Content - Volume 38, Issue 4

Sources of rehabilitation medicine, the need for rehabilitation and its practice in Croatia were studied, based on available data. The study revealed that current practice has advanced since the country's independence, but that there are many shortcomings; adequate care is not provided to all who could benefit from it, and there is wastage of resources.

Objective: To determine whether fascicular neurotomy has long-lasting effects on spasticity. Design: We present 4 clinical cases and a critical analysis of the literature. Patients: This is a retrospective study on 4 patients referred to our department for spastic equinovarus foot deformity. For all 4, neurotomy was successful not long after surgery, but spasticity reappeared after a few months. M ...

Objective: To develop a prognostic model to predict mobility outcome one year post-stroke. Design: Prospective cohort study in patients with a first-ever stroke admitted for inpatient rehabilitation. Patients: A total of 217 patients with stroke (mean age 58 years) following inpatient rehabilitation in 4 rehabilitation centres across the Netherlands. Methods: Mobility was measured using the Riverm ...

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to compare the motor performance of physically well-recovered men with traumatic brain injury with that of healthy men. Design: Cross-sectional study in a national rehabilitation centre. Methods: Static and dynamic balance, agility and rhythm co-ordination of men with traumatic brain injury (n =34) and healthy controls (n =36) were assessed. Between-gro ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate, in an unselected sample of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome in Sweden, the utilization of healthcare resources, satisfaction with these resources, informal help and the burden of care on family caregivers during the first 2 years after onset. Subjects: Forty-four patients were enrolled from 8 hospitals, and 42 of them were followed for 2 y ...

Objective: To examine the sensitivity of the Short Form Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) in comparison to the Functional Independence Measure (FIM™) across a 12-month period after discharge from rehabilitation hospital. Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Patients were recruited while receiving inpatient services from facilities in the north-east USA and interviewed 1, 6 and 12 ...

Objective: The main purposes of this study were to examine, in subjects with chronic hemiparesis following a stroke: (i ) the correlations between tests of muscle tone, stiffness, spasticity, paresis and co-contraction, and (ii ) the correlations of these tests and measurements of impairment to upper extremity motor performance. Design: Prospective, cross-sectional, correlation matrix using sample ...

Objective: To clarify the relationship between symptoms, clinical signs and physiological abnormalities that were motivating the initiation of home mechanical ventilation in patients suffering from neuromuscular diseases. Methods: From The Swedish Home Mechanical Ventilation Register we identified 352 patients with neuromuscular diseases and we looked at circumstances (acute vs elective) and clini ...

Objective: To identify core elements of what patients with chronic low back pain perceive as good clinical communication and interaction with a specialist (“The Good Back-Consultation”). Design: Qualitative study including observation of consultations and a subsequent patient interview. Quantitative data were also recorded. Subjects: Thirty-five patients with chronic low back pain referred to ...

Objective: To establish the discriminatory items of the clinical examination of non-specific low back pain, important to physiotherapists. Design: A focus group and Delphi technique with UK physiotherapists. Subjects: A purposive sample of 30 physiotherapists attended a focus group and completed 3 rounds of Delphi questionnaires. Methods: Data were analysed using mixed qualitative and quantitative ...

Objective: To examine feasibility and acceptability issues and to gather preliminary outcome data to ascertain the numbers needed for a trial of Marma massage therapy for stroke rehabilitation. Design: Pilot non-randomized controlled trial, comparing standard care with standard care plus Marma therapy in post-stroke patients with a nested qualitative study. Participants: Adult patients who had an ...