Content - Volume 42, Issue 5

Physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) specialists have an important role in the clinical care of patients during the acute phase of a disabling health condition. This phase is defined as once definitive care or resuscitation has taken place and a patient’s need to stay in hospital as an inpatient is primarily for PRM services for rehabilitation. This paper describes 4 options for the delive ...

Objective: To systematically review which determinants, assessed within the first month after a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, predict 6-month functional outcome. Methods: Databases were searched for relevant publications between 1995 and August 2008. Selection criteria were: prospective cohort studies; determinants associated with functional outcome 6 months after moderate to severe ...

Background: Commercial off-the-shelf computer gaming devices have been making inroads into the rehabilitation arena, with the objective of making therapeutic exercise fun and contextual. One such device is the Nintendo Wii. Published clinical studies evaluating its acceptance, potential benefits and side-effects in the rehabilitation of patients with post-stroke weakness are few in number. Objec ...

Objective: Laryngeal hemiplegia, also known as vocal fold paralysis, causes severe communicative disability. Although voice therapy is commonly considered to be beneficial for improving the voice quality in several voice disorders, there are only a few papers that present scientific evidence of the effectiveness of voice therapy in treating the disabilities of laryngeal hemiplegia. The aim of this ...

Objective: To test whether multiple sessions of inhibitory low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the left parietal area can improve hemispatial neglect after stroke. Design: An open-label design. Patients: Seven consecutive patients with hemispatial neglect after right hemispheric stroke were compared with 7 retrospectively recruited control patients. M ...

Objective: To document the frequency, clinical correlates and predictors of symptomatic upper limb spasticity in patients one year or more after stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: A total of 140 patients after stroke attending a rehabilitation clinic. Methods: Assessments of spasticity, upper limb function and self-care ability using the Ashworth Scale (AS), Motor Assessment Sc ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate patients’ knowledge of the most salient features of complex regional pain syndrome and to identify patient characteristics associated with the patients’ level of knowledge. Methods: Questionnaire interview of 101 patients with complex regional pain syndrome in Switzerland (mean age 54 years, 77% female). A questionnaire about patients’ di ...

Objective: To test the hypothesis that dry needle stimulation of a myofascial trigger point (sensitive locus) evokes segmental anti-nociceptive effects. Design: Double-blind randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Forty subjects (21 males, 19 females). Methods: Test subjects received intramuscular dry needle puncture to a right supraspinatus trigger point (C4,5); controls received sham intram ...

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a functional splint for trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis. Methods: Forty patients with a diagnosis of painful trapezio­metacarpal osteoarthritis of the dominant hand were rando­mized into 2 groups. The study group received the splint at baseline and used it during activities of daily living for 180 days and the control group used the splint only durin ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with burnout during a rehabilitation programme. Patients and methods: Eighteen patients with burnout were interviewed at the end of a one-year rehabilitation programme. The programme consisted of 2 groups, one with a focus on cognitively-oriented behavioural rehabilitation and Qigong and 1 with a focus on Qigong alone. T ...

Objective: To develop and internally validate a simple falls prediction tool for rehabilitation settings. Design: Prospective cohort study. Participants: A total of 533 inpatients. Methods: Possible predictors of falls were collected from medical records, interview and physical assessment. Falls during inpatient stays were monitored. Results: Fourteen percent of participants fell. A multiv ...

Objective: Comparison of prevalence of cardiovascular disease risks in persons with chronic traumatic paraplegia with those in the general population. Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Subjects: A total of 135 individuals, age range 18–79 years, with chronic (≥ 1 year) traumatic paraplegia. Methods: The prevalences of diabetes mellitus, dyslipid­aemia, hypertension, overwei ...

Objective: To describe the manual ability of adolescents with cerebral palsy and to investigate the relationship of manual ability with daily activities. Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: Ninety-four adolescents with cerebral palsy, aged 12–16 years. Methods: Manual ability was assessed according to the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) and the ABILHAND-Kids. Daily activit ...

Objective: To examine the influence of determinants on the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index. Design: A cross-sectional study. Baseline registrations were applied. Patients: Two hundred patients with subacromial shoulder pain lasting at least 3 months. Methods: A questionnaire consisting of possible determinants, 2 independent variables regarding pain and 2 regarding function, and the outco ...

Objective: To investigate the relationship between disease-related factors and walking disability in different phases of rheumatoid arthritis; and to predict future walking disability in rheumatoid arthritis, using disease-related factors assessed 2 years after diagnosis. Methods: A cohort of 848 newly diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis was followed up for a maximum of 8 years. Walking ...