Physical Therapy News and Research

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Study shows social robot offers new strategies for pain management

Could furry social robots help bolster moods and reduce pain when human to human contact isn't an option, for example, during a pandemic?

23 Jun 2020

Pandemic forced insurers to pay for in-home treatments. Will they disappear?

After seven days as an inpatient for complications related to heart problems, Glenn Shanoski was initially hesitant when doctors suggested in early April that he could cut his hospital stay short and recover at home — with high-tech 24-hour monitoring and daily visits from medical teams.

23 Jun 2020

Neuroscientist discovers neuronal pulses in the human brain that activate after an injury

A neuroscientist's neon pink arm cast led him and fellow researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to discover previously undetected neuronal pulses in the human brain that activate after an immobilizing illness or injury.

17 Jun 2020

New nonsurgical treatment reduces pain, improves function in patients with "frozen shoulder"

A new nonsurgical treatment decreases errant blood flow in the shoulder to quickly reduce pain and improve function in patients with adhesive capsulitis, also known as "frozen shoulder,"

15 Jun 2020

Telemedicine helps patients with chronic pain receive support during lockdown

The covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated conditions for people living with chronic pain around the world and its long-term consequences are likely to be substantial, according to a new paper from researchers at the University of Bath's Centre for Pain Research.

11 Jun 2020

Majority of hospitalized patients with advanced cancer have functional impairment

New research from Mass General Cancer Center, published in the June 2020 issue of JNCCN--Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, found 40.2% of hospitalized patients with advanced, incurable cancer were functionally impaired at the time of admission, meaning they needed assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) like walking, bathing, getting dressed, or other routine tasks. Patients with functional impairment also had higher rates of pain, depression, and anxiety, and were more likely to have longer hospital stays and worse survival.

8 Jun 2020

Patients with ARDS, COVID-19 experience severe financial toxicity

It begins with shortness of breath. And for approximately one-third of patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, ends in death. For those who survive, their lives are often turned upside-down.

3 Jun 2020

New framework for assessing and managing people with serious spinal pathologies

Rehabilitation clinicians and other health care professionals now have a framework for assessing and managing people who may have serious spinal pathologies.

28 May 2020

Adding eccentric exercises could improve outcomes for people with ACL injuries

People with anterior cruciate ligament injuries can lose up to 40% of the muscle strength in the affected leg--with muscle atrophy remaining a big problem even after ACL reconstruction and physical therapy.

13 May 2020

Soft robotic exosuit improves biomechanical gait functions in stroke patients

Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the US with approximately 17 million individuals experiencing it each year.

11 May 2020

Gene therapy helps build muscle mass and reduces severity of osteoarthritis in mice

Exercise and physical therapy often are recommended to help people who have arthritis. Both can strengthen muscle -; a benefit that also can reduce joint pain.

8 May 2020

New preclinical study shows promise for treating necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a rare inflammatory bowel disease, primarily affects premature infants and is a leading cause of death in the smallest and sickest of these patients.

6 May 2020

Study: Individuals at high risk of knee arthritis can indulge in vigorous exercise

People at high risk for knee osteoarthritis may be nervous and reluctant to participate in strenuous physical activities such as jogging, cycling, singles tennis and skiing.

5 May 2020

Bioactive lipids are key for diagnosis and treatment of cardiac repair after heart attack

Black men and women have higher incidences than whites of developing advanced heart failure following a heart attack.

5 May 2020

UV experts publish therapeutic exercise programs for people with physical ailments

Experts from the Faculty of Physical Therapy of Valencia University (UV) are warning that the physical exercise programs that have flooded the internet since the confinement due to the COVID-19 crisis can worsen the symptoms of people with physical ailments and lead to catastrophisation and pain chronification.

21 Apr 2020

What does recovery from COVID-19 look like? It depends. A pulmonologist explains.

Reports of recovery from serious illness caused by the coronavirus have been trickling in from around the world.

9 Apr 2020

Studies shed light on the link between obesity and use of prescription opioids

Two new studies from the Boston University School of Public Health shed light on the relationship between obesity and the use of prescription opioids in the United States.

2 Apr 2020

Temple researchers reverse muscle fibrosis associated with overuse injury in animals

Overuse injuries - think muscle strains, tennis elbow, and rotator cuff tears - are a considerable problem in the United States, especially among young athletes.

30 Mar 2020

Coronavirus threatens the lives of rural hospitals already stretched to breaking point

Rural hospitals may not be able to keep their doors open as the coronavirus pandemic saps their cash, their CEOs warn, just as communities most need them.

22 Mar 2020

Technology effectively detects harsh side effect of breast cancer treatment

Some 20 percent of breast cancer survivors will suffer from lymphedema, a potentially severe side effect of treatment that makes arms swell with lymph. The disease is often overlooked, but commercially available app-based technology now makes early detection easier, allowing for proactive treatment.

16 Mar 2020