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 680 OF 704 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPRCT2024Effectiveness of orofacial myofunctional intervention to mitigate facial aging signs: a clinical trial.CoDASAdding surface EMG biofeedback to orofacial myofunctional therapy made no difference to facial wrinkles or to chewing, swallowing and speech, only to how satisfied the women felt. Nine weekly sessions improved chewing and swallowing. Wrinkle gains faded after eight weeks off.
• PTSystematic Review2024Use of posturography in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A systematic review.The South African journal of physiotherapyPeople with ankylosing spondylitis sway more than healthy people their age when standing on a force platform, and closing their eyes makes it worse. Five small studies point the same way. Balance is worth checking in this group, but no treatment was tested here.
• SLPSystematic Review2024Parent-reported outcome measures evaluating communication in individuals with rare neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review.International journal of language & communication disordersOf 16 parent-report communication measures used in rare neurodevelopmental disorders, only six have any validation for these conditions. On several, the most severely affected children score zero on most items, so a low score may reflect the tool rather than the child.
• SLPSystematic Review2024Comparative Efficacy of Cognitive Training for Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairAdding working memory training to speech and language therapy improved overall aphasia severity, spontaneous speech, repetition and naming more than therapy alone across 11 trials. Virtual reality-based cognitive training plus therapy came out top for understanding spoken language.
• PTRCT2024Emergency Department-Based Physical Function Measures for Falls in Older Adults and Outcomes: A Secondary Analysis of GAPcare.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)Taking longer over the Timed-Up-and-Go, or being unable to do it, went with being admitted or sent to a nursing home rather than going home after an ED fall visit; AM-PAC six clicks scores followed the same pattern. No measure predicted a fall-related ED visit.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Cognitive approaches in the rehabilitation of upper limbs function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineAdding action observation therapy to usual rehabilitation did not significantly improve upper limb function in children with cerebral palsy when five trials were pooled. Individual trials reported gains, and mirror therapy trials also reported improvements, but mirror therapy could not be pooled.
• OTRCT2024Behavioral Intervention that Extends Sleep Duration Leads to Greater Self-Control in School-Aged Children.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPChildren aged 8 to 11 who slept 9.5 hours or less a night and got a brief behavioural sleep programme slept longer and their caregivers rated them as more self-controlled than controls. Caregivers knew which group their child was in.
• SLPRCT2024Effectiveness of the HEAR-Aware App for Adults Not Ready for Hearing Aids, but Open to Self-Management Support: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Ear and hearingThe app did not change overall readiness to act on hearing problems: no difference between the app group and the control group on the main measure. Readiness to deal with feelings about hearing did rise, but slipped back after the app stopped.
• SLPRCT2024Prophylactic Swallowing Therapy During Head-and-Neck Cancer Radiotherapy: Effect of Service-Delivery Mode and Overall Adherence Level on Swallowing Function and Muscle Strength-the PRESTO Trial.DysphagiaHow swallowing exercises were delivered made no difference: paper, app and face-to-face with a therapist gave the same swallowing function. Patients who completed at least 75% of the prescribed exercises had better preserved swallowing and stronger tongue muscles.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2023A systematic review and meta-analysis of suicidality in autistic and possibly autistic people without co-occurring intellectual disability.Molecular autismPooled across 36 studies, 34.2% of autistic and possibly autistic people without intellectual disability reported suicidal thoughts, 21.9% had made a suicide plan and 24.3% had attempted suicide. Rates were much lower when a parent reported them than when the person did.
• PTOTRCT2022Changes in physical activity across a 6-month weight loss intervention in adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRActivity barely moved: moderate-to-vigorous activity rose about 4.5 minutes a day, from 15.2 to 19.7, and did not reach significance. Only 2 of 30 met the 60 minute a day goal at six months.
• SLPRCT2022Evaluation of the I-PLAN Intervention to Promote Hearing Aid Use in New Adult Users: a Randomized Controlled Trial.Ear and hearingA hearing aid box used as a reminder backfired: reported hearing aid use fell (73.4% versus 79.9% of the time) and self-regulation fell too. A written when-and-where plan raised reported use (81.0% versus 71.8%). Hearing aid benefit was unchanged.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2022Atypical structural connectivity of language networks in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging studies.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchPeople with autism showed weaker white matter connections in the tracts that carry language, most clearly in children and on the left side of the brain. Adults showed little difference on the main measure. No treatment was tested.
• PTRCT2022Impact of mindfulness training on emotion regulation in multiple sclerosis: Secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial.Rehabilitation psychologyPeople with multiple sclerosis who did a four-week mindfulness group used acceptance more often when worry or rumination hit, and the other two groups did not. Their use of unhelpful strategies such as avoidance and suppression fell just as much in all three groups.
• PTSystematic Review2022Physical impairments in Adults with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) undergoing Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of sports physical therapyWalking differences between people with hip dysplasia and healthy people were gone a year after periacetabular osteotomy. Before surgery they walked with less hip extension; hip strength did not change after surgery, and 58% still had a positive impingement test one to three years later.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2022Gaze and social functioning associations in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAcross 95 studies, autistic children and adults who looked longer at faces and eyes tended to have lower autism symptom severity. Time spent looking at mouths told you almost nothing.
• PTSystematic Review2022The effectiveness of Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glide on Flexion Rotation Test, pain intensity, and functionality in subjects with Cervicogenic Headache: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials.Archives of physiotherapyAcross eight small trials, SNAG improved neck rotation and headache-related disability in people with cervicogenic headache; pain results were mixed and two trials found another treatment did better. No trial blinded the treating therapist, and several gave SNAG alongside other treatment.
• OTRCT2022Helpers help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and hypertension to understand their condition and the need to adhere to anti-hypertensive medication.Disability and health journalCoaching the family member or paid helper, not the person with intellectual disability themselves, was what raised knowledge about high blood pressure and why the pills matter. Adults with IDD who got the messages directly showed no gain over the comparison group.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Therapy on Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdding whole-body vibration to a strengthening exercise programme reduced knee osteoarthritis pain, improved self-reported function and get-up-and-go times, and increased knee extensor strength. It did not help stiffness, walking distance, balance, chair stand or gait speed. No adverse events were reported.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2026Sensitivity and Expected Change of Commonly Used Social Communication Measures in Longitudinal Research of Young Autistic Children.Journal of autism and developmental disordersOnly five of the social-communication measures studied changed more as the measurement period got longer, so most of the tools used to track young autistic children may not capture gradual progress. Standard scores showed the smallest change.
• SLPRCT2025A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Pre-School Language Interventions-Building Early Sentences Therapy and an Adapted Derbyshire Language Scheme.International journal of language & communication disordersBoth Building Early Sentences Therapy and an adapted Derbyshire Language Scheme improved preschool children's language. BEST produced larger gains in talking, and kept gaining after the intervention ended. The two were equal on understanding during the intervention and on communicative participation.
• PTPilot2025Early rehabilitation with lumbar-type hybrid assistive limb for acute stroke patients: a pilot study and clinical review.Journal of physical therapy scienceAdding lumbar-type HAL to usual rehab for 15 people in the first days after stroke improved balance more than usual rehab alone, but walking, independence and motor scores were the same in both groups. No falls or injuries.
• PTRCT2025Is biomechanical loading reduced in individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation during fast-paced walking when using different ankle/foot prostheses? A pragmatic randomized controlled trial.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalFor 20 people with a transtibial amputation walking fast, the carbon Pro-Flex foot lowered the sideways load (knee adduction moment) and peak ground reaction force on the intact leg, but that force arrived faster and the knee flexion moment did not fall.
• SLPRCT2025Pharyngeal Residues Scoring through the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (YPRSRS): Efficacy of Training.DysphagiaA 160-minute online course did not bring clinicians' pharyngeal residue scores on FEES videos any closer to expert ratings than untrained colleagues, and agreement between raters did not change. Only pyriform sinus video scores improved within the trained group.
• PTRCT2025The effect of carbon fiber custom dynamic orthosis type on kinematics and kinetics of lower extremity joints in individuals with lower limb traumatic injuries.Gait & postureTwo commonly used carbon fiber orthoses reduced ankle motion and push-off power compared with walking without one, and produced largely similar gait despite very different stiffness. The stiffer device produced a greater knee flexor moment and less braking force.
• PTRCT2025Evaluating the Efficacy of Capacitive Resistive Monopolar Radiofrequency Combined With Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation in Managing Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyAdding 448 kHz radiofrequency to PNF exercises reduced chronic low back pain 2.46 cm more on a 0 to 10 cm scale than PNF alone, and disability by 17.1 points more. No side effects were reported, but there was no placebo group.
• PTSystematic Review2025'Bear Feels Sick': A Systematic Review of Picture Books About Physical Symptoms in Dutch Children's Literature.Child: care, health and developmentDutch picture books for young children mostly show injuries and colds, and in 89% of the stories the child needed a remedy or medical care. When accidents caused the symptoms, the child was always blamed.
• SLPRCT2025Efficacy of the adapted Cycles approach in telepractice speech-language pathology with a parental focus for children with speech sound disorders.CoDASChildren with speech sound disorders improved with the adapted Cycles approach by video call, whether all 12 sessions were run by the therapist or 6 were run by a trained parent. Only ten children took part, so treat the parent-led result as a signal, not proof.
• PTOTRCT2025Early developmental trajectories of the impaired hand in infants with unilateral cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyWith early therapy, 63 infants with unilateral CP followed three paths of hand development: 29% barely improved, 35% improved steadily, 36% began high-functioning. Which therapy they got, the dose, the side affected and the brain lesion did not predict the path.
• RCT2024Evaluation of Virtual Enhanced Child Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care Intervention.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPParents offered a six-week online parenting group plus between-session texts reported a bigger drop in harsh, inconsistent discipline than wait-listed parents, and their children's behaviour problems fell more. Child abuse risk did not improve. A third never completed follow-up.
• PTSystematic Review2024The effectiveness and safety of heat/cold therapy in adults with lymphoedema: systematic review.Disability and rehabilitationHeat at 39-42 °C for long sessions (1200-3600 minutes total) reduced limb circumference and volume in studies of lymphoedema, but most were small, unblinded before-and-after studies with no control group. The reviewers make no recommendation for practice.
• PTRCT2023Effectiveness of exercise training on the dyspnoea of individuals with long COVID: A randomised controlled multicentre trial.Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicineNinety days of supervised high-intensity exercise training reduced breathlessness more than standard physiotherapy in people still breathless months after COVID intensive care. The trial stopped with 60 of a planned 200 participants, so how large the advantage is remains uncertain.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Efficacy of Prehabilitation Before Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationExercise before cardiac surgery improved how far patients could walk before and shortly after surgery, and shortened hospital stay by one day. It did not improve walking at later follow-up. Most programmes also included education or psychological support, so exercise alone cannot be credited.
• PTSystematic Review2023Vestibular Rehabilitation as an Early Intervention in Athletes Who are Post-concussion: A Systematic Review.International journal of sports physical therapyVestibular rehabilitation alone did not beat a behavioral control on balance, and the reviewers say more data are needed. Combined with cervical manual therapy and usual physiotherapy, 11 of 15 athletes were cleared to return to sport within eight weeks, against 1 of 14 controls.
• PTSystematic Review2023Single-group studies in leading physical therapy journals commonly make inappropriate conclusions regarding treatment effect modifiers. A systematic review.Brazilian journal of physical therapy50.3% of 145 single-group studies in eight leading physical therapy journals used wording that implies certain patients respond better to treatment, even though that design cannot show who responds. Judge such claims by the study design, not the words.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Effectiveness of nonpharmacological therapeutic interventions on pain and physical function in adults with rib fractures during acute care: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The South African journal of physiotherapyCare bundles that include physiotherapy, pain control and respiratory care cut pneumonia after rib fractures: pooled risk fell 63% across two cohort studies. Hospital stay and death rates showed no difference in pooled analyses, and no study measured physical function objectively.
• OTRCT2022The online mindset intervention 'The Growth Factory' for adolescents with intellectual disabilities: moderators and mediators.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRAge, baseline mindset and level of intellectual disability did not change how much this six-session online mindset programme helped. Adolescents who rated it more satisfying showed bigger falls in emotional and behaviour problems, and gains in perseverance explained the emotional-problem improvement.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Association Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Increased Risk of Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationAdults who had a traumatic brain injury were about twice as likely to have a stroke as adults who did not. All eight studies were retrospective; the authors rate the overall evidence moderate, but low for mild injury and for risk beyond a year.
• PTSystematic Review2022A Systematic Review on the Association Between Vestibular Dysfunction and Balance Performance in Children With Hearing Loss.Ear and hearingAcross 20 studies, children with hearing loss who had vestibular dysfunction generally scored worse on balance tests than those with normal vestibular function. The studies were small, unblinded and used inconsistent tests, so the size of the link is unclear.
• PTSystematic Review2022Do digital interventions increase adherence to home exercise rehabilitation? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials.Archives of physiotherapyDigital add-ons (apps, texts, phone calls) increased home exercise adherence in 7 of 10 trials, mostly where follow-up was under 6 weeks. Three found no difference and longer-term benefit was uncertain. All used self-reported adherence; most were at high risk of bias.
• OTRCT2022A randomized control trial of the effects of home-based online attention training and working memory training on cognition and everyday function in a community stroke sample.Neuropsychological rehabilitationFour weeks of daily home-based attention or working memory training did not improve spatial bias or any standardised cognitive test in 80 community stroke survivors. Only participants' ratings of memory, concentration and mood favoured attention training, but the researcher collecting those ratings knew the groups.
• PTSystematic Review2021Microcurrent Therapy as a Therapeutic Modality for Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review Accelerating the Translation From Clinical Trials to Patient Care.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMicrocurrent therapy beat sham treatment for knee and shoulder pain in single small trials, but not for low back pain. In knee pain the sham itself produced most of the benefit: 57% of the total improvement came from placebo.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2021Fever during pregnancy as a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders: results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular autismChildren whose mothers had a fever during pregnancy were diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition more often (pooled odds 1.24). Fever in the first three months was linked; fever later on was not. Observational data, so this is an association, not proof of cause.
• PTSystematic ReviewPhysical Therapist Management of Patients With Suspected or Confirmed Osteoporosis: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy.Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001)For postmenopausal women, exercise's effect on bone density is small and depends on the exercise type and bone site. Seated strength training and exercise combinations are supported; jumping and vibration platforms are not. Evidence in men is too thin to recommend anything.
• SLPRCT2025The PD COMM Process Evaluation: Describing Interventions and Implementation in a UK Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial of Speech and Language Therapy for People With Parkinson's-Related Dysarthria.International journal of language & communication disordersLSVT was delivered close to protocol: 13 hours 17 minutes of direct therapy on average against 2 hours 44 minutes for standard NHS speech therapy, usually by two or more therapists. The authors say that dosage gap may itself explain the trial result.
• SLPRCT2025Biofeedback and Exercise Load Affect Accuracy of Tongue Strength Exercise Performance.DysphagiaHow accurately older adults hit their tongue strength exercise targets did not predict their strength gains; only age did, with older people improving less. Maximum-effort exercise was performed more accurately than submaximal exercise, and biofeedback helped people recall the target but lowered home adherence.
• PTRCT2025Comparison Between Tai Chi and Balance Training on Spatiotemporal Parameters and Dual-Task Costs During Stair Negotiation in Participants With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyNeither Tai Chi nor balance training came out ahead on pain or stair walking in knee osteoarthritis, though both eased pain. Counting backwards on stairs did not get easier in either group, but the balance training group reduced the extra effort of counting while descending.
• PTRCT2025Effects of different balance practice methods on motor learning in unstable environments: a randomized pre-post experimental design.Journal of physical therapy scienceBalance practice with a therapist's fingertip support, with canes, or with no help produced about the same result: no method beat the others at any test point. The two assisted groups improved within themselves over three weeks; the unassisted group did not.
• PTSystematic Review2025The most effective therapeutic exercises for pain intensity in women with fibromyalgia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Brazilian journal of physical therapyAquatic exercise eased fibromyalgia pain most in the short term and resistance training in the longer term, both by more than the 15 points out of 100 the review counts as a worthwhile change. Resistance training worked at both time points.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2025First Impressions Towards Autistic People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic people are judged less favourably than non-autistic people on first impression, from a photo, a voice or a video. When raters only read a transcript of what was said, there was no clear bias either way.