Content - Volume 44, Issue 4

Musculoskeletal ultrasound has gained a significant place in the diagnosis and management of various musculoskeletal disorders due to its several advantages (being convenient, inexpensive, non-invasive, repeatable, providing dynamic imaging and not requiring any exposure to radiation). It has also become a valuable tool in the daily clinical practice of physical and rehabilitation medicine physici ...

Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) programmes in post-acute settings cover interventions for the rehabilitation of people with a variety of disabling health conditions. The setting of the intervention is more important than the timing and these programmes can be carried out in a variety of facilities. This paper describes the role of PRM services and of PRM specialists in delivering rehabili ...

Objective: To provide an overview of robot-assisted rehabilitation devices developed for actuation of the ankle-foot complex and their ability to influence the attributes of normal gait in patients with spinal cord injury. Methods: A search was conducted in MEDLINE, Web of Knowledge, National Academic Research and Collaborations Information System, and Physiotherapy Evidence Data­base (1985–2 ...

Musculoskeletal ultrasound has gained a significant place in the diagnosis and management of various musculoskeletal disorders due to its several advantages (being convenient, inexpensive, non-invasive, repeatable, providing dynamic imaging and not requiring any exposure to radiation). It has also become a valuable tool in the daily clinical practice of physical and rehabilitation medicine physici ...

Objective: Focusing on the relationship between physical activity and incident cognitive impairment, the aim of this study was to investigate whether stroke rehabilitation reduces the risk of dementia. Methods: Claims data of 1,000,000 insured subjects randomly selected from the National Health Insurance programme of Taiwan were used to identify adults with a newly diagnosed ischaemic stroke in ...

Objective: To investigate whether the direct application of vibratory stimuli inhibits spasticity in the hemiplegic upper limbs of post-stroke patients. Design: A randomized controlled study. Subjects: Thirty-six post-stroke patients. Methods: Patients were randomly allocated to the “Rest group”, “Stretch group”, or “Direct application of vibratory stimuli group”. After relaxing ...

Objective: There is increasing evidence that robot-assisted treadmill training might be useful for gait rehabilitation after stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the muscle activity of stroke patients during robot-assisted walking and overground walking, and of a group of able-bodied subjects during overground walking. Design: Case-control observational study. Subjects: Ten stroke sub ...

Rationale and Objectives: Rigorous usability testing of e-learn­ing resources is an important prerequisite to their wide­spread use among clinicians. This study demonstrates the application of an evidence-based approach to usability testing of two stroke-related e-learning resources (StrokEngine). Methods: 14 stroke rehabilitation clinicians (occupational therapists and physiotherapists) from ...

Objective: To determine whether a single session of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves attention in patients with traumatic brain injury. Design: Double-blinded, cross-over design. Patients: Nine patients with attention deficit after traumatic brain injury. Methods: Patients underwent a computerized contrast reaction time task b ...

Objective: To estimate the efficiency of a cough assistance device, the Cough Aid, in patients with weak respiratory muscles with bulbar palsy and/or tracheostomy. The Cough Aid is a device that has been developed to substitute for glottis function. Design: Before-after trial. Subjects/patients: A total of 74 patients with bulbar palsy and/or tracheostomy, as well as respiratory muscle weaknes ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore what characterizes patients receiving clinical interventions vs combined clinical and work-related interventions in a cohort of sick-listed subjects with musculoskeletal or mental disorders. Factors associated with return-to-work were also analysed. Design: A prospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 699 newly sick-listed patients responded ...

Objective: To investigate the validity and reliability of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia Heart (TSK-SV Heart), a brief questionnaire to detect kinesiophobia (fear of movement) in patients with coronary artery disease. Design: Methodological research (cross-sectional study). Subjects: A total of 332 patients, mean age 65 years (standard deviation 9. 1) diagnosed with coronary artery disease ...

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a 4-week primary prevention programme on health-risk behaviours amongst employees at increased risk of work incapacity. Methods: Based on survey data and health records from 53,416 public sector employees in Finland, we identified 872 employees who participated in early rehabilitation after the baseline survey. We selected 2,440 propensity-score-matched contr ...

Objective: We report here on a patient with intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), who showed unusually delayed motor recovery of the leg, which started at 6 months after ICH onset. Case report: A 53-year-old man underwent craniotomy and drainage for a right putaminal ICH. The patient presented with complete paralysis of the left extremities at ICH onset. Despite having undergone rehabilitation starti ...

Abstract is missing (Letter)