Content - Volume 41, Issue 3

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) has attracted increasing interest in recent years. We envisage 3 probable reasons for this phenomenon. One is the societal problem that occurs when too many people are on sick leave, either on sickness allowance or disability pension, causing too high or increasing costs for the national insurance system; examples are Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. A second reas ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of multidisciplinary interventions on return to work for people on sick leave due to low back pain. Methods: A systematic review of published studies was performed, including a meta-analysis. Identified publications were assessed for relevance and study quality. Results: A meta-analysis based on 5 studies from Scandinavia verified the sc ...

Objective: Patients with chronic pain and severe disuse syndrome have pain with physiological, psychological and social adaptations. The duration and severity of complaints, combined with previously failed treatments, makes them unsuitable for treatment in primary care. Design: A prospective waiting list controlled study. Patients: A total of 32 patients with chronic pain for at least one year and ...

Objective: To assess internal and external responsiveness of the Activity of Daily Living Scale of the Knee Outcome Survey and Numeric Pain Rating Scale on patients with patello¬femoral pain. Design: One group pre-post design. Subjects: A total of 60 individuals with patellofemoral pain (33 women; mean age 29. 9 (standard deviation 9. 6) years). Methods: The Activity of Daily Living Scale and the ...

Objective: To assess the effect of pelvic stabilization and hip position on the electromyographic activity of trunk extensors during Roman chair exercise. A secondary objective was to compare genders. Design: Repeated measures. Subjects: Eleven men and 11 women volunteers. Methods: Five trunk flexion-extension cycles for 3 Roman chair conditions: (i) pelvis unrestrained; (ii) pelvis restrained; an ...

Objective: To evaluate the effects of wheelchair seat height on wheeling efficiency and technique during rehabilitation in subjects with a spinal cord injury. Design: Laboratory-based study. Subjects: Twelve persons with spinal cord injury (age range 19–77 years, lesion level: C5/C6–L2; 7 men; 8 incomplete). Methods: Subjects conducted 8 submaximal hand rim wheelchair exercise tests (4 min) on ...

Objective: To study the information gained by extending a well-established instrument of dependence/independence in activities of daily living with a self-rating of difficulty, and to illustrate the relevance and usefulness of this combined approach with cross-national data. Design and subjects: Cross-sectional survey study data collected with 1918 very old persons in 5 European countries. Methods ...

Objective: To associate the short-term effects of the Handmaster® orthosis on disabling symptoms of the affected upper extremity with long-term Handmaster® orthosis use after stroke. Design: Historic cohort study. Patients: Patients with chronic stroke. Methods: The Modified Ashworth Scale (0–5) for wrist (primary outcome) and elbow flexor hypertonia, visual analogue scale (0–10) for pain, o ...

Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on patients with visual spatial neglect and to explore the potential mechanisms of visual spatial neglect. Methods: A total of 14 patients with prior stroke and visual spatial neglect were divided into a control group and a treatment group. The treatment group was exposed ...

Objective: To analyse the effects of gait therapy for patients after acute stroke in a randomized controlled trial. Methods: Fifty-six patients with a mean of 8 days post-stroke participated in: (i) gait trainer exercise; (ii) walking training over ground; or (iii) conventional treatment. Patients in the gait trainer exercise and walking groups practiced gait for 15 sessions over 3 weeks and recei ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in patients with dysphagia caused by stroke. Methods: Thirty-six subjects were randomized into experimental and control groups. The control group was given thermal-tactile stimulation treatment only, while in the experimental group neuromuscular electrical stimulation and thermal-tactile st ...

Objectives: To compare self-reported mental health in trauma survivors with and without brain injury; to describe factors associated with lower mental health; and to compare needs in terms of mental health services and perceived access limitations to such services. Design: Cross-sectional community survey. Patients: A total of 405 trauma survivors (239 with traum¬atic brain injury and 166 without ...

Objective: To explore the relationship between occupational gaps, depressive mood and life satisfaction in persons who have acquired a brain injury during the past 1–4 years and to test the Occupational Gaps Questionnaire. Design: A cross-sectional study. Subjects: A total of 116 persons with traumatic brain injury or subarachnoid haemorrhage acquired 1–4 years previously. Methods: A postal su ...

Objective: This pilot study investigated whether a home exercise video programme could improve exercise tolerance and breathlessness in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: Twenty subjects completed the study after being randomized to intervention or control. The intervention group (n = 10), watched a 19-min video on the benefits of exercise for pati ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of phenol neurolysis in relieving intermittent attacks of in¬voluntary painful muscle spasm in patients with upper motor neurone syndromes. Design: Case series. Patients: Nineteen patients with intermittent involuntary painful muscle spasm of one of the following muscles: extensor hallucis longus (n = 13), psoas major (n = 3), te ...

Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Musculo­skeletal Disorders, Pain and Rehabilitation, Second Edition, Walter R. T. Frontera, Julie K. Silver, Thomas D. Rizzo Jr, pp. 954, 2008. Price: EUR 95. 99. ISBN-10: 1 4160 4007 2; ISBN-13: 978 1 4160 4007 1. Saunders Elsevier, Philadelphia, USA. This is a very comprehensive volume on physical medicine and rehabilitation, which covers mo ...