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 462 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSystematic Review2022Determining optimal mobile neurofeedback methods for motor neurorehabilitation in children and adults with non-progressive neurological disorders: a scoping review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAcross 30 studies in 223 adults, brain-computer interface training improved motor scores, but gains were inconsistent and often not clinically significant. More sessions correlated with better outcomes, but no single feedback method proved superior.
• PTCase Series2022Factors leading to falls in transfemoral prosthesis users: a case series of sound-side stumble recovery responses.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFifteen of 26 sound-side stumbles resulted in falls in six transfemoral prosthesis users. Five of six fell during mid swing stumbles, and the two oldest fell every time. Knee type did not separate outcomes.
• Other2022COVID-19 mortality burden and comorbidity patterns among decedents with and without intellectual and developmental disability in the US.Disability and health journalCOVID-19 was the leading cause of death for people with intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome in the US in 2020, unlike the general population where it was third. Decedents with these disabilities died at much younger ages than those without.
• Other2022Methodological Recommendations for Studies on the Daily Life Implementation of Implantable Communication-Brain-Computer Interfaces for Individuals With Locked-in Syndrome.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairNo patient outcomes are reported. This paper gives methodological recommendations for future implantable BCI studies in locked-in syndrome.
• PTOTOther2022Mental health problems among adolescents and young adults with childhood-onset physical disabilities: A scoping review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesDepression, anxiety and social difficulties were the most common concerns mapped among adolescents and young adults with physical disabilities, but reported rates varied widely and few people received mental health care. Stigma, family caregiver mental health, and missing peer or vocational supports shaped access.
• PTOTCohort2022ICF-based prediction of return to work after trauma rehabilitation: Results of the icfPROreha study in patients with severe musculoskeletal injuries.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPain at rest and financial concerns at rehab admission strongly predicted failure to return to work 78 weeks after trauma. A model using these and other factors identified at-risk patients with 65.6% sensitivity, enabling early targeted intervention for delayed return to work.
• PTOther2022Effects of Walking With a Cane on Frontal Plane Hip Joint Loading in Patients With Late-Stage Unilateral Hip Osteoarthritis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn 27 patients with late-stage unilateral hip OA, walking with a cane lowered pain during gait and reduced peak hip loading on the affected side. The opposite hip may carry more load.
• OTRCT2022Effects of Alternating Bilateral Training Between Non-Paretic and Paretic Upper Limbs in Patients with Hemiparetic Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAlternating training between hands did not improve paretic hand speed more than paretic-only training overall. However, it significantly improved non-paretic hand speed. Subgroup analysis suggested alternating training helped paretic hand speed only in patients with left hemiparesis, but this requires confirmation.
• Protocol2022The Live Long Walk Strong Rehabilitation Program Study: Design and Methods.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationThis paper outlines the plan for a trial testing a 10-session walking program for veterans with slow gait. It describes the methods and intended outcomes but reports no results, so there is no evidence yet on whether the program works.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Effectiveness of muscle energy technique in patients with nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineMuscle energy technique reduced pain in chronic and subacute low back pain, but did not improve disability. The effect was small for chronic pain and moderate for subacute pain. Most trials had poor methodological quality, so these findings offer weak evidence for changing practice.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2022Strategies for enhancing social skills of individuals with intellectual disability: A systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesSome social skills interventions improved participants' skills, but gains often did not generalise. For intellectual disability, no single approach is proven, so clinicians should treat any intervention as tentative and monitor real-world use.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2022"Sympathy" vs."Empathy": Comparing experiences of I2Audits and disability simulations.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesParticipants described disability simulations as embarrassing and sympathy-inducing, while I2Audits were seen as empowering because people with disabilities led them. This qualitative study suggests shifting from mimicking disability to partnering with disabled community members for environmental change.
• PTRCT2022Comparison of Quadriceps and Hamstring Muscle Strength after Exercises with and without Blood Flow Restriction following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAfter ACL surgery, low-load knee exercises with blood flow restriction showed greater strength gains and better knee pain and function scores than higher-load exercises without restriction.
• Other2022Team IHMC at the 2020 Cybathlon: a user-centered approach towards personal mobility exoskeletons.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThis paper describes the engineering and competition performance of a powered exoskeleton for one person with spinal cord injury. It reports device specifications and race times, not clinical outcomes or rehabilitation effects.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2022Perspectives of Participation in Daily Life From Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Analysis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationCancer survivors defined participation as doing valued activities, driven by control, social connection, context, and joy. They did not emphasize societal barriers or community engagement, unlike other disability groups. Rehabilitation providers should assess these personal aspects to better understand survivors' priorities and distress when restricted.
• PTOTRCT2022Multi-center, single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing functional electrical stimulation therapy to conventional therapy in incomplete tetraplegia.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesFunctional electrical stimulation was not better than conventional therapy for self-care independence. Both groups improved by about 2 points, a meaningful change, but there was no significant difference between them. The study was underpowered due to pandemic interruptions.
• PTOTRCT2023Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Rehabilitation for Upper Limb Motor Impairment and Function After Chronic Ischemic Stroke: Subgroup Analysis of the Randomized, Blinded, Pivotal, VNS-REHAB Device Trial.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPairing vagus nerve stimulation with rehabilitation improved arm function more than sham stimulation, and this benefit was consistent across age, sex, time since stroke, and impairment severity. You do not need to screen for specific subgroups to predict who will respond.
• PTOTOther2023Ultrasound Assessment of Spastic Muscles in Ambulatory Chronic Stroke Survivors Reveals Function-Dependent Changes.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAmbulatory chronic stroke survivors had thinner muscles on the affected side than on the unaffected side, especially in the arm. Greater wrist flexor muscle loss tracked weaker grip, and greater thigh muscle loss tracked worse walking times.
• PTOther2023Optimization of Protocols Using Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for Paralyzed Lower-Limb Muscles to Increase Energy Expenditure in People With Spinal Cord Injury.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationNeuromuscular electrical stimulation of paralyzed lower-limb muscles significantly increased energy expenditure in men with spinal cord injury. The most effective protocol stimulated four muscle groups with a 1:4 second duty cycle, raising energy use by 51% compared to sitting still.
• PTOTSurvey2023Disability Phenotypes and Job Accommodations Utilization Among People with Physical Disability.Journal of occupational rehabilitationMost workers with physical disabilities used only two accommodations, often flexible hours or telework. Those with severe multi-domain disability used more, while those with high physical disability alone used fewer equipment modifications. Self-employed individuals and wheelchair users secured more accommodations overall.
• Survey2023Predictors of vaccine hesitancy among disability support workers in Australia: A cross-sectional survey.Disability and health journalDisability support workers who doubted vaccine safety or efficacy, saw vaccination as personal choice, or thought media exaggerated COVID seriousness were much more likely to report hesitancy.
• PTOTCase Series2022The distribution of acquired peripheral nerve injuries associated with severe COVID-19 implicate a mechanism of entrapment neuropathy: a multicenter case series and clinical feasibility study of a wearable, wireless pressure sensor.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 34 severe COVID-19 survivors, focal nerve injuries were found at sites vulnerable to compression, especially ulnar, fibular and sciatic nerves. A wireless elbow pressure sensor was tested in 2 ICU patients and recorded pressure at different positions.
• PTOther2022The effects of visual context on visual-vestibular mismatch revealed by electrodermal and postural response measures.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn people with vestibular migraine, those with visual-vestibular mismatch showed greater vertical trunk sway and different sweat gland activity during virtual motion. The pattern changed with scene context.
• OTSLPCohort2022Exploring Sensory Subgroups in Typical Development and Autism Spectrum Development Using Factor Mixture Modelling.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCaregiver reports on a sensory questionnaire separated autistic children into different patterns. Two more atypical patterns had more anxiety and sleep problems at the first visit; later differences were weaker. It did not test treatment.
• PTOTCohort2022Music-based intervention drives paretic limb acceleration into intentional movement frequencies in chronic stroke rehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesParetic limb acceleration increased significantly during music-based training, indicating better voluntary control. Clinical scores also improved, but the link between movement mechanics and functional gains was weak. Accelerometers offer real-time feedback during therapy, not just pre- and post-test results.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2022Reduction in school individualized education program (IEP) services during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesNearly half of students with Individualized Education Programs experienced reduced service frequency during the pandemic. Unmet needs were highest for occupational and physical therapy. Clinicians should ask families about service gaps to support advocacy for compensatory education.
• Narrative Review2022Ever-changing but always constant: "Waves" of disability discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.Disability and health journalThis paper is a commentary on the discrimination disabled people faced during the pandemic. It describes waves of harm, from rationing care to vaccine access, but reports no clinical data or patient outcomes to inform therapy practice.
• PTOTOther2022An Early Biopsychosocial Intervention Design for the Prevention of Low Back Pain Chronicity: A Multidisciplinary Empirical Approach.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThis paper describes the design of a new multidisciplinary intervention to prevent low back pain becoming chronic. It outlines how experts created the plan using existing literature and clinical experience. No patients were treated and no outcomes were measured, so it offers no evidence that the intervention works.
• PTOTRCT2022Feasibility and psychophysical effects of immersive virtual reality-based mirror therapy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEleven stroke survivors completed an immersive VR mirror therapy pilot with no adverse events. Nine showed motor improvement, and participants reported high concentration and acceptance. This demonstrates feasibility for a larger trial, not proven efficacy.
• PTPilot2022A unilateral robotic knee exoskeleton to assess the role of natural gait assistance in hemiparetic patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn three chronic stroke patients, a unilateral knee exoskeleton improved gait symmetry on a treadmill. The healthy pattern strategy worked better than copying the unaffected leg. Patients also changed their unaffected leg's movement to match, reducing compensation.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Increased cognitive load in immersive virtual reality during visuomotor adaptation is associated with decreased long-term retention and context transfer.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationHealthy adults learned a reaching task slower in VR than on a screen, and forgetting was greater after 24 hours. Higher mental effort during VR training linked to more forgetting, suggesting VR may need extra practice time to build lasting skills.
• PTOTOther2022Quantitative measurement of resistance force and subsequent attenuation during passive isokinetic extension of the wrist in patients with mild to moderate spasticity after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA custom wrist device measured spasticity in 17 stroke patients. It found no link between peak resistance and clinical scores, but the rate of force drop-off correlated with severity, especially when finger spasticity was included in the assessment.
• Cohort2022Habilitation of sleep problems among mothers and their children with autism spectrum disorder: Insights from multi-level exploratory dyadic analyses.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn 29 families, mothers and their autistic children both slept poorly. Long time to fall asleep and short time in bed were linked to children's sleep duration; child sleep breathing problems were linked to mothers' fragmented sleep.
• PTOTOther2022A unified scheme for the benchmarking of upper limb functions in neurological disorders.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThis paper proposes a standardized framework for assessing upper limb movement using sensors and robots. It defines specific motor skills, abilities, and measurement protocols for research and clinical use. The framework has not yet been tested in patients, so it is a proposal for future validation rather than a proven assessment tool.
• PTOTOther2022Development and validation of a military fear avoidance questionnaire.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA new questionnaire helps Army clinicians spot fear avoidance in soldiers with musculoskeletal pain. It reliably tracks these concerns in a military context, offering a practical tool to guide early rehabilitation and reduce pain-related disability.
• PTOTCohort2022Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Prevalence Six Months after Critical Covid-19: Comparison between First and Second Waves.Journal of rehabilitation medicineSix months after ICU for severe COVID-19, post-intensive care syndrome affected 51.5% in the first wave and 52% in the second wave, with no wave difference. Women and people with diabetes were more likely to have it, and those affected reported worse symptoms.
• PTOTPilot2022Preliminary analysis of reliability and validity of the Life Space Questionnaire as a real-world mobility measure for people with lower limb loss: A technical note.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalFor people with lower limb loss, the Life Space Questionnaire showed moderate stability over one month. It did not track balance or walking speed, but it strongly reflected overall health status. It measures community access as distinct from physical ability.
• PTOther2022Web-Based System to Capture Consistent and Complete Real-world Data of Physical Therapy Interventions Following Total Knee Replacement: Design and Evaluation Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA new web-based system lets physical therapists quickly log detailed knee replacement exercises. It captured data for 161 patients with no technical issues. Users found it easy, taking under two minutes per visit. This tool helps standardize care records but does not yet prove which exercises work best.
• Other2022Machine learning predicts improvement of functional outcomes in traumatic brain injury patients after inpatient rehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesMachine learning models predicted functional independence scores after TBI rehab with high accuracy, often within one point of the actual score. This suggests AI can help therapists forecast patient recovery and plan resources more precisely than traditional methods.
• PTCohort2022Beyond steps per day: other measures of real-world walking after stroke related to cardiovascular risk.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAverage steps per day did not predict systolic blood pressure in people with stroke. Instead, walking pace and the number of long sedentary bouts were the key factors. Lab tests of walking capacity missed this relationship, so real-world monitoring is needed to assess cardiovascular risk.
• PTSystematic Review2022Criterion validity of ActiGraph monitoring devices for step counting and distance measurement in adults and older adults: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationActiGraph step counts were most accurate with GT3X+/wGT3X+ or wGT3X-BT on the hip at self-selected comfort walking speeds. Slow walking below 0.9 m/s was poor, though a low frequency extension filter helped GT3X+. Wrist wear and older devices gave poor counts. Distance evidence was limited.
• PTOTRCT2023Estimating the cost consequence of the early use of botulinum toxin in post-stroke spasticity: Secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.Clinical rehabilitationEarly botulinum toxin after stroke did not raise total NHS costs over six months. Contracture-related costs were lower, but overall costs did not differ.
• OTSLPOther2023The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Psychological Distress in Family Caregivers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disability in the UK.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCaregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities reported higher psychological distress than those of typically developing children. Distress was linked to child challenging behaviours and coping styles like denial and behavioural disengagement. Caregivers felt unsupported and struggled to explain pandemic rules to children.
• PTOTCohort2023Responsiveness and trajectory of changes in the rating of everyday arm-use in the community and home (REACH) scale over the first-year post-stroke.Clinical rehabilitationAbout 87% of participants used their affected arm more by 12 months, with the biggest gains by three months. People with severe baseline arm weakness started lower and improved differently. Arm-use scores changed with arm capacity and self-reported change.
• Other2023Rehabilitation of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients With Long COVID: Position Statement.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationNo treatment effects were measured. The authors propose using cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive behavioral therapy for long COVID, drawing on evidence from other chronic conditions, but do not report whether this works in long COVID patients.
• PTOTOther2023Development of a candidate item bank for measuring mobility of lower limb orthosis users.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationClinicians cannot yet use this new mobility survey for orthosis users. The researchers built a 100-item draft based on patient interviews, but it has not been tested to see if it accurately measures walking ability or detects small changes.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Efficacy of Early Inpatient Rehabilitation of Post-COVID-19 Survivors: Single-Center Retrospective Analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationPost-COVID patients in early inpatient rehab made significant functional gains. Most recovered lung function and swallowing. Cognitive deficits persisted in 30% of ventilated patients and 60% of non-ventilated patients. Patients who needed ventilation had higher rates of acute care transfer and skilled nursing discharge.
• PTOTCohort2022Results from the International Spinal Cord Injury Community Survey: The Lived Experience of People with Spinal Cord Injury in South-Eastern Brazil.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePeople with spinal cord injury in south-eastern Brazil reported spasticity as their most problematic health condition (33%) and neuropathic pain (13%). Public spaces and long-distance transport were major environmental barriers.
• PTOTPilot2022Muscle mass and physical function in patients with bladder cancer-Data from a prematurely terminated prospective cohort study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesNo patients met standard sarcopenia criteria, but 64% had slow walking speed. Slow walking appeared more common than low muscle mass or strength, suggesting standard tests may miss functional decline in bladder cancer patients.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2022Pandemic intake questionnaire to improve quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of outpatient neurologic and developmental care at the Kennedy Krieger institute during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesGuardians of children with neurodevelopmental disorders reported worsened mood, behavior, sleep, and therapy-access problems during the pandemic. A pre-visit questionnaire surfaced these concerns, and Five out of six program directors found it helpful.