Content - Volume 42, Issue 7

Objective: The construct, predictive and longitudinal validity of the Clinical Outcome Variables Scale (COVS), an assessment of functional mobility, was examined in relation to measures of functional disability (Functional Independence Measure (FIMTM)), balance (Berg Balance Scale (BBS)) and length of stay in inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Methods: Associations between admission and discharge ...

Objective: To describe pain and recovery of physical functioning after total knee arthroplasty. Design: A longitudinal design with assessments preoperatively, and 1 week, 3 and 9 months postoperatively. Subjects: Sixty-three patients participated. Methods: Pain was assessed by visual analogue scale. Physical functioning was measured by 40-metre timed walking, timed stair-climbing and goniome ...

Objective: To assess the factor structure of the Chinese version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK). Design: Chinese patients with chronic pain attending either orthopaedic specialist services (n = 216) or multidisciplinary specialist pain services (n = 109) participated in this study. Methods: Subjects completed the Chinese version of TSK, The Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire, ...

Objective: Change in psychophysical capacity, calculated as the ratio between physical capacity and perceived effort, may be a determinant of change in perceived disability. The aim of this study was to identify determinants for change in perceived disability, as measured with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain after rehabilitatio ...

Objective: To develop and assess the reliability and validity of a patient-reported measure of hand activity performance for persons with rheumatoid arthritis (MAP-Hand). Methods: The development of the measure included a literature review, semi-structured interviews with 60 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and testing of face and content validity by video-observation and classification of th ...

Objective: To determine whether, for patients after stroke, propelling a functional electrical stimulation (FES)-assisted leg-cycling wheelchair requires less energy than propelling a manual wheelchair, and whether leg propulsion with FES has lower energy costs than without FES. Design: Within-subject comparison. Subjects: A total of 16 patients after stroke were recruited from the university ...

Objective: To determine whether the oxygen uptake (VO2) during walking at different speeds in people with multiple sclerosis is underestimated by available prediction equations and whether such underestimation relates to the validity of their assumptions. Design: Cross-sectional comparison. Subjects: Eighteen adults with MS and 18 adults without MS. Methods: VO2 was measured at rest and duri ...

Objective: To quantify dynamic spasticity, i. e. the coupling between muscle-tendon stretch velocity and muscle activity during gait, of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Design: Prospective, cross-sectional study. Subjects: Seventeen ambulatory children with cerebral palsy with spastic calf muscles, and 11 matched typically developing children. Me ...

Objective: To analyse the vertical and anteroposterior components of the ground reaction force during shallow water running at 2 levels of immersion. Subjects: Twenty-two healthy adults with no gait disorders, who were familiar with aquatic exercises. Methods: Subjects performed 6 trials of water running at a self-selected speed in chest and hip immersion. Force data were collected through an ...

Objective: This study explored how professionals in inter­disciplinary teams perceived the implementation of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, version for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) in Swedish habilitation services. Design: Descriptive longitudinal mixed-methods design. Methods: Following participation in a 2-day in-service ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the interstitial concentrations of pyruvate, lactate and glutamate in the trapezius muscle between patients with fibromyalgia syndrome and healthy controls. Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Subjects: Patients with fibromyalgia (n = 19) and healthy controls (n = 19); all women. Methods: Subjects answered a questionnaire about d ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of long-term wheelchair rugby training on the functional abilities of persons with tetraplegia over a 2-year period post-spinal cord injury. Design: A prospective non-randomized controlled trial. Participants: Forty people with incomplete tetraplegia were examined. Participants were divided into 2 groups: a wheelchair rugby training ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of botulinum toxin type A injection into the adductor muscles in reducing pain and improving joint mobility and quality of life in patients affected by hip osteoarthritis. Methods: A total of 39 outpatients, mean age 68 years (age range 41–82 years), were evaluated using the Harris Hip Score to test hip function, a visual analogue ...

Objective: To investigate the concurrent validity between the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) and to compare their reproducibi­lity, internal consistency and floor and ceiling effects in the same sample of stroke patients. Methods: Forty patients participated in this study. Concurrent validity was determined with Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients ...

A major focus of rehabilitation is that of optimizing patients’ activities. Learning and teaching are key elements in this respect, but raise important questions: what do rehabilitation professionals know with respect to learning and teaching, what do they do, and what do they need? This paper discusses the issue of learning and teaching in rehabilitation practice, and introduces the concept of ...