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 412 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTCohort2022Does the Duncan-Ely test predict abnormal activity of the rectus femoris in stroke survivors with a stiff knee gait?Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe Duncan-Ely test does not predict abnormal rectus femoris activity in stroke survivors with stiff knee gait. Resistance and hip flexion scores showed no correlation with EMG findings, performing no better than random guessing. Clinicians should stop using this test to guide treatment decisions.
• PTOTCohort2022Failure to Compensate: Patients With Nerve Injury Use Their Injured Dominant Hand, Even When Their Nondominant Is More Dexterous.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationMost patients with dominant hand nerve injury continued using that hand, even when their non-dominant hand was more dexterous. This suggests therapists should explicitly assess and train non-dominant hand use for patients whose dominant hand function is permanently impaired.
• PTOTOther2022Construct Validity of the Upper-Limb Interlimb Coordination Test in Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairWhen movement speed was matched, the timing of both forearm movements was similar, but stroke participants scored lower on the Interlimb Coordination Test and used more trunk rotation and shoulder abduction. The test observes both arms together, not only the weaker arm.
• OTOther2022Genetic Factors, Brain Atrophy, and Response to Rehabilitation Therapy After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairBDNF val 66 met and ApoE ε4 did not predict 12-month arm motor recovery after stroke. BDNF val 66 met was linked to greater brain atrophy, but not to that recovery outcome.
• PTCohort2022Predictors of Outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Uptake, Adherence, Completion, and Treatment Response Among Male U.S. Veterans With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationCurrent smoking, alcohol use disorder history, and worse breathlessness were linked to lower pulmonary rehabilitation completion among 253 male veterans with COPD; cancer history was linked to higher completion. Logistical barriers were the most common reason for not attending.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome Negatively Impacts Physical Function, Cognitive Function, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Participation.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationPatients with post-acute COVID-19 reported severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, and reduced participation. Physical exertion triggered symptom exacerbation in 86% of patients, and full-time employment dropped from 76% to 41%. These findings suggest rehabilitation must account for post-exertional worsening.
• PTOTOther2022Can Proxy Ratings Supplement Patient Report to Assess Functional Domains Among Hospitalized Patients?Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationProxy ratings on a tablet-based functional measure were similar to patient self-ratings for daily activity and mobility on average, but proxies reported less cognitive impairment than patients. Proxy ratings may supplement patient report when patients cannot complete the measure.
• PTOTOther2022Effect of cold and heat therapies on pain relief in patients with delayed onset muscle soreness: A network meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineHot packs reduced pain best within 48 hours, while whole-body cryotherapy was most effective after 48 hours. However, study quality was low, blinding was poor, and results for newer cold therapies relied on very few trials, so these rankings are unstable.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2022Setting meaningful goals in rehabilitation: A qualitative study on the experiences of clients and clinicians in working with a practical tool.Clinical rehabilitationClients and clinicians described a global meaning session as helping them set a stable overall rehabilitation goal. This goal gave direction to specific therapy tasks and improved motivation. For some clients, this connection also supported actual behavior change.
• PTOTCohort2022Ability of the Functional Assessment in Acute Care Multidimensional Computerized Adaptive Test (FAMCAT) to Predict Discharge to Institutional Postacute Care.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationPatient-reported mobility and daily activity scores strongly predicted discharge to institutional post-acute care. Basic Mobility alone had excellent discrimination, with scores averaging 12.2 points lower for those needing facility placement compared to those going home.
• PTSystematic Review2022Effectiveness of early versus delayed rehabilitation following total shoulder replacement: A systematic review.Clinical rehabilitationEarly shoulder rehab after replacement showed no clear benefit over delayed rehab at 12 months. One small trial found better pain and function scores in the first eight weeks, but the evidence is very low quality and inconsistent across studies.
• Survey2022COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy among Americans with disabilities aged 18-65: An exploratory analysis.Disability and health journalConcern about vaccine side effects was the strongest predictor of hesitancy. Trust in health experts and higher education were linked to lower hesitancy. Health literacy, gender, rural residence, and having a high-risk health condition did not predict hesitancy once other factors were accounted for.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Effect of a Mobile Health App on Adherence to Physical Health Treatment: Retrospective Analysis.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPatients who chose to use a clinic app kept more appointments but also missed more. This pattern held only for those who quit treatment early. The app did not change attendance for patients who completed their prescribed course of care.
• PTOTSurvey2021Self-scored impairments in functioning and disability in post-COVID syndrome following mild COVID-19 infection.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePeople with persistent symptoms after mild COVID-19 reported widespread, often severe problems. Tiredness with activity, low energy, and handling stress were the most common limits, with major restrictions in work, stairs, and social life.
• PTOTPilot2021Visual feedback improves movement illusions induced by tendon vibration after chronic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationShowing a moving virtual hand on a screen made people with chronic stroke feel stronger illusions of movement when their wrist tendon was vibrated. This visual feedback worked even for those with severe motor deficits, suggesting it could help drive brain plasticity during rehabilitation.
• PTOTCase-Control2021Rate of Force Development Is Related to Maximal Force and Sit-to-Stand Performance in Men With Stages 3b and 4 Chronic Kidney Disease.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn men with advanced kidney disease, how quickly they could generate force in the first 50 milliseconds predicted how fast they could stand up, even though their maximum strength did not. This suggests training should target speed of force, not just strength.
• PTOther2021Optimized hip-knee-ankle exoskeleton assistance at a range of walking speeds.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFor three expert users, a heavy exoskeleton cut energy cost by 26% at slow speeds and 50% at fast speeds. Assistance did not lower cost below that of walking without the device when moving slowly.
• PTSystematic Review2021Smoothness metrics for reaching performance after stroke. Part 1: which one to choose?Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSPARC is the only smoothness metric that consistently worked across simulations of stroke reaching. Many common metrics failed to detect tremors or were skewed by movement speed. Use SPARC to accurately measure arm movement quality after stroke.
• PTOther2021Functional assessment of stretch hyperreflexia in children with cerebral palsy using treadmill perturbations.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTreadmill perturbations during walking successfully evoked stretch reflexes in children with cerebral palsy. The protocol was feasible and distinguished the group with cerebral palsy from typically developing children at a group level, supporting its use for future research.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Effects of Telerehabilitation Interventions on Heart Failure Management (2015-2020): Scoping Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesTelerehabilitation for heart failure patients often improves quality of life and physical capacity compared to standard care. It also shows high adherence. However, evidence for reducing depression and anxiety is mixed, with some studies showing no significant benefit.
• PTOTOther2021Application of Inertial Measurement Units and Machine Learning Classification in Cerebral Palsy: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesCustom wrist sensors plus machine learning separated movement samples from children with CP from typical movement samples on a stop sign task, correctly classifying 85.75% of older samples and 88.13% of younger samples. This is a measurement method, not proof that therapy works.
• PTOther2021Insights into motor performance deficits after stroke: an automated and refined analysis of the lower-extremity motor coordination test (LEMOCOT).Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAutomated analysis of the lower-extremity motor coordination test reveals that people with stroke show greater error and variability than controls. These refined measures detect deficits in the non-paretic leg that the traditional touch-count score misses, offering a more detailed picture of motor control.
• PTOTCohort2022The spasticity-related quality of life 6-dimensions instrument in upper-limb spasticity: Part I Development and responsiveness.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe SQoL-6D questionnaire tracked upper-limb spasticity quality of life over 8 weeks. Total scores improved more when patients or clinicians judged routine care helpful, so therapists can use it to track patient-reported change.
• PTOTCohort2022The spasticity-related quality of life 6-dimensions instrument in upper-limb spasticity: Part II A first psychometric evaluation.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAmong 98 adults with upper-limb spasticity, the SQoL-6D questionnaire was quick, relevant and consistent enough to measure how spasticity affects daily life. It gave lower quality-of-life scores when weakness or limb problems were worse.
• PTOTCohort2022Differences in Cardiometabolic Comorbidities Between Black and White Persons Living With Multiple Sclerosis.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationBlack patients with MS were more likely than White patients to have high blood pressure and diabetes, and Black women had higher body mass index. These comorbidities were linked to MS disability in prior work, but this study could not track disease progression or timing.
• PTOTQualitative2022Educational support needs of injured children and their families: A qualitative study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineInjured children and parents report that schools often isolate them in separate zones or exclude them from physical education out of caution. Families say a trusted key worker is essential to coordinate flexible learning and keep children with their peers.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2022Effect of multimorbidity and psychosocial factors on posttraumatic stress symptoms among post-9/11 veterans.Rehabilitation psychologyVeterans with pain, mental health, or brain injury comorbidities reported higher PTSD severity than healthy peers. Self-efficacy, resilience, and social support explained nearly half the variance in PTSD symptoms. However, Black and Hispanic veterans reported greater PTSD severity than White veterans even with higher resilience and self-efficacy.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Predictors of Acute Transfer and Mortality Within 6 Months From Admission to an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility for Patients With Brain Tumors.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationPatients with brain tumors admitted to rehab had a 20.2% acute transfer rate and 36.9% six-month mortality. Prior chemotherapy, steroid use, and recurrent disease were linked to these outcomes. Functional status on admission did not predict transfer or death.
• Narrative Review2022Exercise-Based Stroke Rehabilitation: Clinical Considerations Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairNo new finding. This is a clinical considerations review of exercise after stroke in the context of COVID-19. It reports no patients or outcomes.
• PTRCT2022Efficacy and safety of onabotulinumtoxinA with standardized physiotherapy for the treatment of pediatric lower limb spasticity: A randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III clinical trial.NeuroRehabilitationAdding onabotulinumtoxinA to standardized physical therapy lowered ankle spasticity more than placebo plus therapy in children with cerebral palsy; both 8 U/kg and 4 U/kg doses reduced tone over 12 weeks.
• PTOTSLPOther2022A delphi procedure on rehabilitation outcome for patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury; first phase of the Neurotraumatology Quality Registry (NET-QURE).Journal of rehabilitation medicineExperts agreed on specific outcome measures for 12 of 17 domains in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Consensus was reached for tools assessing quality of life, pain, anxiety, depression, communication, and activities of daily living.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Dysphagia Characteristics of Patients Post SARS-CoV-2 During Inpatient Rehabilitation.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationLonger intubation increases the odds of airway invasion during swallowing, with each extra day raising the odds by 15%. Clinical bedside swallow exams often miss silent aspiration. Instrumental assessments like VFSS are needed to safely guide diet upgrades in post-COVID inpatient rehabilitation.
• SLPCohort2022Rasch Properties of the Cognitive and Linguistic Scale and Optimization for Outcome Trajectory Modeling in Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationThe Cognitive and Linguistic Scale works for tracking recovery if arousal and responsivity items are excluded from analysis. Children who started recovering later achieved lower final cognitive ability. Older children recovered faster, but this did not change their final outcome.
• PTOther2022Measurements of Best, Worst, and Average Socket Comfort Are More Reliable Than Current Socket Comfort in Established Lower Limb Prosthesis Users.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAsking lower limb prosthesis users about best, worst, and average socket comfort over the prior week gave more stable answers than current socket comfort, but all scores still varied too much for a single change to be trusted.
• OTCase Series2022Effect of multi-grip myoelectric prosthetic hands on daily activities, pain-related disability and prosthesis use compared with single-grip myoelectric prostheses: A single-case study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineExperienced single-grip prosthesis users who switched to a multi-grip hand with occupational therapist-led training reported better daily-activity performance and satisfaction, less pain-related disability in those with baseline pain, and increased wearing time. Control skill did not clearly improve.
• Other2021Biopsychosocial Profiles of Patients With Cardiac Disease in Remote Rehabilitation Processes: Mixed Methods Grounded Theory Approach.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPatients in remote cardiac rehab fell into four technology-use profiles. Those afraid of tech had low activity and poor self-awareness. Those uninterested had high waistlines and needed external prompts. Those who saw benefits were balanced. Those enthusiastic about tech had low self-efficacy despite healthy habits.
• PTRCT2021Combination taping technique versus ankle foot orthosis on improving gait parameters in spastic cerebral palsy: A controlled randomized study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, adding either a solid AFO or combination taping to conventional physical therapy for 4 weeks improved walking speed, step length, stride length and single-limb support versus therapy alone. Cadence did not change.
• PTOTOther2021Usability and performance validation of an ultra-lightweight and versatile untethered robotic ankle exoskeleton.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA lightweight untethered ankle exoskeleton reduced energy cost during incline walking in healthy adults and increased stair-climbing distance in people with cerebral palsy. Users could don and calibrate the device independently in under five minutes.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Resting motor threshold in the course of hand motor recovery after stroke: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationHigh resting motor threshold in the stroke-affected hemisphere tracks with severe hand disability. As hand function recovers, this threshold drops. The unaffected hemisphere's threshold showed no consistent link to impairment or recovery.
• PTOTOther2021Improving postural stability among people with lower-limb amputations by tactile sensory substitution.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationVibrotactile feedback on the forearm reduced body sway during quiet standing for people with lower-limb amputations. The benefit was greatest when visual disturbances were large. The effect appeared immediately without specific training on the device.
• PTOTPilot2021A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke patients using a new virtual reality system that tracks the entire arm and all fingers showed greater upper-limb motor improvement than those using conventional therapy or a hand-only tracking system. The full-body tracking also created a stronger sense of ownership over the virtual arm.
• SLPQualitative2021User-Centered Design of Companion Robot Pets Involving Care Home Resident-Robot Interactions and Focus Groups With Residents, Staff, and Family: Qualitative Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesCare home residents, staff and families preferred familiar cat and dog robot pets over unfamiliar or toy-like devices. They wanted soft fur, movement, eye contact, lap size, adjustable quiet sounds and washable covers.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2021European evidence-based recommendations for clinical assessment of upper limb in neurorehabilitation (CAULIN): data synthesis from systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines and expert consensus.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFor neurological upper limb rehabilitation, CAULIN recommends Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity and Action Research Arm Test as core assessments, with added measures for patient-reported ability, movement quality, and real-life arm use.
• PTOTPilot2021Optimized hip-knee-ankle exoskeleton assistance reduces the metabolic cost of walking with worn loads.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThree expert users wearing a heavy hip-knee-ankle exoskeleton saw their walking effort drop by 41% to 48% while carrying loads of 15% and 30% body weight. The device reduced metabolic cost significantly more than previous single-joint assists, but the worn mass of the device itself remains a major practical barrier.
• PTPilot2021Learning to walk with a wearable robot in 880 simple steps: a pilot study on motor adaptation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWalking uphill with a hip and knee assistive suit lowered energy use compared with the suit without force. In eight healthy men, the benefit plateaued after about 10 minutes or 880 steps, with early stride and arm swing changes.
• Other2021An Immersive and Interactive Platform for Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation (bWell): Design and Iterative Development Process.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesThis paper describes the engineering and design of a virtual reality platform for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation. It reports on the software development process and laboratory feasibility, but contains no clinical trial data or patient outcomes.
• Narrative Review2021Measuring mental workload in assistive wearable devices: a review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationNo single method reliably measures the mental workload of using assistive devices like prosthetics or exoskeletons. Subjective ratings and dual-task tests are common but imprecise, while physiological measures are often confounded by physical effort. Clinicians cannot currently quantify this burden accurately.
• PTOTCohort2022In a Pandemic That Limits Contact, Can Videoconferencing Enable Interdisciplinary Persistent Pain Services and What Are the Patient's Perspectives?Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationMost persistent pain patients were satisfied with videoconferencing during the pandemic, especially audio, video, privacy, and ease. Preferences varied by discipline, and some still preferred face-to-face care.
• Other2022The Emergence of Stereotyped Kinematic Synergies when Mice Reach to Grasp Following Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairMice with stroke developed rigid, stereotyped arm synergies that worsened by day 14. The movements became less variable across animals. This preclinical model confirms that proximal joint compensation emerges after distal deficits, offering a way to track these specific motor changes in animal studies.
• PTOTSLPPilot2022Optimized scheme for paired transverse corrective forces in S-shaped scoliosis via ultrasound and application in Chêneau brace: a pilot study.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalPlacing the thoracic pressure pad 2 cm below the top of the curve, rather than at the top, significantly improved spinal alignment in adolescents with S-shaped scoliosis. This position worked in Chêneau braces, but long-term outcomes and rotation correction require further study.