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 592 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOther2025Discordance Between Balance Ability and Perception and Its Relation to Falls in Parkinson's Disease: A Replication Analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn 171 people with Parkinson's disease, mismatch between Timed Up and Go balance ability and perceived confidence was associated with faller status over the previous 12 months.
• PTRCT2025User accommodation to an active microprocessor-controlled knee in individuals with unilateral transfemoral amputation: a 5-week non-randomized trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOver five weekly tests, seven people with above-knee amputation had slower L-test time and dual-task walking speed with an active powered knee than their current prosthesis. Level and slope speed did not differ, L-test performance did not improve, and L-test comfort was lower.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Optimizing the dynamic treatment regime of outpatient rehabilitation in patients with knee osteoarthritis using reinforcement learning.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA reinforcement learning model suggested alternative treatment combinations for knee osteoarthritis patients. The best algorithm predicted higher cumulative pain relief scores than those actually received, with a 79.1% success rate in simulations. This does not prove better clinical outcomes.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Enhancing anticipation control of the posture system in the elderly wearing stroboscopic glasses.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOlder adults wearing stroboscopic glasses during balance training showed larger sway and increased open-loop control. This suggests they relied more on internal body awareness and less on visual feedback to maintain posture. It is a single-session lab study, not a clinical trial.
• Other2025Beat-aligned motor synergies and kinematic beat detection in street dance movements.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAnalyzing dance movements by breaking them into segments between music beats improved how well the computer detected the rhythm compared to previous methods. This approach better captures the timing of body movements relative to the music.
• Systematic Review2025Psychosocial Functioning for Preschool-Aged Siblings of Children With Chronic Disorders: A Scoping Review.Child: care, health and developmentEvidence on preschool siblings of children with chronic disorders is sparse and mostly focuses on autism risk. Most studies report higher psychosocial difficulties, but results are inconsistent and cannot separate the sibling experience from shared genetic risk.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Assessment of cortical activity, functional connectivity, and neuroplasticity in cerebral palsy using functional near-infrared spectroscopy: A scoping review.Developmental medicine and child neurologyFunctional near-infrared spectroscopy is feasible for measuring brain activity in cerebral palsy, showing exaggerated motor cortex activation during tasks. However, small samples and a lack of reliability data mean these findings cannot yet guide clinical treatment decisions or track intervention progress.
• SLPOther2025Sleep-Associated Traits and Hearing Difficulties in Noise: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Study.Ear and hearingGenetic data suggests sleeping less and dozing during the day may increase the risk of hearing difficulties in noise, while getting up easily in the morning may protect against them. However, hearing difficulties in noise may also cause changes in sleep patterns and morning ease.
• SLPOther2025Individual Differences in the Recognition of Spectrally Degraded Speech: Associations With Neurocognitive Functions in Adult Cochlear Implant Users and With Noise-Vocoded Simulations.Trends in hearingCognitive skills like reasoning and word retrieval help adults with cochlear implants understand degraded speech. However, normal-hearing people listening to simulated implant speech use different cognitive strategies, so these simulations do not accurately reflect how actual implant users process sound.
• PTOTOther2025Noncontact of the unilateral hallux with the ground reduces forward limits of stability while standing.Journal of physical therapy scienceTaping the big toe off the ground reduced how far people could lean forward without stepping. This effect was stronger when leaning toward the taped side. Quiet standing balance was unaffected, suggesting the toe matters mainly during forward reaching tasks.
• PTRCT2025Beneficial Effects of the Novel Digital Incentive Spirometer Device and Incentive Spirometer in Patients Undergoing Open-Heart Surgery: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesA new digital incentive spirometer did not improve lung function or breathing muscle strength better than a standard device in patients after open-heart surgery. Both groups experienced declines in these measures by day 5, with no significant difference between the two devices.
• PTOther2025Early Mobility and Rehabilitation Protocol after Internal Brace Ankle Stabilization.International journal of sports physical therapyThis paper proposes a 12-week early mobility protocol after internal brace ankle stabilization, moving from non-weight bearing to sport-specific training. It is a descriptive guide based on expert opinion and biomechanical data, not a study of patient outcomes.
• PTOther2025Relationship between physical function and quality of life based on treatment timing in patients with advanced lung cancer.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn advanced lung cancer, patients on best supportive care had much worse walking, endurance, independence, fatigue and quality-of-life scores than those starting treatment. Walking speed was closely linked to daily function, fatigue and social life.
• SLPQualitative2025Easy Read… Easy English… Plain Language? Decision-Making in the Production of 'Easy' Information in Australia.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAustralian providers of easy-read materials disagree on whether terms like Easy Read and Easy English mean the same thing. They set reading levels between Grade 1 and 9 and choose photos or symbols based on who they think will use the document. No single format suits all audiences.
• PTOther2025Muscle weakness but also contractures contribute to the progressive gait pathology in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a simulation study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWeakness was the main driver of gait deviations in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, while stiffness and contractures added further deviations; foot arch collapse helped explain the flexion pattern.
• SLPCohort2025Is there a difference in the results of the video head impulse test in patients with a nosological diagnosis of Ménière's Disease and Vestibular Migraine?CoDASVideo head impulse test results could not reliably distinguish between patients with Ménière's disease and those with vestibular migraine. The tests showed similar patterns of dizziness and eye movement issues in both groups, so these results alone should not be used to confirm one diagnosis over the other.
• SLPQualitative2025Portrayal of Deaf characters in Korean movies.Journal of deaf studies and deaf educationSix Korean movies with Deaf main characters overwhelmingly portrayed deafness as a medical problem to be fixed or a source of isolation, rather than a cultural identity. Deaf people were rarely involved in making these films, and hearing characters were often shown as the saviors.
• SLPCohort2025Rethinking speech sound disorder (SSD) in non-syndromic cleft lip and palate: The importance of recognizing phonological and language difficulties.International journal of language & communication disordersChildren with cleft palate and phonological speech errors had significantly lower language scores than those with typical speech or cleft-specific articulation errors. The combined phonological and cleft group was over ten times more likely to have expressive language difficulties, warranting full language assessment.
• Survey2025Anxiety, Depression and Stress in Parents and Siblings of People Who Have Prader-Willi Syndrome: Morbidity Prevalence and Mitigating Factors.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRParents of people with Prader-Willi syndrome report high anxiety, depression, and stress, especially when the person lives at home. Family cohesion buffers these symptoms in parents and siblings, while social support from friends helps reduce parental depression.
• SLPOther2025Measuring Speech Discrimination Ability in Sleeping Infants Using fNIRS-A Proof of Principle.Trends in hearingfNIRS can measure speech discrimination in sleeping infants. Responses varied by sound contrast and ear tested. The left ear showed slower responses than the right. This supports using fNIRS for early auditory assessment without waking the baby.
• PTOther2025Examination of reliability and validity in measuring isometric ankle plantar flexion strength using a handheld dynamometer with a belt and metal plate.Journal of physical therapy scienceA handheld dynamometer setup with a belt and metal plate showed good repeatability within examiners but weak agreement between them. Crucially, it failed to correlate with the gold standard isokinetic dynamometer, meaning it may not accurately measure true ankle strength in males.
• PTOTPilot2025The Czech Fugl-Meyer assessment for post-stroke sensorimotor function: translation and cross-cultural adaptation and validation.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe Czech Fugl-Meyer Assessment showed sufficient agreement between two physiotherapists scoring the same patients. Minor wording changes fixed translation issues, but the small sample means it is not yet proven reliable for all stroke severities.
• Other2025A multi-label deep residual shrinkage network for high-density surface electromyography decomposition in real-time.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA new EMG decoding method reduced processing delay to 15.15 ms, but another model was more accurate at longer signal windows. Both were tested only on static calf muscle contractions in 16 participants, not on patient outcomes.
• SLPCohort2025Self-perception of stuttering: association with self-perception of hearing, fluency profile, and contextual aspects.CoDASAdults who stuttered rated their hearing difficulties as worse when they felt stuttering impacted their life more. Objective speech fluency counts did not track with these self-perceived impacts. Occupation was the only background factor linked to how much stuttering affected daily life.
• Qualitative2025'Smiling and Talking Slowly': A Qualitative Study on the Ideal Ophthalmologist From the Perspective of Adults With Intellectual Disabilities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRAdults with intellectual disabilities described an ideal ophthalmologist as someone who smiles, speaks slowly, and talks directly to them rather than their caregivers. They valued clear, slow explanations and demonstrations before eye tests to reduce anxiety and help them cooperate with equipment.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Global availability of guidelines related to assistive technology: a scoping review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAcross 24 guidelines, most cover mobility, hearing, vision, self-care and continence, but few address cognition or communication. Many recommendations rest on weak evidence.
• OTSurvey2025Food selectivity and eating difficulties in adults with autism and/or ADHD.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAdults with autism, ADHD, or both reported more eating difficulties than adults without these diagnoses. Autism groups had the highest scores. Insistence on sameness, autistic features, food selectivity, and hyperactivity-impulsivity were linked to more eating problems.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025A Tele-Coaching Pilot Study: An Innovative Approach to Enhance Motor Skills in Adolescents With Down Syndrome.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAdolescents with Down syndrome improved on one specific balance test and lowered their systolic blood pressure after 15 weeks of remote, game-based exercise. However, their overall motor coordination, walking distance, and cognitive scores did not change significantly. This is a small pilot without a control group, so these gains might just be practice or natural variation.
• PTOther2025Intra- and inter-rater reliability of anterior and posterior drawer tests for the assessment of people with shoulder instability.Clinical rehabilitationTwo physiotherapists grading shoulder laxity agreed well with each other and almost perfectly with themselves. The anterior drawer test was more reliable than the posterior one. Using a simplified pass/fail grading system improved agreement further. These manual tests are consistent tools for assessing instability.
• PTOTSLPRCT2025Sleep Following a Stroke: Multimodal Evaluation of Sleep Health and Disruptions and Impact on Recovery During Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairSleep improved slightly during acute stroke rehab but remained poor, with 77% of nights disrupted by care tasks. Better sleep was not associated with greater functional recovery in this cohort. Prioritize reducing environmental noise and interruptions.
• OTSLPOther2025Waiting Times and Influencing Factors in Children and Adults Undergoing Assessment for Autism, ADHD, and Other Neurodevelopmental Differences.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren waited a median 525 days and adults 252 days for diagnosis. Complex histories lengthened children's waits but shortened adults' waits. Meeting quality standards was not clearly linked to longer waits.
• SLPPilot2025The effects of a brief intervention at home based on shared reading to promote children's oral language.CoDASMothers who received brief shared-reading guidance used more language strategies, and their children showed higher scores after the sessions. This small study cannot show the guidance caused the gains.
• Other2025Exploring EEG resting state differences in autism: sparse findings from a large cohort.Molecular autismAnalysis of resting-state EEG in 776 participants found little evidence for reliable differences between autistic and neurotypical groups. While some effects appeared, most failed replication testing. This suggests autism diagnosis alone is too heterogeneous to identify clear EEG biomarkers.
• PTOther2025An examination of the intra-rater reliability of the Y Balance test for high school female athletes.Journal of physical therapy scienceFor female high school athletes, the Y Balance test shows high reliability when using the average of the third, fourth, and fifth trials. Earlier trials often show a learning effect, so discarding the first two attempts yields more consistent balance scores.
• PTOTRCT2025Tele-rehabilitation using transcranial direct current stimulation combined with exercise in people with spinal cord injury: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdding active tDCS to home tele-exercise improved upper limb motor scores by 4.2 points at one month, meeting the threshold for clinical importance. Lower limb function, sensation, strength, spasticity, and independence showed no difference between groups.
• SLPCase-Control2025Altered interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during face-to-face interaction in autistic individuals: a dual eye-tracking study.Molecular autismAutistic adults initiated eye contact less often and broke it off more frequently than neurotypical adults, especially while listening. They also reported the interaction as more stressful and less enjoyable. This suggests reduced eye contact is driven by active avoidance rather than indifference.
• SLPOther2025Clinical Swallow Examination Following Laryngectomy: An International e-Delphi Consensus Process.DysphagiaInternational speech pathologists agreed on 34 items for examining swallowing after laryngectomy. The framework drops standard checks like voice quality and aspiration, focusing instead on effort, backflow, and the patient's history to match this population's unique anatomy.
• OTOther2025Sexual Health Literacy Among Adults With Intellectual Disabilities: A Scoping Review.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRNo included study focused on sexual health literacy. Adults with intellectual disabilities had limited reliable sexual education and little privacy or choice, because assumptions of vulnerability, non-sexuality and incompetence restricted their relationships.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2025Factors inhibiting social activities among adult daycare users.Journal of physical therapy scienceAmong 119 adult day care users, those not joining social activities often lacked confidence in health, feared public transport, and worried about hearing loss or being alone. Living only with a spouse or alone was more common among active users.
• SLPSystematic Review2025Tactile, thermal and gustatory stimulation therapy in the treatment of post-stroke oropharyngeal dysphagia: a scoping review.CoDASOnly three studies examined cold stimulation for post-stroke swallowing. One trial found capsaicin improved swallowing scores over seven days, while two older studies showed mixed duration changes. No studies tested taste stimulation alone. Evidence is too sparse to change practice.
• SLPCohort2025Gesture screening in young infants: Highly sensitive to risk factors for communication delay.International journal of language & communication disordersGesture scores tracked biological risk factors more reliably than vocabulary scores. However, vocabulary reports from lower-income and younger mothers were unexpectedly high, suggesting parents may overestimate language skills based on milestones. Gesture assessment appears less prone to this reporting bias.
• Qualitative2025Frontline Staff and Trainer Perspectives on Implementing and Adhering to Positive Behaviour Support in Intellectual Disabilities Care: A Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDFrontline staff found positive behaviour support training clear and useful, but applying it was hard: only half read the full manual, 8 of 12 could not apply it without the manual, and PBS was not formally in service policy.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2025The impact of community engagement on belief conflicts arising during interdisciplinary collaboration among daycare rehabilitation professionals.Journal of physical therapy scienceDaycare rehab staff reported fewer disagreements with colleagues and families when they understood other professions' roles, knew local resources, and had a network to consult. Building these community connections may help reduce workplace friction.
• OTSLPNarrative Review2024Some Challenging Questions About Outcomes in Children With Cochlear Implants.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsEarly implantation alone does not guarantee good outcomes. Consistent full-time device use, comorbidities, and family context drive results. Clinicians should monitor daily wear time and use a biopsychosocial framework to identify barriers to listening and spoken language development.
• PTOther2025Gait speed-dependent modulation of paretic versus non-paretic propulsion in persons with chronic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAfter stroke, walking faster did not make peak push more balanced between legs. It did make total push over time more balanced, especially in people with greater asymmetry at comfortable speed.
• PTQualitative2025Facilitators and Barriers for Physiotherapists to Engage in Goal-Setting With Patients During Their Hospital Stay-An Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyPhysiotherapists rarely document goals because they view mobility as an inherent duty and find the electronic record field too small and poorly placed. They also feel discouraged by a lack of interprofessional engagement, believing their notes are not read by doctors or nurses.
• SLPOther2025Altered Patterns of Dynamic Functional Connectivity Underpin Reduced Expressions of Social-Emotional Reciprocity in Autistic Adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic male Responders showed lower reciprocity and less frequent brain network switching during repeated money-sharing than non-autistic Responders. This is a social reciprocity difference, not a treatment effect.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025Exploring the influence of hospital context on acute care physical therapy fall prevention practice: A qualitative study.Physiotherapy theory and practiceTen acute care physical therapists described mobility promotion as the central fall prevention strategy, yet found it consistently blocked by nursing guidelines, staff shortages, and lack of equipment. They viewed their role as educating nurses and planning safe discharges rather than delivering direct treatment.
• SLPOther2025Montreal Cognitive Assessment Hearing Impairment (MoCA-H): cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese.CoDASThe Montreal Cognitive Assessment for hearing impairment was adapted into Brazilian Portuguese. Older adults with hearing loss struggled with visuospatial and abstract reasoning tasks. The test is now available for clinicians to screen cognition in this population.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Proprioception After Unilateral Stroke: Changes in the Affected and Unaffected Lower Limbs Over Time.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyAnkle proprioception declined linearly over time after unilateral stroke, affecting both the injured and the seemingly healthy leg. The unaffected side could not serve as a reliable baseline. Clinicians should assess both limbs and monitor deficits from the acute phase onwards.