Content - Volume 39, Issue 8

Objective: With the increased use of standardized outcome instruments in rehabilitation, questions frequently arise as to how to interpret the scores that are derived from these standardized outcome instruments. This article uses examples drawn from the Activity Measure for Post Acute Care to illustrate 4 different data analysis and presentation strategies that can be used to yield meaningful outc ...

Objective: To identify the impairments and limitations that indicate loss of independence in older patients after discharge from post-acute rehabilitation. Design: Prospective cohort study. Subjects/patients: A total of 128 patients in the development cohort and 137 patients in the validation cohort. methods: Data on functioning and previous living situation were collected at admission; data ...

Objective: To determine reliability of maximal grip strength, muscle coordination and muscle endurance. To compare these parameters in young adults with unilateral cerebral palsy and healthy subjects. To evaluate the correlation of these variables with functional activities. Subjects: Twenty-six healthy subjects and 26 young adults with unilateral cerebral palsy recruited from a cohort study in ...

Objective: To obtain better insight into the health issues of young adults with cerebral palsy. Design: Cross-sectional. Subjects: Two data sources were used: 54 adults with ce­rebral palsy (age range 25–36 years) and 48 physicians (members of the Netherlands Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine). Methods: Adults with cerebral palsy participated in a physical examination and a ...

Objective: To examine self-perceived health status during the first year following mild closed head injury. Methods: At 1 week, and at 3, 6 and 12 months post-injury, 37 patients with mild closed head injury completed written versions of the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPSQ), the Rivermead Head-Injury Follow-up Questionnaire (RHIFQ) and the SF-36 Health Survey. Thirty-seven ...

Objective: To investigate the occurrence and severity of traumatic brain injury in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. Design: Cross-sectional study with prospective neurological, neuropsychological and neuroradiological examinations and retrospective medical record review. Patients: Thirty-one consecutive, traumatic spinal cord injury patients on their first post-acute rehabilitation ...

Objective: To measure the effects of Bobath-based (BB) therapy on depression, shoulder pain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients during one year after stroke. Design: In a prospective, non-randomized design, the use of BB therapy was compared with a more task-oriented therapy and no BB therapy. Subjects: A total of 324 patients in 12 hospitals. Methods: Patients in the inte ...

Objective: The validity of health status questionnaires in patients attending medical rehabilitation services has been questioned. The objectives of this study were to identify problems that patients have in completing different health status questionnaires, and thus identify possible major pitfalls in interpretation of the scores. Methods: The study comprised a consecutive sample of 105 patient ...

Objective: To explore and describe how patients with recurrent low back pain perceive and respond to the recurrence of pain. Design: A semi-structured interview study. Subjects: Seventeen patients (10 women and 7 men) with recurrent low back pain. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were analysed using the phenomenographic method. Results: Patients’ perceptions of relapse of low back pai ...

Objective: To examine, for polio survivors, whether walking with a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic knee-ankle-foot orthosis (carbon KAFO) is more efficient than walking with an ordinary KAFO or without an orthosis. Design: Consecutive sample. Setting: Post-polio clinic, University Hospital of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. Participants: Eleven polio surviv ...

Objective: To investigate the effects of total-contact fitted carbon-composite knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) on energy cost of walking in patients with former polio who normally wear a conventional leather/metal KAFO or plastic/metal KAFO. Design: A prospective uncontrolled study with a multiple baseline and follow-up design. Follow-up measurements continued until 26 weeks after interventio ...