in this group.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Reliability of a novel in vivo optical strain assessment of carbon fiber custom dynamic orthoses.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalA non-contact camera system reliably measured strain on carbon fiber ankle braces in healthy adults. Strain was highest at the distal strut and increased with ankle dorsiflexion. Reliability was lower at the proximal strut, so clinicians should expect more measurement noise in that region.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025A comprehensive evidence-based intervention programme significantly reduces intensive care unit-acquired weakness and improves functional recovery: a retrospective analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineA bundled ICU programme combining early rehab, nutrition and psychology was linked to less ICU-acquired weakness (32.5% vs 57.3%), shorter stays and better self-care than standard care. Because all parts were delivered together, no single component can be credited.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025A cup half full: exploring the kinematic consequences of variations in the drinking task protocol.Journal of rehabilitation medicineSmall changes in how the drinking task is set up significantly altered movement time and trunk displacement in 6 healthy adults, but not the smoothness of the movement. The study suggests that standardizing the protocol is crucial for accurate assessment.
• PTOTSurvey2025Perception of ankle foot orthoses by individuals with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalPatients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease report that ankle-foot orthoses help them walk, but often cause discomfort, difficulty with donning, and limitations on uneven ground. They prioritize better fit, easier use, and improved energy return over appearance or durability.
• PTOTSLPRCT2025Measuring Developmental Delays: Comparison of Parent Report and Direct Testing.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParent-reported developmental scores matched direct testing results closely in toddlers evaluated for autism. Misclassification rates were low, meaning most children flagged for speech or motor delays by direct testing were also flagged by parent report, supporting telehealth assessment.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025Perspectives From Multidisciplinary Professionals in France on Shared Patient Portals for Integrated Pediatric Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesProfessionals see shared portals bridging health, school, and leisure gaps but fear confidentiality breaches. They want sector-specific access, progressive child involvement, and interoperability to avoid double data entry. Adoption depends on beliefs about coordination value, not just digital skills.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Mapping the role of vagus nerve stimulation in post-stroke arm motor recovery.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn chronic stroke survivors, included studies reported implanted vagus nerve stimulation paired with arm therapy had larger upper-limb function gains than control therapy, with mild voice or cough effects. Ear stimulation had weaker motor effects.
• OTOther2025Disruption of low-frequency narrowband EEG microstate networks in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationLow-frequency brain-network patterns differed in people with Parkinson's and mild cognitive impairment, and these differences were associated with MoCA scores. The all-frequency EEG signal did not show the same microstate parameter differences.
• PTOTCohort2025Generalizability of neuromuscular coordination in the human upper extremity after stroke and its implications in neurorehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationMuscle synergy patterns are shared between static and dynamic arm tasks after stroke, but how they are recruited differs. Dynamic reaching reveals abnormal coordination patterns missed by static tasks, while static tasks are more accessible for severely impaired patients.
• PTOTPilot2025Barriers to physical activity and patient profiling in the lifelong maintenance phase of coronary artery disease: a territorial mixed-methods pilot study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPatients prioritized environmental factors and motivation over physical limitations. Three distinct profiles emerged: those limited by fatigue, those by environment, and those by work demands. No single barrier fits all, suggesting tailored follow-up is needed.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Operationalizing systems thinking approach to sustain public health rehabilitation programs: a rapid review and strategic synthesis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesSustaining rehabilitation programs relies on three practical strategies: using real-time data to spot problems, engaging stakeholders to fix referral gaps, and making small, low-cost changes like adjusting protocols. These approaches improved coordination and efficiency in diverse settings, but the evidence is descriptive rather than causal.
• PTOTOther2025Can machine learning improve on the early prediction of upper limb recovery after stroke?Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAn XGBoost model predicted six-month arm recovery from stroke more accurately than a mixed-effects model, with a median error of 4.3 points on the 57-point ARAT scale when applied in the first week. This error was below the 6-point threshold considered clinically meaningful.
• OTOther2025A Technology-Aided Program to Help People With Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities Access Leisure Stimuli and Engage in Cognitive and Physical Activity: Development and Usability Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesSeven adults with moderate to severe intellectual disability and poor dexterity used a modified touch screen to choose songs, cartoons or sketches, complete matching tasks and copy movements independently. The setup worked in sessions, but proof of lasting benefit is not shown.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2025Superior efficacy of 100-Hz transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in reducing post-stroke spasticity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationHigh-frequency TENS (100 Hz) significantly reduced post-stroke spasticity, while lower frequencies showed no benefit. The effect was consistent across acute, subacute, and chronic stroke phases. Motor function and daily living activities also improved, but these results were less stable.
• PTOTRCT2026Toward personalizing prosthesis prescription: A take-home study of three microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees: A randomized crossover study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationTen experienced users tested three microprocessor knees for a week each. C-Leg and Rheo were faster than Power Knee on level ground and ramps, and rated higher for satisfaction. However, no single knee was best for everyone; individual performance varied significantly across outcomes.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Investigating Parental Observations of Early Autism Development in Simplex and Multiplex Families.Journal of autism and developmental disordersHaving an older autistic sibling did not increase parents' reports of early developmental concerns in younger children. Only the younger child's own later autism diagnosis predicted these reports. Parents' recall was not skewed by hypervigilance toward siblings.
• PTOTRCT2025From gains to decline: effects of structured pre-dialytic exercise training and detraining on physical fitness, quality of life, and inflammation in haemodialysis patients.Journal of rehabilitation medicineHaemodialysis patients who completed 72 pre-dialysis exercise sessions gained clinically meaningful fitness and quality of life. These gains vanished within 3 months of stopping. The study had no control group, so it shows what happened during the programme, not that it caused the change.
• OTSLPRCT2025Brief Report: Virtual Reality to Raise Awareness About Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disordersA 6-minute virtual reality simulation improved knowledge, openness, and attitudes toward autistic people compared to questionnaires alone. The effect persisted after adjusting for prior contact with autistic individuals. No long-term follow-up was conducted.
• PTOTCohort2025Muscle strength and stiffness of elbow muscles: correlation with upper limb motor functions in people with chronic stroke.Journal of rehabilitation medicineElbow muscle strength, but not stiffness, correlated with upper limb motor function in people with chronic stroke. Strength explained variance in impairment and activity scores, while resting stiffness showed inconsistent or no significant links to functional outcomes.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Action Observation Combined With Motor Imagery Training to Improve Motor Function in People With Stroke: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesAdding action observation with motor imagery to routine rehab improved upper limb function scores, but did not improve daily self-care. The evidence is low quality from small trials, so treat this as a potential add-on rather than a proven replacement for standard therapy.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Cognitive performance and stroke-specific quality of life four years after stroke.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesFour years post-stroke, quality of life linked only to reaction time, verbal memory, and fine-motor coordination. Language, executive function, and attention showed no significant association with reported well-being in this small cohort.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Do you feel me? Autism, empathic accuracy and the double empathy problem.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceGeneral population participants were less accurate at tracking emotions of autistic narrators, especially for sadness and happiness. However, they felt anger and fear from autistic narrators more intensely in their own bodies. This supports the double empathy problem: non-autistic people struggle to interpret autistic emotional expressions.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Dry-printed electrodes for transcutaneous electrical stimulation of innervated muscles: Towards wearable and closed-loop stimulation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDry printed electrodes delivered muscle stimulation in healthy necks with similar comfort and activation thresholds to conventional gel electrodes. A one-person facial trial showed these electrodes can trigger real-time mirrored movement, though the half-second delay and lack of patient testing limit current clinical use.
• PTOTRCT2025Heel-Elevation Effects on Sit-to-Stand Movement in Patients with Parkinson's Disease-A Randomized Crossover Study.NeuroRehabilitationRaising heels on a tilted plate reduced sit-to-stand time in people with Parkinson's by a median of 2.3 seconds. The benefit was greatest in those with slower baseline movement and worse standing balance. The specific tilt angle did not change the outcome.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025'We have so much to offer': Community members' perspectives on autism research.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic participants and allies rejected deficit-focused research narratives that frame autism as a disorder to be fixed. They prioritized co-production, demanding that Autistic people lead research design and interpretation. They argued that support services often worsen problems by ignoring environmental fit and relational context.
• PTOTOther2025Uncovering attempted movements of the paralyzed upper limb after stroke through EEG and EMG.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCombining brain and muscle signals detected attempted hand movements in 79% of chronic stroke patients, compared to 50% with brain signals and 53% with muscle signals alone. This hybrid approach offers a more reliable way to identify who can use neural interfaces.
• PTOTOther2025Predicting normative walking biomechanics across the lifespan using seven simple features.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSeven simple clinical measures can predict normal walking biomechanics across the lifespan, but accuracy varies by variable. Sagittal plane joint angles and ground reaction forces were predicted well, while transverse plane angles were poor. Use these reference models with caution for non-sagittal movements.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2025Defining the key elements of the Affolter Model® in a multiprofessional Delphi study: a first step toward evidence-based Tactual Interaction Therapy.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesExperienced Affolter Model practitioners agreed on 32 statements describing its concept, principles, methods and techniques. They did not test whether Tactual Interaction Therapy works; the result is a consensus map for future research and teaching.