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 576 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTCohort2025Effects of Home Neighborhood Tree Canopy Coverage on Mental Health Outcomes: A Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Investigation.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationIn adults with traumatic brain injury, more neighborhood tree cover was linked to higher depression and anxiety scores in rural areas. This association disappeared after adjusting for socioeconomic disadvantage. Neighborhood poverty, not tree cover, appears to drive the mental health differences.
• OTOther2025Outcomes from a Driving and Community Mobility Intervention Designed for Novice Drivers with Autism from the Perspective of the Participants and Their Parents.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParticipants and parents reported better perceived driving and community mobility knowledge and skills after an occupational therapy bootcamp, but perceived executive-function changes were mostly absent and parents rated their child's driving anxiety as higher afterward.
• SLPOther2025Impact of Japanese L1 Rhythm on English L2 Speech.Language and speechJapanese learners with limited English experience produced English vowels and consonants with less duration variability than native English speakers, consistent with Japanese first-language rhythm carrying over.
• SLPOther2025Pay Attention to Hypertension (PAtH): Findings from a cardiovascular health promotion intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities participating in Special Olympics programming.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRBlood pressure did not improve after this 6-month virtual health programme for adults with intellectual disabilities. However, participants gained confidence in monitoring their own blood pressure and speaking to their doctors about it. Most found the programme helpful.
• OTSLPCohort2025Cognitive and academic outcomes in children with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with MOGAD showed a sharp rise in school support needs after onset. Nearly 40% required interventions like extra time or assistants, up from under 9% before. This occurred even in those with optic neuritis who had normal vision, suggesting the disease itself impacts learning.
• PTOTQualitative2025Understanding the complexity of decision-making for mothers of young children with ambulatory cerebral palsy: A qualitative phenomenological study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyMothers of children with ambulatory cerebral palsy describe decision-making as a constant trade-off between clinical gains and family survival. They report high uncertainty and administrative burden, often skipping therapy to protect work, money, or their child's happiness. Clinical success is not the only goal.
• SLPSurvey2025'Just knowing it's there gives me comfort': Exploring the benefits and challenges of autism alert cards.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMany participants described the autism alert card as helping them explain needs without speaking and as a safety net, while others faced disbelief, stigma or dismissal, especially from police and healthcare staff.
• PTCohort2025Comparative Cost Analysis of Neck Pain Treatments for Medicare Beneficiaries.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAmong older adults with new neck pain, starting with chiropractic spinal manipulation was associated with lower Medicare costs than primary care without analgesics in some claims, but not all.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Neuroimaging and cognitive correlates of postural control in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPoorer cognition, especially executive function, is linked to worse balance in Parkinson's. Brain scans show patients rely more on conscious cortical control for posture. However, protocols varied widely, so no single test or intervention is proven.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2025Cerebellar haemorrhage and atrophy in infants born extremely preterm with intraventricular haemorrhage.Developmental medicine and child neurologyExtremely preterm infants with both intraventricular and cerebellar haemorrhage had significantly lower motor and cognitive scores at age two. Cerebellar atrophy predicted worse outcomes across all domains. These MRI findings help identify high-risk infants early for targeted therapy and counselling.
• PTOTOther2025The impact of neck pain and movement performance on the interarticular compressive force of the cervical spine: a cross-sectional study based on OpenSim.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with chronic neck pain experienced higher simulated compressive forces in their cervical spine during movement than healthy controls, despite similar range of motion. Stronger neck muscle strength was linked to lower compressive forces, supporting the theoretical basis for strengthening exercises.
• PTOTCohort2025Muscle selection and dosing in patients undergoing treatment with abobotulinumtoxinA for lower limb spasticity in real-world practice.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn real-world practice, clinicians injected a median of 600 units of abobotulinumtoxinA into the lower limbs, targeting six specific muscles. Patients with upper limb spasticity received lower leg doses to stay within total body limits. Most also received concurrent therapy.
• SLPCohort2024Acoustic features of vocalizations in typically developing and autistic infants in the first year.Research in developmental disabilitiesInfants later diagnosed with autism produced cries, whimpers, and protophones that sounded acoustically identical to typically developing infants. However, unlike typically developing infants, those with autism did not adjust their vocal pitch or duration in response to caregiver speech.
• OTSLPCase-Control2024Prenatal exposure to hypoxic risk conditions in autistic and neurotypical youth: Associated ventricular differences, sleep disturbance, and sensory processing.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic youth with prenatal hypoxic risk conditions had significantly larger third ventricles than those without. This structural difference correlated with more sleep disturbances and sensory overresponsivity, suggesting a potential biological link between early oxygen deprivation and specific clinical symptoms.
• SLPOther2024Swallowing Characteristics and Water Swallow Capacity in Patients with Parkinsonism.DysphagiaThin water caused aspiration in 39% of patients, versus 12% for thickened liquid and 2% for solids. Silent aspiration occurred in 28% of the cohort, often without coughing. Swallowing worsened with disease severity, not diagnosis subtype.
• SLPCohort2024Dysphagia Is an Underrecognized Risk Factor for Viral Pneumonia Severity.DysphagiaIn adults aged 50 years or older with symptomatic COVID-19, prior dysphagia was linked to more severe disease within 30 days (65.0% vs 41.3%). The link remained when age, obesity, and other risk factors were taken into account.
• Cohort2024Regional differences in autism and intellectual disability risk associated with cesarean section delivery.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchCesarean delivery was associated with modestly higher odds of autism and intellectual disability, but this link varied by region and weakened after adjustment. The association likely reflects shared maternal health risks rather than the surgery itself causing disability.
• SLPSurvey2024Prevalence of Self-Reported Swallowing Difficulties and Swallowing-Related Quality of Life Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in India.DysphagiaIn Indian community-dwelling older adults, 36.6% self-reported swallowing difficulties and 47.4% reported reduced quality of life. Females reported significantly more difficulties than males. Common complaints were effort with solids, coughing, and food sticking.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2024Social Determinants in COVID-19 Experiences of Children With Disabilities Receiving School-Based Services in Chicago: Mixed-Methods Study of Parent/Guardian Perspectives.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPParents of children with disabilities reported that remote learning and virtual therapy were less effective than in-person services. Key barriers included lack of hands-on interaction, insufficient accommodations, and family financial or housing constraints that limited access to private support.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2024A Comparison of Parent-Reported Severe Autism With Mild/Moderate Autism Among US Children.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPChildren with parent-reported severe autism had higher rates of intellectual disability, language delays, and emergency visits, but were no more likely to receive behavioral therapy or see specialists than those with mild/moderate autism. Caregivers faced significantly higher stress and financial burden.
• PTOTCase-Control2024Interceptive abilities in autism spectrum disorder: Comparing naturalistic and virtual visuomotor tasks.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic boys caught fewer ping-pong balls than neurotypical boys in naturalistic and virtual tasks. Reaction time and quiet standing did not differ, so slower movement or poor balance did not explain the catching difference.
• SLPOther2025Effects of Thickening Agents on the Mucociliary Transport Function: Comparison by the Type of Thickening Agents and the Viscosity of Thickened Water.DysphagiaThickened water slows down the body's natural airway clearance mechanism. Higher viscosity caused significantly longer delays in transporting fluid out of the airways compared to thin water. This suggests that while thickening prevents aspiration, it may make clearing aspirated fluid harder.
• SLPCohort2025Conversational topic maintenance and related cognitive abilities in autistic versus neurotypical children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceVerbally fluent autistic children showed relative difficulties with conversation, but also striking similarities to neurotypical peers. Theory of mind and working memory predicted conversational skill in both groups, suggesting these cognitive abilities support conversation regardless of diagnosis.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025High Intensity Interval Training POst-STroke (HIIT-POST): Perspectives of People Living With Stroke and Health Professionals.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPeople with stroke and clinicians view high-intensity interval training as beneficial but intimidating. The term 'high intensity' limits uptake. Focus education on personalization and relative effort rather than absolute speed. Safety screening and confidence in prescribing remain key barriers to routine use.
• SLPOther2025Accuracy of Dysphagia Screening by Non-clinical Research Staff in the Emergency Department.DysphagiaNon-clinical emergency research staff trained for 4 hours made swallow-screen pass/fail decisions similar to speech-language pathologists in 42 older adults. Agreement was slightly closer for the TOR-BSST than for the 3-ounce water test. This supports research screening, not clinical decisions.
• OTSLPQualitative2025Assistive Technology Uses and Barriers in the Home and Workplace for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAdults with intellectual and developmental disabilities used phones, tablets and smart speakers at home for entertainment, communication and routines. At work, employer phone rules, limited training and job coaches' narrow view of assistive technology restricted use.
• PTOTOther2025Clinical Relevance of the Tonic Stretch Reflex Threshold and μ as Measures of Upper Limb Spasticity and Motor Impairment After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairA portable device measuring the elbow's stretch reflex threshold predicted 72% of upper limb motor impairment variance in stroke survivors. This offers a more objective way to define the specific joint range where muscle activation becomes disordered compared to standard clinical scales.
• PTPilot2025Sway frequencies may predict postural instability in Parkinson's disease: a novel convolutional neural network approach.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA computer model distinguished people with Parkinson's from healthy controls using sway data, achieving 100% accuracy in the side-to-side direction. This pilot study involved only 18 participants, so these high scores likely reflect overfitting rather than a proven clinical test.
• SLPCohort2025SARS-CoV-2 and Dysphagia: A Retrospective Analysis of COVID-19 Patients with Swallowing Disorders.DysphagiaHospitalized COVID-19 patients with neurocognitive disorders or severe respiratory impairment were significantly more likely to develop dysphagia. All patients without respiratory support were negative for swallowing disorders. This identifies high-risk groups needing early speech therapy screening.
• PTOTOther2025Touchscreen-based assessment of upper limb kinematics after stroke: Reliability, validity and sensitivity to motor impairment.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA large touchscreen reaching task produced consistent movement measures in 64 people after stroke and related to standard upper limb tests. In two extreme cases it distinguished best from worst function, but it is not evidence that it changes care.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Incidence of hip problems in developmental central hypotonia: A scoping review.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with developmental central hypotonia face a much higher risk of hip dysplasia and dislocation than the general population. Because standard newborn checks often miss these issues, authors recommend hip ultrasound for all hypotonic infants between 6 weeks and 6 months, followed by ongoing surveillance.
• SLPOther2025Differing relationships between parenting stress, parenting practices and externalising behaviours in autistic children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParenting stress was linked to child externalising behaviours, but specific parenting practices did not mediate this relationship. High stress levels were associated with lower mindful parenting and higher permissive parenting, yet these practices were not directly linked to child behaviour outcomes in this cross-sectional sample.
• PTOther2025Serum metabolomics after exercise in ambulatory individuals with cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAfter functional testing, adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy had serum metabolite profiles that were different from those of typically developing peers, and several metabolite levels tracked with walking and strength only in cerebral palsy.
• SLPPilot2024Experienced Adult Cochlear Implant Users Show Improved Speech Recognition When Target Fitting Parameters Are Applied.Ear and hearingAdjusting cochlear implant settings to widen the dynamic range improved speech recognition in quiet by 4.9% on average for 18 experienced users. However, understanding speech in noise did not improve. All participants eventually accepted the louder settings after a four-week acclimatization period.
• SLPSystematic Review2024Conversation and pragmatics in children who are hard-of-hearing: a scoping review.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationChildren who are hard-of-hearing often struggle with conversation and pragmatics even when their spoken language skills appear age-appropriate. This scoping review found that these difficulties persist into adulthood without targeted intervention, affecting social and educational outcomes.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2024Advice-giving skills in pre-registration physiotherapy training.Physiotherapy theory and practicePhysiotherapy students feel underprepared to give self-management advice, relying heavily on clinical placements rather than academic theory. They struggle with confidence due to assessment pressure and lack of life experience, often tailoring advice to supervisors rather than patients.
• SLPOther2024Coalition for Global Hearing Health Hearing Care Pathways Working Group: Guidelines for Clinical Guidance for Readiness and Development of Evidence-Based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs.Ear and hearingThis guideline provides a roadmap for building early hearing detection programs in low-resource settings. It lists steps for screening, diagnosis, and family support but reports no patient outcomes or clinical trial results to guide individual treatment decisions.
• PTOTSystematic Review2024A Scoping Review of the Predictive Qualities of Walking Speed in Older Adults.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)Self-selected walking speed below about 1.0 m/s in older adults was repeatedly linked to higher risk of mortality, falls, hospitalization, disability, cognitive decline, and low physical activity. It can flag patients needing further assessment or referrals.
• SLPOther2024Reliable Long-Term Serial Evaluation of Cochlear Function Using Pulsed Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions: Analyzing Levels and Pressure Time Courses.Ear and hearingPulsed cochlear emission tests were repeatable in healthy ears, but reliability varied by frequency and emission strength. This does not yet show they diagnose cochlear damage or guide treatment.
• SLPRCT2024Predicting Individual Hearing-Aid Preference From Self-Reported Listening Experiences in Daily Life.Ear and hearingHearing-aid preference could be predicted from daily listening ratings, especially when the app also recorded what the person was listening to and the surrounding sound. Retrospective questionnaire and in-the-moment reports each helped, and together they predicted most choices.
• SLPCohort2024Childhood Listening and Associated Cognitive Difficulties Persist Into Adolescence.Ear and hearingChildren with listening difficulties and normal hearing tests showed persistent gaps in caregiver-reported listening, speech-in-noise skills, and cognition compared to typically developing peers through early adolescence. Maternal education independently predicted listening difficulty severity, even after accounting for cognitive and auditory test scores.
• PTPilot2024The test-induced warm-up effect on hamstring flexibility tests.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liaoPerforming six consecutive trials of hamstring flexibility tests before measurement significantly increased flexibility. This test-induced warm-up effect persisted for at least two minutes, meaning baseline measurements taken without prior trials may underestimate muscle length and overestimate stretching benefits.
• PTQualitative2024The views and experiences of people with myeloma referred for autologous stem cell transplantation, who declined to participate in a physiotherapist-led exercise trial: a qualitative study.Physiotherapy theory and practicePeople with myeloma who declined a physiotherapist-led exercise trial said travel to the London centre was tiring, time-consuming and worrying. They wanted clear activity advice, but most had not received any since diagnosis.
• PTSurvey2024Level of self-efficacy among skill-based allied health students in the University of Santo Tomas-Enriched Virtual Mode of learning: A cross-sectional study.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liaoAllied health students learning online reported very good overall confidence. They were most confident using technology and least confident managing time and using online library resources.
• SLPOther2024Toward Automating Diagnosis of Middle- and Inner-ear Mechanical Pathologies With a Wideband Absorbance Regression Model.Ear and hearingCombining wideband absorbance with air-bone gap data allowed a model to correctly classify 97% of ears with stapes fixation versus superior canal dehiscence. However, the study excluded early-stage cases and those with small gaps, so these high accuracy figures do not yet reflect real-world diagnostic difficulty.
• PTOther2024Electronic health record data extraction: Physical therapists' documentation of physical activity assessments and prescriptions for patients with chronic low back pain.Physiotherapy theory and practicePhysical therapists rarely document formal physical activity assessments or prescriptions for chronic low back pain. Home exercise programs appeared in only 5.4% of encounters. When documented, prescriptions often lacked intensity and frequency details, leaving patients without clear guidance.
• PTCohort2025Lower limb pointing to assess intersegmental dynamics after incomplete spinal cord injury and the associated role of proprioceptive impairments.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with incomplete spinal cord injury used different muscle strategies than controls to point their toe, even when the movement looked accurate. Poorer ability to detect movement speed, not joint position, correlated with these compensatory strategies.
• PTOTRCT2025Evaluation of a Game-Based Mechatronic Device for Rehabilitation of Hand-Arm Function in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesChildren with cerebral palsy using a game-based robotic handle improved hand dexterity and visual-motor skills more than those receiving standard physical therapy. All 34 children completed the 8-week program with no adverse events, suggesting the device is feasible and engaging for home or clinic use.
• SLPCohort2025Association between Swallowing Outcomes and Dose to Critical Swallow Structures in Patients Undergoing Transoral Robotic Surgery and Post-Operative Radiation Therapy.DysphagiaIn patients undergoing surgery and radiation for throat cancer, radiation to the neck alone resulted in better swallowing quality of life at 12 months than radiation to the primary site and neck. Higher radiation doses to specific swallowing muscles were associated with worse outcomes.
• PTOTPilot2025Augmented Reality Exergames for Upcoming Cognitive-Motor Rehabilitation: User-Centered Design Approach and User Experience of Healthy Children.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesHealthy children rated the augmented reality cognitive-motor games as easy to use and reported positive emotions, but physical and mental fatigue increased after sessions. The games are not yet tested in children with cerebral palsy or acquired brain injury.