Physical therapy
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The plasticity of the brain is an increasingly important topic for physical therapists interested in childhood development, learning, and repair following injury. The study of plasticity directly in the human nervous system presents numerous challenges, such as the ability to assess neuronal function in vivo because of physical impediments, such as the skull, skin, and dura. ⋯ Furthermore, repetitive trains of TMS themselves can induce plasticity. This article discusses the use of TMS to investigate and manipulate plasticity in the human nervous system.
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Neuroimaging is an emergent method of investigation for studying the human brain in healthy and impaired populations. An increasing number of these investigations involve topics important to rehabilitation. ⋯ Included in this article is a description of the signal source, the advantages and limitations of each technique, considerations for study design, and how to interpret cortical imaging data. Particular emphasis is placed on functional magnetic resonance imaging because of its ubiquitous presence in rehabilitation research.
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An instrument that provides valid measurements of satisfaction with physical therapy care for Spanish-speaking patients will enhance communication and ensure their representation in quality assurance analyses and research on health care disparities. The purpose of this investigation was to provide preliminary information on the factor structure, group- and individual-level reliability, and criterion-referenced validity of measurements obtained from a Spanish-language version of the MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction With Physical Therapy Care (MRPS). ⋯ The underlying factor structure of the Spanish-language version of the MRPS was identical to the English-language version. Our findings provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of measurements obtained from the Spanish-language version of the MRPS. Further study is needed to assess the stability of these findings in other samples. As with English-speaking patients, Spanish-speaking patient's satisfaction with physical therapy care is most strongly linked to the professional behavior of the clinician.
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Intervention programs for home-based rehabilitation are not fully described in the literature, and rehabilitation team members' experiences and tacit understanding of working with patients after stroke in the home environment need to be further understood. The aim of this study was to identify the meaning of rehabilitation in the home environment after stroke from the perspective of members of a multiprofessional team. ⋯ The findings suggest that contextual factors, both environmental and personal, were considered to be of great importance by the members of the multiprofessional team and were accounted for when they were working in the home environment in the rehabilitation of patients after stroke. Contextual factors detected in the home environment gave valuable information to the team members, who used the information in their strategies to assist the patients in finding continuity in their daily life and to link the past to the present and the "new body" to the "old body."