Content - Volume 41, Issue 6

Introduction: The medical specialty of physical and rehabilitation medicine has had a proven impact on people with disabilities and on healthcare systems. Documents such as the White Book on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in Europe have been important in defining the scope of practice within various regions. However, in some regions the practice has not been well defined Objective: To explo ...

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic fields compared with placebo in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee. Data sources: A systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. Methods: Randomized, controlled trials reporting on the blinded comparison of pulsed electromagnetic fields with placebo were included. Validity was tested ...

Objective: To investigate whether the choice of electrode placement site in transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) over acupuncture points vs peripheral nerve points influences the peripheral neurophysiological effects as reflected in negative peak latency in the superficial radial nerve, and on sensory changes in terms of peripheral mechanical pain threshold and mechanical pain tolera ...

Objective: To ascertain the existence of contralateral painful muscle areas mirroring phantom pain and to evaluate the short-term effects of anaesthetic vs saline, injected contra¬laterally to control phantom and phantom limb pain. Design: Double-blinded cross-over study. Setting: Inpatients; rehabilitation institute. Participants: Eight lower limb amputees with phantom limb pain in the pas ...

Objective: To study future general and diagnoses-specific sickness absence and disability pension among young adults who were initially on long-term sick-leave due to back, neck, or shoulder diagnoses. Design: Eleven-year prospective cohort study. Subjects: All 213 adults in a Swedish municipality who, in 1985, were in the age range 25–34 years and had begun a spell of sick-leave lasting ≥ ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore by Rasch analysis whether the Comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set might represent a future clinical tool for measuring functioning of patients with low back pain. Material and methods: The Comprehensive ICF Core Set for low back pain was scored by health professionals for 118 patients with ...

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and course of pass¬ive shoulder range of motion in people with a spinal cord injury and the relationships between shoulder range of motion limitations and personal and lesion characteristics. Design: Multicentre longitudinal study. Subjects: A total of 199 subjects with spinal cord injury admitted to specialized rehabilitation centres. Methods: Asses ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with the subjective well-being of individuals with spinal cord injuries, while acknowledging theories that describe the subjective well-being tendency to homeostasis. Methods: A representative community cross-sectional cohort of 443 adults with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury completed a self-report survey (by inte ...

Objective: To study the effects of in-service training on staff’s self-reported knowledge, understanding use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and ICF Children and Youth version (ICF-CY). Design: Quasi-experimental with a questionnaire prior to training and another one year after training. Methods: Intervention was in-service training in using th ...

Objective: Shocks and vibrations experienced while using a hand-rim wheelchair can contribute to discomfort, fatigue and injury. The aim of this study was to compare the seat forces and head accelerations experienced by manual wheelchair users during independent curb descent landings in a standard and 3 suspension-type rigid-frame wheelchairs. Design: Experimental: repeated measures analysis of ...

Objective: To examine the construct and rating scale of the Assessment of Capacity for Myoelectric Control, an assessment to evaluate ability in using a prosthetic hand. Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: Upper limb prosthesis users with different prosthetic levels/sides and prosthetic experience were included (n = 96). Methods: Subjects’ assessments with the Assessment of Capaci ...

Objective: The basal ganglia may be selectively activated during rhythmic, metered movement such as tango dancing, which may improve motor control in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Other partner dances may be more suitable and preferable for those with Parkinson’s disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of tango, waltz/foxtrot and no intervention on functional moto ...

Objective: To explore the characteristics and outcome of patients after stroke admitted to early supported discharge (ESD) services, and to investigate changes over time. Study populations: Patients admitted between June 1997 and September 1998 and participating in a follow-up study (n = 87) and all patients admitted in 2005–06 (n = 226). Background populations: All stroke cases in M ...

Objective: To report the prevalence and degree of isolated urinary and faecal incontinence and double incontinence (i. e. both urinary and faecal incontinence) in patients after stroke during post-acute rehabilitation and the factors related to incontinence. Design: A multi-centre prospective study. Methods: Data were extracted from the Thai Stroke Rehabilitation Registry. A total of 185 patie ...

Objective: To determine whether an orthotic fitting improved gait in an adult patient presenting with generalized secondary dystonia. Patient: The patient had stance and gait disturbances associated with pain, ankle instability and fatigability. Clinical examination showed the presence of dystonia in the foot and ankle, along with equinovarus foot, mainly on the left side. The patient was fitted ...