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 677 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTRCT2025A Randomized Control Trial of a Virtually Delivered Program for Increasing Upper Limb Activity After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairA three-week virtual upper limb programme (twice-daily home exercises, a wrist-worn movement counter with feedback, and six therapist video sessions) produced 368 more reach-and-grasp movements a day than usual care at four weeks. The difference only just reached significance (P = .046).
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Comparing adaptations from blood flow restriction exercise training using regulated or unregulated pressure systems: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationWhether the cuff pressure was regulated or fixed before exercise made no difference to gains in strength or muscle size. Blood flow restriction training itself gave only small gains over the same exercise without it.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Efficacy and tolerability of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in patients with plantar fasciopathy: a systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineESWT for plantar fasciopathy was well tolerated: adherence 82.19% to 100%, dropout 7.78%, side effects mostly minor. Pooled pain scores fell 2.818 points after focal and 3.038 after radial ESWT, but those are pre-to-post changes within ESWT groups, not a comparison against control.
• PTSystematic Review2024Exercise and Musculoskeletal Health in Men With Low Bone Mineral Density: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationTwice-weekly resistance training maintained or increased bone density at the spine and hip in men with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Five men having machine-based compression training developed new spinal fractures. Lower-impact options such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong did not improve bone density.
• PTSystematic Review2024A systematic review: impact of dry needling, isometric, and eccentric exercises on pain and function in individuals with patellar tendinopathy.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesEccentric exercise and dry needling improved pain and function in athletes with jumper's knee over weeks to months; isometric holds relieved pain in the short term only. The nine trials were too small and too varied to say which works best.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2023Prevalence and risks factors of caregiving-related low back pain among caregivers of stroke survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineAbout half of people caring for a stroke survivor get low back pain from caregiving (53.9% pooled across the 5 included studies). In the pooled analysis, men and women did not differ significantly, and neither did partial and complete caregivers.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Rehabilitation and COVID-19: systematic review by Cochrane Rehabilitation.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineBreathing exercises, strengthening and telerehabilitation showed some benefit for breathlessness and exercise capacity after COVID across 53 randomised trials, but the evidence is too weak to guide practice. In long COVID, telerehabilitation's improvement in exercise capacity was judged not clinically relevant.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions on Return to Work After a Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of occupational rehabilitationCombining four of the eight trials, exercise helped more cancer survivors return to work than usual care, but only two individual studies showed a significant benefit, and both trials where return to work was the main outcome found none.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Efficacy of Prolotherapy for Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Journal of rehabilitation medicineDextrose injections eased pain and improved function in knee, hand and hip osteoarthritis more than saline, exercise, steroid or radiofrequency in most of 14 randomised trials. Platelet-rich plasma and other injections beat dextrose in others, and the review rated the overall risk of bias high.
• PTRCT2023Treatment preference changes after exposure to treatment in adults with chronic low back pain.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationAdults with chronic low back pain rated a familiar strength and flexibility programme lower a year after doing it, and a less familiar movement-retraining programme higher. In the familiar programme, the people who got the least pain relief dropped their rating the most.
• PTRCT2022Methodologic implications for rehabilitation research: Differences in heart rate variability introduced by respiration.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationNormal breathing during heart rate variability recording inflates low-frequency power and skews a commonly reported ratio, because breathing itself shows up in that signal. Pacing people at 15 breaths a minute removed the confusion, and the two recordings disagreed too much to be used interchangeably.
• PTOTRCT2022Efficacy and feasibility of SENSory relearning of the UPPer limb (SENSUPP) in people with chronic stroke: A pilot randomized controlled trial.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationAdding sensory relearning to task-specific training improved touch thresholds more than task training alone in 27 people with chronic stroke, but no other measure differed between the groups. Both groups improved in daily hand use, and the trial was too small to confirm benefit.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Spasticity After Upper Motor Neuron Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationShock wave therapy reduced spasticity scores more than sham or usual rehabilitation when 26 trials were pooled, but the evidence was rated low quality and most included trials had a high risk of bias. A single session did nothing.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection in Non-Operative Treatment of Partial-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePRP injections eased pain and improved shoulder function more than placebo at every follow-up point in 641 people with partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, and more than steroid injections or physiotherapy at 8 to 12 weeks and past 24 weeks. The authors call the result not robust.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022The Relationship of Aging and Smoking With Rotator Cuff Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationRotator cuff disease is much more common with age: every 10 years was linked to 1.20 times the odds, and people of 50 or over had 6.97 times the odds of those under 40. Smoking results were inconsistent.
• PTRCT2022Structured guideline-based physiotherapy reduces difficulties in activities of daily living in Parkinson's disease.NeuroRehabilitationEight weeks of twice-weekly group physiotherapy built around Parkinson's guideline recommendations reduced how hard 24 people with Parkinson's found everyday activities. The control group, who had usual care, did not improve. The trial was small and the outcome measure was new.
• PTRCT2022Does electrical stimulation synchronized with ankle movements better improve ankle proprioception and gait kinematics in chronic stroke? A randomized controlled study.NeuroRehabilitationTiming electrical stimulation to passive ankle movement did not improve ankle proprioception in chronic stroke. It did beat stimulation alone for ankle range of motion into supination and pronation and for dorsiflexion strength, but balance, walking speed and function did not differ between groups.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2022Systematic Review of Functional Outcomes in Cancer Rehabilitation.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationMost studies in this review found rehabilitation improved function for people with cancer, across daily activities, fatigue, walking, thinking and quality of life. But 102 of 362 (28%) found no significant benefit on their main outcome, and results could not be pooled.
• PTSystematic Review2021Behavior Change Techniques in Physical Activity Interventions for Multiple Sclerosis.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationThe most common ingredients in physical activity programs for MS were instruction in the activity, social support, a credible source and demonstration. Programs using 15 or more techniques were more likely to report activity rising, but the review cannot tell which technique mattered.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Over the Supplementary Motor Area on Motor Function in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAcross seven trials of 374 people with Parkinson's disease, rTMS aimed at the supplementary motor area improved UPDRS-III motor scores more than sham. The trials disagreed widely, so how big that benefit is remains uncertain.
• PTRCT2025The effects of microprocessor prosthetic knee use in early rehabilitation: A pilot randomized controlled trial.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationWith a new above-knee amputation, a microprocessor knee did not give significantly better walking and mobility test scores than a standard knee. Users did report better mobility, balance confidence and community reintegration, but only 15 people finished the study.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation for pain, disability, and kinesiophobia in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineRepetitive magnetic stimulation added to rehabilitation reduced pain and disability in adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain, but not fear of movement. The eight trials were small, rated very low quality, and in several the stimulation was given alongside exercise.
• PTRCT2025Gait Responses in People with Parkinson Disease During Autonomous Closed-loop Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation: An Exploratory Analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairAll 13 participants sped up when the system raised the music tempo mid-walk, taking faster, longer steps and keeping roughly to the beat. Their walking rhythm did not get steadier during the walk, and six weeks of use changed little.
• PTSystematic Review2025Systematic Review of Workplace Interventions to Support Young Workers' Safety, Work Environment and Health.Journal of occupational rehabilitationAcross 33 studies of workers aged 15 to 29, no workplace intervention had enough evidence behind it to change practice. Mindfulness, meditation and yoga did not reduce stress, and that was the strongest result.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Effectiveness of sensor-based interventions in improving gait and balance performance in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSensor-based training with biofeedback outperformed traditional exercise on walking and balance tests in older adults, but average gains were small. The Timed Up and Go and gait speed improvements fell short of what patients would notice, and wearable sensors showed no clear benefit.
• PTOTRCT2024Stepped collaborative care for pain and posttraumatic stress disorder after major trauma: a randomized controlled feasibility trial.Disability and rehabilitationCase management after major trauma was practical and well received: all 17 people offered it took part, most were engaged, and none were harmed. But PTSD symptoms fell equally in both groups, and the intervention group reported more pain at 3 and 6 months.
• PTSystematic Review2024Do proprioceptive training strategies with dual-task exercises positively influence gait parameters in chronic stroke? A systematic review.Journal of rehabilitation medicineTherapy that adds a second task to balance and walking work was followed by faster walking, longer steps and higher cadence in adults more than six months after stroke. The 11 studies were too varied to pool, so no single version is proven better.
• PTSystematic Review2024Exercise-based telerehabilitation for patients with multiple sclerosis using physical activity: a systematic review.Journal of rehabilitation medicineSix of ten trials found telerehabilitation beat usual care for walking, strength or motor function in multiple sclerosis, but the trials tested different exercises, outcomes and lengths, so no particular programme can be recommended. Adherence fell as programmes got longer.
• PTRCT2023Parent factors associated with BMI, diet, and physical activity of adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.Disability and health journalParents with higher BMI, lower income or less education had adolescents with higher BMI z-scores. Diet and activity were poor across the whole group, and parent BMI and income did not predict them. Cause cannot be shown.
• PTRCT2023The association of increased body mass index on cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and cognition in adults with down syndrome.Disability and health journalAdults with Down syndrome who had obesity reached lower peak fitness than those of healthy weight or overweight (18.4 versus 22.9 ml/kg/min), but their activity levels and thinking scores were no different. The measurements were taken at one time point, so this cannot show cause.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023The Effect of Upper Cervical Mobilization/Manipulation on Temporomandibular Joint Pain, Maximal Mouth Opening, and Pressure Pain Thresholds: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationUpper cervical mobilization or manipulation on its own produced small improvements in TMJ pain and mouth opening, both below the authors' thresholds for a clinically meaningful change, and no change in jaw pressure pain thresholds. Just 8 small trials.
• PTRCT2023Associations between protective resources and family functioning after traumatic brain injury: A cross-sectional study using a structural equation modeling approach.NeuroRehabilitationAcross 122 people with TBI and their family members, higher resilience, self-efficacy and mental health quality of life went with better family functioning: more cohesion, flexibility, communication and satisfaction. The link was strong but everything was measured at one time, so it cannot show which comes first.
• PTSystematic Review2023A Systematic Review of the Learning Dynamics of Proprioception Training: Specificity, Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairTraining that specifically challenges proprioception improves proprioception more than general strength or routine training, and gains were largely still present at follow-up. Most of the 106 studies were small, and the review pooled before-and-after change within groups rather than comparing training with a control.
• OTRCT2023Acceptance and commitment therapy for individuals with depressive and anxiety symptoms following acquired brain injury: A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across four cases.Neuropsychological rehabilitationThree of four adults with depression or anxiety after stroke or TBI improved on daily mood ratings during eight sessions of ACT, and their gains held a year later. The fourth did not improve, and his questionnaire scores later rose above his starting point.
• PTRCT2023The effects of dynamic motion instability system training on motor function and balance after stroke: A randomized trial.NeuroRehabilitationAdding 20 minutes of standing sliding-plate training to conventional rehabilitation improved lower-limb movement and walking more than conventional rehabilitation plus general balance training. Balance scores improved by the same amount in both groups.
• PTRCT2023A longitudinal assessment of posttraumatic stress symptoms and pain catastrophizing after injury.Rehabilitation psychologyAfter mostly minor car-crash injuries, post-traumatic stress symptoms predicted how catastrophic patients' thinking about pain was at 90 days, and pre-injury stress symptoms predicted it too. Those given the PTSD Coach app scored lower, but that difference was not significant (p = 0.064).
• OTRCT2023A short add-on sleep intervention in the rehabilitation of individuals with acquired brain injury: A randomized controlled trial.NeuroRehabilitationAdding a short sleep programme to usual rehabilitation improved sleep quality far more than usual rehabilitation alone: mean scores, where higher is worse, fell from 10.65 to 6.09 against 11.11 to 10.44. Fatigue, anxiety and depression did not differ between groups.
• PTSystematic Review2022The Effectiveness of Self-Guided Digital Interventions to Improve Physical Activity and Exercise Outcomes for People With Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesSelf-guided digital exercise programmes, used with no ongoing therapist input, helped adults with long-term conditions move a little more by their own report, and the gain lasted after the programme ended. Device-measured activity showed no clear benefit.
• PTSystematic Review2022Effectiveness of (Active) Lifestyle Interventions in People With a Lower Limb Amputation: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationExercise-based programmes appeared to help people with a lower limb amputation walk further, get fitter, improve their balance and fall less, and stress-management programmes eased distress. But the 13 trials were small, most had serious flaws, and nothing tested diet, smoking or alcohol.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Effect of muscle strength training in children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationIn children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy, strength training gave small gains in lower-limb strength and walking speed, larger gains in standing balance, and small improvements in gross motor function. It did not make spasticity worse.
• OTSystematic Review2022Remote Assessments of Hand Function in Neurological Disorders: Systematic Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesRemote tools show promise for measuring hand function, but none is yet valid and reliable across Parkinson's disease, stroke and MS. Finger tapping and hand tremor matched in-clinic scores best. Most reported links to clinic measures were not significant, and few studies checked reliability.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Mindfulness Training in People With Upper Motor Neuron Disorders: A Systematic Review.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationIn MS, brain injury, spinal cord injury and ALS, 85% of people who started a mindfulness programme finished it, and satisfaction averaged 4.6 out of 5. Depression, anxiety and fatigue fell, but far less when the comparison group got another active treatment.
• OTSystematic Review2021Effects of Nonpharmacological Interventions on Disruptive Vocalisation in Nursing Home Patients With Dementia-A Systematic Review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAcross 23 randomised trials in nursing homes, 14 reduced vocally disruptive behaviour with nonpharmacological approaches, 7 found no change and 2 made it worse. Individualised, tailored multicomponent plans had the most support; massage, aromatherapy and therapeutic touch did not.
• PTSystematic Review2021Digital Therapeutic Care and Decision Support Interventions for People With Low Back Pain: Systematic Review.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPeople using app-based back pain programmes reported less pain and better function in all 12 studies reviewed, but only 4 of 6 randomised trials beat their comparison group, and 2 found no difference on pain. Most non-randomised evidence was at serious risk of bias.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Effects of kinesio taping in patients undergoing knee or hip arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAfter knee replacement, adding kinesio tape to usual rehabilitation reduced pain in the first week, lessened thigh and ankle swelling, and improved knee movement and function scores. The pain benefit was gone by follow-up, and taping did not reduce pain after hip replacement.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025The Detrimental Effect of Stroke on Motor Adaptation.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPeople who had a stroke adapted to a disrupted reaching, eye-movement or walking task less well than age-matched controls, a medium-sized gap. Late adaptation was reduced as well, and reaching and walking tasks were affected to a similar degree.
• PTRCT2025Combining procedural and behavioral treatments for chronic low back pain: A pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationVideo-based CBT improved back-related disability at three months far more than a self-directed book-and-telephone programme, by about 6 points on a 24-point scale. Radiofrequency nerve ablation did not clearly help. With 13 male Veterans, the trial is too small to settle anything.
• PTRCT2025Daily physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in adults with Down syndrome with and without congenital heart disease.Disability and health journalAdults with Down syndrome who had also had surgery for a congenital heart defect did less moderate-to-vigorous activity (10.0 vs 13.3 minutes a day) than those without, but their treadmill fitness was no different. Both groups were far below activity guidelines.
• PTSystematic Review2025Effectiveness of Vestibular Rehabilitation in Children Post-Concussion: A Systematic Review.International journal of sports physical therapyVestibular rehabilitation may help dizziness, balance and gait problems after concussion in children, but the evidence is weak and inconsistent. The 12 included studies disagreed with each other, only three were randomised, and most children received other treatments at the same time.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Core Training for Pain Management and Functional Improvement in Patients With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationExercise that adds hip and knee strengthening to a knee-only programme eased patellofemoral pain and improved function in the short term; hip-only training did no better than knee training alone. The pain evidence is very weak.