Understanding Experiences of Participation Among Men and Women With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Vocational Rehabilitation.
Understanding experiences of participation among men and women with chronic musculoskeletal pain in vocational rehabilitation.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Work. 2012 Dec 14;
Kvam L, Eide AH, Vik K
Objective: The objective of this study was to provide knowledge about participation and change in participation among men and women experiencing chronic musculoskeletal pain and undergoing multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation. Participants: Six women and four men participating in a vocational rehabilitation intervention. Method: Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The participants were encouraged to talk about their experiences and thoughts regarding participation in different life areas using previous, present, and future expectations. The analysis performed was constant comparative and inspired by grounded theory. Results: The core category was identified as “goal-oriented participation” which represented participation as intentional and situated. Three categories, “participating as before,” “participation constantly changing,” and “participating in work on hold,” were used, taking into account gender-influenced trajectories and understandings of participation before, during, and after sick leave and rehabilitation. Conclusion: The different trajectories of participation seemed to be gender specific and were connected to broader societal and environmental factors. These combined aspects seemed to affect values, motivation, and understanding of important goals while experiencing chronic pain. Examining goal-oriented participation may add to the understanding of gender differences in the rehabilitation process and thereby have implications for rehabilitation interventions.
HubMed – rehab
A review on the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on post-stroke aphasia.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Rev Neurosci. 2012 Dec 10; 1-10
Wong IS, Tsang HW
Abstract Background: This evidence-based review reports an updated evaluation and critical appraisal of available studies that investigated the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation. Methods: A literature search was performed to identify studies that investigated the therapeutic effects of rTMS on post-stroke aphasia in various electronic databases, from their inception to 2011. The selected studies were classified according to the types of participants, types of interventions, outcome measures, and results. The methodological qualities of the selected studies were evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Results: The current review was based on 12 studies, including open-label designs and controlled trials, that showed a positive effect of rTMS, with or without conventional rehabilitation, on post-stroke aphasia compared with sham or conventional rehabilitation alone. About 41% of the selected studies reported the long-term effect of rTMS on aphasia recovery. No adverse effect was reported. Conclusions: The current review reveals that rTMS with or without conventional rehabilitation has positive effects on post-stroke aphasia. The studies also contributed to the plausible mechanisms of stroke recovery. However, with the concerns over the methodology of the selected studies in this review, a larger-scale, multicenter, well-designed randomized controlled trial involving different phases and types of aphasia needs to be carried out before recommending rTMS as a complementary treatment for post-stroke aphasia.
HubMed – rehab
Assistive acting movement therapy devices with pneumatic rotary-type soft actuators.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Biomed Tech (Berl). 2012 Dec 1; 57(6): 445-56
Wilkening A, Baiden D, Ivlev O
Abstract Inherent compliance and assistive behavior are assumed to be essential properties for safe human-robot interaction. Rehabilitation robots demand the highest standards in this respect because the machine interacts directly with weak persons who are often sensitive to pain. Using novel soft fluidic actuators with rotary elastic chambers (REC actuators), compact, lightweight, and cost-effective therapeutic devices can be developed. This article describes modular design and control strategies for new assistive acting robotic devices for upper and lower extremities. Due to the inherent compliance and natural back-drivability of pneumatic REC actuators, these movement therapy devices provide gentle treatment, whereby the interaction forces between humans and the therapy device are estimated without the use of expensive force/torque sensors. An active model-based gravity compensation based on separated models of the robot and of the individual patient’s extremity provides the basis for effective assistive control. The utilization of pneumatic actuators demands a special safety concept, which is merged with control algorithms to provide a sufficient level of safeness and to catch any possible system errors and/or emergency situations. A self-explanatory user interface allows for easy, intuitive handling. Prototypes are very comfortable for use due to several control routines that work in the background. Assistive devices have been tested extensively with several healthy persons; the knee/hip movement therapy device is now under clinical trials at the Clinic for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery at the Klinikum Stuttgart.
HubMed – rehab
Technically assisted rehabilitation.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Biomed Tech (Berl). 2012 Dec 1; 57(6): 423-5
Stieglitz T, Niemann H, Kraft M
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