Content - Volume 46, Issue 3

Objective: To determine whether mental practice of wrist movements during forearm immobilization maintains range of motion. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Participants: Eighteen healthy young men aged between 20 and 30 years were assigned to either a control or a mental practice group. Both groups were immobilized with a circular forearm cast for 3 weeks to simulate a distal radial fract ...

The corticospinal tract, a major neural tract in the human brain for motor function, is concerned mainly with movement of the distal extremities. Preservation or recovery of the corticospinal tract is essential for good recovery of impaired motor function in patients with brain injury. Therefore, thorough and precise knowledge of the corticospinal tract is necessary for successful brain rehabilita ...

Objective: To analyse the 9-year trend in oral intake ability 3 months after onset in acute stroke patients, with a view to indirect clarification of advances in acute stroke treatment and swallowing rehabilitation. Methods: A database of patients admitted to our hospital (Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, Kumamoto) with acute ischaemic stroke between 2003 and 2011 was analysed. Exclusion criteria we ...

Objective: Interlimb coupling between impaired and non-impaired limbs after stroke has been a common observation. The aim of this study was to examine interlimb interactions in force production in responses to altered visual gain in hemiparetic stroke survivors. Design: prospective clinical study Methods: A convenient sample of 7 hemiparetic stroke subjects (3 women and 4 men; mean age 56. 0 ye ...

Objective: To investigate the current practice of physiotherapists and occupational therapists in prescribing upper limb exercises to people after stroke and to explore differences between professions and work settings. Design: A cross-sectional survey design. Participants: Occupational therapists and physiotherapists working in UK stroke rehabilitation. Results: The survey’s response rate ...

Objective: To evaluate the predictive validity of the Mobility Scale for Acute Stroke (MSAS) in determining discharge destination (home or not home) after an acute stroke. Design: Cohort study. Subjects: Two-hundred and twenty-three patients with acute ischemic or intraparenchymal hemorrhagic, unilateral stroke Methods: The MSAS was administered as part of the initial physical therapy examin ...

Objective: To determine whether mental practice of wrist movements during forearm immobilization maintains range of motion. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Participants: Eighteen healthy young men aged between 20 and 30 years were assigned to either a control or a mental practice group. Both groups were immobilized with a circular forearm cast for 3 weeks to simulate a distal radial fract ...

Objective: To evaluate a structured physiotherapy treatment model in patients who qualify for lumbar disc surgery. Design: A prospective cohort study. Patients: Forty-one patients with lumbar disc herniation, diagnosed by clinical assessments and magnetic resonance imaging. Methods: Patients followed a structured physiotherapy treatment model, including Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) ...

Objective: To determine the short- and long-term test-retest reliability of maximum isometric trunk moment measurements in healthy volunteers over 50 years of age, to compare these results with those from volunteers younger than 50 years, and to test whether volunteers’ anticipatory emotional state affects the precision of these measurements. Methods: Forty-two older persons (21 females; age r ...

Objective: To study health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in arthritis rehabilitation performed by multidisciplinary teams in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis. Predictors of change in health-related quality of life and the proportion of patients with clinical improvement were investigated. Design: Multicentre prospective observational study in 4 European countries. Methods: HRQoL ...

Objective: To identify factors that explain differences in patients with high and low levels of fear of falling after a hip fracture. Design: Cross-sectional study in 10 skilled nursing facilities in the Netherlands. Patients: A total of 100 patients aged ≥ 65 years admitted to a skilled nursing facility after a hip fracture. Methods: Participants were divided into 2 groups; low ...

Objective: To evaluate hip abductor strength-training for patients with unilateral transfemoral amputation. Design: Single-blind, cross-over (AB/BA) trial with randomization. Subjects: Seventeen patients with transfemoral amputation. Methods: Subjects completed 8-week programs of twice weekly hip abductor strength training or arm ergometry. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either t ...

Objective: To determine the effect of a nature-assisted rehabilitation programme in a group of patients with reactions to severe stress and/or mild to moderate depression. Changes in sick-leave status and healthcare consumption in these patients were compared with those in a matched population-based reference cohort (treatment as usual). Design: Retrospective cohort study with a matched referenc ...

Objective: To investigate the association between nutritional status and rehabilitation outcome in elderly inpatients with hospital-associated deconditioning. Design: A prospective cohort study. Subjects/patients: One hundred sixty-nine consecutive elderly inpatients diagnosed with hospital-associated deconditioning. Methods: Nutritional status at referral was assessed by the Mini Nutritiona ...

Objective: To investigate whether an interdisciplinary rehabilitation for chronic musculoskeletal disorders is associated with changes in the purchase of prescribed pain medication. Design: Prospective register-based study. Subjects: Employees in the public sector (n = 4,365) who participated in the rehabilitation programme between 1996 and 2009. Methods: The changes in annual pu ...