THE INDEX

Every paper we have read

Each one summarised from the full article, not its abstract, and kept only if it speaks to physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology or nursing. Newest first.

35,183 PAPERS · PAGE 390 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOther2021The Dorsiflexion Range of Motion Screen: A Validation Study.International journal of sports physical therapyIn 37 healthy college students, a standing lunge ankle screen agreed between trained physical therapists and separated behind from beyond categories, which corresponded to 41.3 and 51.8 degrees of measured ankle motion. It is not evidence the screen predicts injury.
• PTOTRCT2021Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a combined virtual reality, robotics and electrical stimulation intervention in upper extremity stroke rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationChronic stroke patients improved arm function after 12 sessions combining robotics, virtual reality, and electrical stimulation. However, hand strength and dexterity showed no gains, and without a control group, these improvements cannot be separated from usual care or time.
• OTOther2021Use of behaviour change techniques by direct support professionals to support healthy lifestyle behaviour for people with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDDirect support professionals used many behaviour change techniques to support adults with intellectual disabilities, but relied on nine: feedback, instructions, doing together, rewards, environment changes, graded tasks, prompts and demonstration. This describes daily support, not whether these techniques improve health.
• PTCohort2021Hip Abduction Strength: Relationship to Trunk and Lower Extremity Motion During A Single-Leg Step-Down Task in Professional Baseball Players.International journal of sports physical therapyHip strength barely predicted movement quality in baseball players. Weak hip abductors were linked to slight knee valgus and pelvic drop in pitchers, but not position players. The relationships were weak, so hip strength alone does not explain these movement deficits.
• PTOTRCT2021Changes in levels of cartilage oligomeric proteinase and urinary C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen in subjects with knee osteoarthritis after dextrose prolotherapy: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineDextrose prolotherapy reduced a urine marker of cartilage breakdown significantly more than hyaluronic acid. Both injections improved pain and function similarly, but the prolotherapy group started with worse pain. High dropout rates mean these results need cautious interpretation.
• SLPQualitative2021Embedding school cultures and climates that promote evidence-based practice implementation for youth with autism: A qualitative study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceTeachers identified seven principal behaviors that support evidence-based practice, including providing autism-specific training, adjusting evaluations to fit student needs, and allocating adequate resources. Conversely, generic professional development and rigid performance standards were linked to low teacher support and high stress.
• PTRCT2021Exploiting telerobotics for sensorimotor rehabilitation: a locomotor embodiment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA telerobotics system let trainers assist stroke survivors' gait remotely. Six patients completed the protocol, showing swing length improvements in most, but the primary Day 1 to Day 6 change did not reach statistical significance. The study confirms feasibility, not efficacy.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Motor Impairment Increases in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder as a Function of Social Communication, Cognitive and Functional Impairment, Repetitive Behavior Severity, and Comorbid Diagnoses: A SPARK Study Report.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn children with autism, the risk of motor impairment rises alongside social, cognitive, and functional difficulties. The risk also increases with comorbid diagnoses like ADHD or intellectual disability. This suggests motor issues are pervasive and linked to overall severity.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2021Effectiveness of total knee arthroplasty rehabilitation programmes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdding specific methods like electrical stimulation or balance exercises to standard knee replacement rehab did not consistently improve range of motion or pain. While some scores for function and walking speed improved, the results were inconsistent across studies. There is no single superior rehabilitation protocol.
• PTOther2021Kinematic and Kinetic Predictors of Y-Balance Test Performance.International journal of sports physical therapyY-balance reach in 31 trained runners was mainly predicted by knee flexion for anterior reach and hip flexion for posterior reaches. Knee and hip moments also predicted reach. A short reach did not point to one cause.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Comparison of Common Methodologies for the Determination of Knee Flexor Muscle Strength.International journal of sports physical therapyKnee flexor strength measured by a wall-anchored handheld dynamometer correlates with lab equipment but cannot be swapped for it. Seated testing yields higher torque than supine, and dorsiflexing the foot increases force compared to plantarflexion.
• PTOther2021Concurrent Validation and Reference Values of Gluteus Medius Clinical Test.International journal of sports physical therapyThe Gluteus Medius Clinical Test is highly reliable but correlates weakly with dynamometer torque. It measures endurance, not strength. Use it as a complementary tool when a dynamometer is unavailable, not as a substitute for isometric strength testing.
• PTOTRCT2021Self-reported socket comfort, mobility, and balance-confidence of individuals with transtibial amputation using pinlock vs suction suspension.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalAdults with transtibial amputation using suction suspension reported significantly better socket comfort than those using pinlock. Self-reported mobility and balance-confidence were similar between groups. Choose suspension based on the patient's primary goal: comfort favors suction, while ease of donning may favor pinlock.
• PTOTOther2021Examining Muscle Activity Differences During Single and Dual Vector Elastic Resistance Exercises.International journal of sports physical therapyDual vector elastic resistance increased muscle activation during shoulder abduction and flexion, but not during internal or external rotation. This suggests dual vectors may be useful for specific strengthening phases, but are not universally beneficial for all shoulder exercises.
• SLPOther2021Effects of Practice Variability on Second-Language Speech Production Training.Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)High-variability practice improved short-term accuracy within sessions, but long-term retention was poor for most participants. Only one person showed clinically meaningful change after four weeks. Use with caution for lasting speech modification.
• PTOTRCT2021Comparison of neuromuscular and cardiovascular exercise intensity and enjoyment between standard of care, off-the-shelf and custom active video games for promotion of physical activity of persons post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCustom active video games matched the exercise intensity of off-the-shelf games and standard care but produced more accurate stepping. Participants found the custom games more enjoyable and less effortful, suggesting they are a viable tool for balancing fitness with movement quality in stroke rehab.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021The Relationship Between Walking Speed and the Energetic Cost of Walking in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Systematic Review.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPeople with multiple sclerosis walk with a higher energetic cost than healthy controls, but their most efficient speed is similar. Most patients in studies walked slower than this optimal speed, meaning they were working harder than necessary. Training to increase walking speed may reduce this cost.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Factors associated with met and unmet rehabilitation needs after stroke: A multicentre cohort study in Denmark and Norway.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThree months after stroke, 67% reported needing training and 69% needed help, with similar rates in Norway and Denmark despite different rehabilitation pathways. Unmet needs for training were linked to lower function and anxiety, while unmet needs for help were linked to living alone and depression.
• SLPCohort2020Manual response inhibition and quality of life in adults who stutter.Journal of communication disordersAdults who stutter showed slower manual response inhibition than non-stuttering adults. Within the stuttering group, lower quality of life scores predicted slower inhibition, but overt stuttering severity did not. This links cognitive control deficits to psychosocial impact rather than speech disfluency.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2020Quantitative Videofluoroscopic Analysis of Swallowing Physiology and Function in Individuals With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRStable COPD patients showed no aspiration but had poor airway closure timing and weak pharyngeal muscle squeeze. Thickened liquids caused significant residue in this group, meaning texture modification requires careful evaluation rather than automatic prescription.
• OTSLPCohort2020Daily-Life Fatigue in Mild to Moderate Hearing Impairment: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.Ear and hearingOver 14 days, adults with mild to moderate hearing impairment and normal hearing reported similar current, daily and usual fatigue. Fatigue rose across the day in both groups, and people who spent more time in speech or group conversations reported higher fatigue.
• Other2020Developmental vitamin D deficiency increases foetal exposure to testosterone.Molecular autismRat mothers fed no vitamin D had higher testosterone, and their male foetuses had higher brain testosterone. The enzyme that breaks down testosterone was reduced in those brains. This is an animal study of a biological mechanism. It provides no evidence that vitamin D deficiency causes autism in humans.
• SLPNarrative Review2020Three New Outcome Measures That Tap Into Cognitive Processes Required for Real-Life Communication.Ear and hearingThree new hearing tests (SWIR, neural tracking, pupillometry) measure working memory, attention, and effort. They detect noise reduction benefits at realistic listening levels where standard speech tests hit ceiling. None are standardized yet.
• PTOther2021Time Course of Acute Hip Adduction Range of Motion Changes Following Foam Rolling.International journal of sports physical therapyFoam rolling the IT band increased hip adduction range immediately and at three minutes. By ten minutes it no longer differed from the control walk, so plan any range-dependent task right after rolling.
• PTOther2021Line Hops and Side Hold Rotation Tests Load Both Anterior and Posterior Shoulder: A Biomechanical Study.International journal of sports physical therapyTwo shoulder tests place high load on posterior structures. The Side Hold Rotation stresses anterior structures at end-range. The Line Hop is more dynamic, rapidly loading the shoulder. Both require handling nearly half bodyweight through one arm.
• PTOther2021Which Hop Tests Can Best Identify Functional Limb Asymmetry in Patients 9-12 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Employing a Hamstrings Tendon Autograft?International journal of sports physical therapyAt 9-12 months after ACL reconstruction, 80-88% of patients reached 90% limb symmetry on each forward hop test, but most did not on side, vertical and agility hop tests.
• PTOther2021The Impact of Dance-Specific Neuromuscular Conditioning and Injury Prevention Training on Motor Control, Stability, Balance, Function and Injury in Professional Ballet Dancers: A Mixed-Methods Quasi-Experimental Study.International journal of sports physical therapyNo injuries occurred, so injury prevention could not be tested. In six dancers, dance function, balance, single-leg hop and upper-extremity scores improved after a 5-week class, but not all tests, and some gains faded by four months.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Post-intensive care syndrome following cardiothoracic critical care: Feasibility of a complex intervention.Journal of rehabilitation medicineImplementing a complex post-ICU rehabilitation programme was feasible and safe, with high completion rates. Patients and caregivers experienced significant physical, emotional, and social challenges, including anxiety and sleep problems, that persisted for months after discharge.
• Survey2021Anxiety, meaning in life, self-efficacy and resilience in families with one or more members with special educational needs and disability during COVID-19 pandemic in Greece.Research in developmental disabilitiesDuring the Greek lockdown, parents in families with special needs reported higher state anxiety and resilience than their university-age children. Across the group, higher resilience and a greater sense of meaning in life were linked to lower anxiety, while self-efficacy showed no such association.
• SLPPilot2021The feasibility of an m-health educational programme (m2Hear) to improve outcomes in first-time hearing aid users.International journal of audiologyFirst-time hearing aid users found this mobile educational programme easy to use, with 88% rating usability as high. All participants accessed the site, and most preferred it to written information. Improvements in hearing aid handling and communication were seen, but the study cannot separate the benefit of the app from the hearing aids themselves.
• PTSLPCohort2021Speech-Language Profile Groups in School Aged Children with Cerebral Palsy: Nonverbal Cognition, Receptive Language, Speech Intelligibility, and Motor Function.Developmental neurorehabilitationReceptive language scores largely matched nonverbal cognitive scores in 27 speaking children with cerebral palsy. For most, typical language comprehension suggested typical cognition, and impaired comprehension suggested cognitive impairment. This supports using language tests as a rough proxy when motor issues make cognitive testing difficult.
• Other2021Development of the Fearless, Tearless Transition model of care for adolescents with an intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder with mental health comorbidities.Developmental medicine and child neurologyTransition for adolescents with dual disabilities is often chaotic. Carers reported anxiety and unmet needs. A new model uses a dedicated coordinator and shared care between paediatricians and GPs to improve planning, though its effectiveness is not yet proven.
• OTSLPOther2021Evaluation of the National Task Group-Early Detection Screen for Dementia: Sensitivity to 'mild cognitive impairment' in adults with Down syndrome.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDFor adults with Down syndrome, memory and language concerns on the NTG-EDSD screen were informative for early decline, but the total score was weak and produced many false positives. Use it with other clinical information.
• PTCohort2021A Preseason Training Program With the Nordic Hamstring Exercise Increases Eccentric Knee Flexor Strength and Fascicle Length in Professional Female Soccer Players.International journal of sports physical therapyAn 8-week Nordic hamstring program increased eccentric knee flexor strength by about 13% and fascicle length by about 7% in professional female soccer players. Strength gains were larger than those typically seen in male athletes, but half the players did not show meaningful fascicle lengthening.
• PTMeta-Analysis2021Effect of robotic-assisted gait training on objective biomechanical measures of gait in persons post-stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationGroups assigned to robotic gait training did not improve walking speed or step rate more than groups assigned to non-robotic training after stroke. Some measures of step length and timing symmetry favoured robotic groups, but the evidence was very weak.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021People with intellectual disability in Ireland are still dying young.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDPeople with intellectual disability in Ireland still die about 20 years younger than the general population, and this gap has not closed over 16 years. Those living in large residential settings and those with profound disabilities face the highest mortality rates.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Societal burden of stroke rehabilitation: Costs and health outcomes after admission to stroke rehabilitation.Journal of rehabilitation medicineStroke rehabilitation costs one year post-admission averaged US$70,601 for inpatients and US$27,473 for outpatients. Inpatient utility scores improved significantly over 12 months, while outpatient scores remained stable. Lower baseline health predicted higher total costs.
• PTOther2021The Single Leg Squat Test: A "Top-Down" or "Bottom-Up" Functional Performance Test?International journal of sports physical therapyHealthy adults who failed the single leg squat for knee collapse had the same ankle movement and foot posture as those who passed. A restricted ankle or flat foot does not explain poor single leg squat performance in this group.
• SLPNarrative Review2020Potential of Augmented Reality Platforms to Improve Individual Hearing Aids and to Support More Ecologically Valid Research.Ear and hearingCurrent hearing aids struggle in noisy social settings because of limited microphone spacing and processing power. Augmented Reality glasses could bridge this gap by using eye-tracking and cloud computing to isolate specific speakers, but these technologies remain largely theoretical and require significant development.
• SLPOther2020The Accuracy of Envelope Following Responses in Predicting Speech Audibility.Ear and hearingBrain responses to speech sounds were easier to detect for high-frequency fricatives than for vowel stimuli in 21 young adults with normal hearing. A detected response usually meant the sound was audible; a missing response often did not prove inaudibility.
• SLPOther2020Gene functional networks and autism spectrum characteristics in young people with intellectual disability: a dimensional phenotyping study.Molecular autismGenetic cause of intellectual disability did not predict overall autism likelihood. However, chromatin-related variants linked to greater inflexibility, especially with hyperactivity. Synaptic variants linked to social withdrawal with anxiety. These patterns suggest distinct mechanisms for specific autism traits rather than a single global risk.
• SLPOther2020Binaural Pitch Fusion: Binaural Pitch Averaging in Cochlear Implant Users With Broad Binaural Fusion.Ear and hearingWhen cochlear implant users hear two different pitches at once, their brains blend them into one average sound. This averaging is biased toward the lower pitch. This loss of spectral detail explains why some users struggle to separate voices in noise.
• SLPOther2020The Virtual Reality Lab: Realization and Application of Virtual Sound Environments.Ear and hearingIn hearing aid users and normal-hearing people, virtual sound environments felt louder and more annoying than real life, while localization was similar. The lab partly reflects real listening but may not recreate active communication.
• SLPCohort2020Evidence for the placenta-brain axis: multi-omic kernel aggregation predicts intellectual and social impairment in children born extremely preterm.Molecular autismPlacental molecular profiles modestly predicted later social and intellectual scores in children born extremely preterm. External checks did not confirm this.
• SLPOther2020The Quest for Ecological Validity in Hearing Science: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Advance It.Ear and hearing
• Narrative Review2020Human stem cell-based models for studying autism spectrum disorder-related neuronal dysfunction.Molecular autismStem cell models are used to study autism-related neuronal changes. This review reports no original patient outcomes or therapy results, so there is nothing here to change clinical practice.
• SLPOther2020Speechreading Ability Is Related to Phonological Awareness and Single-Word Reading in Both Deaf and Hearing Children.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRSpeechreading ability links to single-word reading in both deaf and hearing children, but this link runs entirely through phonological awareness. Better visual speech decoding supports phonological skills, which then support reading. This is a concurrent correlation, not proof that training speechreading improves reading.
• SLPOther2020Speech-in-Noise Recognition With More Realistic Implementations of a Binaural Cochlear-Implant Sound Coding Strategy Inspired by the Medial Olivocochlear Reflex.Ear and hearingAn experimental processor setting that links the two ears helped some cochlear implant users understand speech in noise, mainly with two implants and certain speaker-noise positions. A fast version made speech harder in the toughest one-ear condition.
• PTMeta-Analysis2021Effects of muscle strengthening and cardiovascular fitness activities for poliomyelitis survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAcross studies, exercise programmes showed small improvements in body function and activity, but not cardiovascular fitness. Evidence was very low, results varied widely, and programmes combining aerobic, strengthening and functional training cannot show which component helped.
• PTOTSLPNarrative Review2021Factors influencing access to early intervention for families of children with developmental disabilities: A narrative review.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAccess to early intervention fails at three stages: parents not recognising need, delayed diagnosis, and barriers to receiving support. Low income, minority ethnicity and female child gender consistently block access. Universal free services and proactive professional responses to parental concerns are the strongest facilitators.