European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Up to 2.2 million people experiencing disability suffer collateral damage each day of COVID-19 lockdown in Europe.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a great impact on health services. Patients not receiving care due to closure of outpatient services suffer a collateral damage. Our aim was to provide first data on impact of COVID-19 on people experiencing disability in Europe. ⋯ COVID-19 emergency is having a huge impact on rehabilitation of people experiencing disability. This may lead to future cumulative effects due to reduced functional outcome and consequent increased burden of care. When the emergency will fade, rehabilitation demand will probably grow due to an expected return wave of these not well treated patients, but probably also of post-COVID-19 patients' needs.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Rehabilitation and respiratory management in the acute and early post-acute phase. "Instant paper from the field" on rehabilitation answers to the COVID-19 emergency.
COVID-19 is a respiratory infectious disease that can cause respiratory, physical and psychological long-term dysfunctions in patients. First recommendations on respiratory management were published, but they were not based on the specific needs due to COVID-19. In this paper we share the early experiences from the clinical field in Northern Italy, where the epidemic started in February. ⋯ Some specific problems are described, including severe muscle weakness and fatigue, joint stiffness, dysphagia, (neuro)psychological problems, impaired functioning concerning mobility, activities of daily life and work. A lot is yet unknown and patients can experience long-term consequences as we know from the literature on the postintensive care syndrome, but COVID-19 has unique features to be investigated and understood. As a colleague stated during the Covinar: this is a marathon, not a sprint….
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
First impact of COVID-19 on services and their preparation. "Instant paper from the field" on rehabilitation answers to the COVID-19 emergency.
This paper reports the immediate impact of the epidemic on rehabilitation services in Italy, the first country in Europe hit by COVID-19. In a country with almost 5000 Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine physicians, the webinar had 230 live viewers (4.5%), and more than 8900 individual visualizations of the recorded version. The overall inadequate preparation of the rehabilitation system to face a sudden epidemic was clear, and similar to that of the acute services. ⋯ Rehabilitation professionals needed support, but also acted properly, again similarly to what happened in the acute wards. The typical needs of rehabilitation, such as human and physical contacts, but also social interactions including patient, team, family and caregivers, appeared clearly in the current unavoidable need of being suppressed. These notes could serve the preparation of other services worldwide.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEffects of lumbar stabilization and muscular stretching on pain, disabilities, postural control and muscle activation in pregnant woman with low back pain.
Low back pain is common during pregnancy. Lumbar stabilization and stretching exercises are recommended to treat low back pain in the general population. However, few studies have applied the effects of these two interventions in pregnant women with low back pain. ⋯ The present study has implications, especially for clinical decision-making with regard to therapy choice in pregnant women with LBP to reduce pain and improve trunk function as measured through balance performance.