Disability and rehabilitation
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Purpose: To study the long-term evolution of patients with lower-limb Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), focusing on functional and proprioceptive aspects and quality of life. Methods: In 20 patients suffering from chronic distal lower-limb CRPS diagnosed using Budapest criteria, we assessed joint position sense and strength of the knee muscles at the CRPS and unaffected leg, functional exercise capacity, pain, CRPS severity score, quality of life and kinesiophobia. Similar assessments were performed in 20 age-matched controls. ⋯ IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION The long-term evolution of patients suffering from lower-limb Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is associated with persistent disability, pain and impacts the quality of life. Strength, proprioceptive, functional and subjective assessments are necessary to better identify deficits. Rehabilitation should focus on the overall deficit of the affected and contralateral limb.
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Purpose: Neck muscle vibration immediately improves cervical joint position sense and dynamic postural control but increases pressure pain thresholds in neck pain patients. The aim of this study was to explore longer lasting effects of neck muscle vibration on sensorimotor control and pressure pain threshold. Materials and methods: Five series of neck muscle vibration were delivered to 15 neck pain patients and 11 healthy controls in this case control study. ⋯ Neck muscle vibration improves arm-matching acuity in neck pain patients. Neck muscle vibration increases pressure pain thresholds at the stimulated place but decrease pressure pain thresholds more distally. Neck muscle vibration shows distinct effects in neck pain patients and healthy control.
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Purpose: The objectives of this scoping review were to summarize, understand, and disseminate findings from a broad body of literature on rehabilitation interventions used with survivors of head and neck cancer. Method: Searches were conducted in six databases. Inclusion criteria were studies of adult head and neck cancer survivors with a predefined primary rehabilitation outcome as a result of an intervention. ⋯ Rehabilitation programs should consider swallowing interventions for patients as evidence reports improved swallowing function, decreased pain and discomfort, and reduced duration of feeding tube use. Rehabilitation programs should consider nutritional interventions after radiotherapy: Patients benefited from stabilized weights, improved nutritional status, and an improved quality of life. Physical exercise interventions demonstrated improvements in physical function, muscular endurance, range of motion, overall quality of life, and showed reductions in pain, and fatigue.
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Purpose: To cross-culturally translate the Identification of Functional Ankle Instability (IdFAI) questionnaire into Persian and to assess its psychometric properties and factor structure. Methods: The Persian version of IdFAI questionnaire was prepared after a forward-backward translation and cultural adaptation process. One hundred and twenty patients with a history of lateral ankle sprain completed the Persian version of this questionnaire and the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT), Foot and Ankle Ability Measure, Foot and Ankle Outcome Score, Fear Avoidance Belief questionnaire and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia in the first test session. ⋯ Implications for Rehabilitation The Persian version of the Identification of Functional Ankle Instability (IdFAI) questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument in order to identify Iranian patients with functional ankle instability in both clinical practice and research. The Persian IdFAI questionnaire may be considered as a standardized clinical instrument that can be used to classify degree of ankle instability in Iranian Persian-speaking people with a history of lateral ankle sprain. People with a history of ankle sprain can be assessed using IdFAI questionnaire before and after rehabilitative interventions in an attempt to determine any change in their degree of ankle instability over time.
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Purpose: To determine the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) cut-off scores and verify if they would be able to discriminate between chronic stroke individuals, who had poor, from those who had good functional capacity (FC). Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study, where 92 individuals with chronic stroke had their FC measured by DASI scores and were classified into community and non-community walkers. Both the receiver operating characteristic and the area under the curve were used to determine the best DASI cut-off values that could discriminate between individuals, who had poor, from those who had good FC. ⋯ The DASI cut-off of 31.95 points was able to discriminate between individuals with stroke, who had poor, from those who had good functional capacity. The chance of individuals, who had good functional capacity (DASI ≥ 31.95) be community walkers was 10.69 times higher than that of those who had poor functional capacity (DASI < 31.95). The findings support the use of the DASI as a simple tool for the assessment of functional capacity, especially in low-resource settings.