Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Feb 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialRobotic-assisted rehabilitation of the upper limb after acute stroke.
To investigate whether early therapy with a novel robotic device can reduce motor impairment and enhance functional recovery of poststroke patients with hemiparetic and hemiplegic upper limb. ⋯ Patients who received robotic therapy in addition to conventional therapy showed greater reductions in motor impairment and improvements in functional abilities. Robotic therapy may therefore effectively complement standard rehabilitation from the start, by providing therapeutic support for patients with poststroke plegic and paretic upper limb.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Feb 2007
Case ReportsPostherpetic neuralgia involving the right C5 dermatome treated with a cervical transforaminal epidural steroid injection: a case report.
A 66-year-old woman presented with 2 weeks of debilitating right upper-limb pain with a vesicular rash over the right C5 dermatome secondary to herpes zoster. Her pain failed to improve with: oral narcotics, divalproex, gabapentin, pregabalin, and topical 2% lidocaine cream. Six weeks postonset, a right C5 transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TESI) under fluoroscopic guidance was performed. ⋯ She remained pain-free 3 months later. In this case, the use of a cervical TESI provided dramatic results in the treatment of debilitating postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Further investigation is needed to determine the efficacy of TESI in the early management of PHN.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Jan 2007
Comparative StudyFunctional outcomes from inpatient rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury: how do Hispanics fare?
To examine the relation between Hispanic ethnicity and rehabilitation outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors. ⋯ Hispanics showed significantly reduced long-term functional outcome after rehabilitation relative to whites. Rehabilitation professionals should recognize the possible impact of individual differences and diverse sociodemographic, injury, and rehabilitation characteristics so that differential health outcomes among TBI survivors can be reduced or eliminated.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Jan 2007
The relationship between electrodiagnostic findings and patient symptoms and function in carpal tunnel syndrome.
To examine whether, in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), electrodiagnostic study findings were associated with patient symptom severity and functional limitations after controlling for potentially confounding variables including depression, somatization, and pain-related catastrophizing. ⋯ Electrodiagnostic findings and patient CTS-related symptoms and function appear to be independent measures. Clinicians and researchers interested in CTS outcomes need to assess both.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Jan 2007
The Foot Posture Index: Rasch analysis of a novel, foot-specific outcome measure.
To investigate the internal construct validity of a clinician-assessed measure of foot position, the Foot Posture Index (FPI), versions FPI-8 and FPI-6. ⋯ The original FPI-8 showed significant mismatching to the model. The 2 items in the FPI-8 that were identified as problematic in clinical validation studies were also found to be contributing to the lack of fit to the Rasch model. The finalized 6-item instrument showed good metric properties, including good individual item fit and good overall fit to the model, along with a lack of differential item functioning. This analysis provides further evidence for the validity of the FPI-6 as a clinical instrument for use in screening studies and shows that it has the potential to be analyzed using parametric strategies.