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Physiatry news
Hidden link: Brain injuries often come before homelessness, interviews reveal
More than half of those who are homeless have suffered a brain injury at some point in their lives, whether it be a traumatic brain injury (TBI) such as a blow to the head or concussion, a stroke, a brain tumor or an alcohol-related ...
May 28, 2026
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Using vagus nerve stimulation to improve treatment for movement rehabilitation
The vagus nerve connects the brain to major organs throughout the body and plays important roles in many bodily functions. For people with mobility issues participating in physical therapy, stimulating the vagus nerve with ...
May 25, 2026
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Spinal stimulation data reveal why high-frequency pulses may miss key nerve pathways
Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, such as following a spinal cord injury, has made great strides in recent years. However, high-frequency stimulation pulses, which are used in many current applications, appear less ...
May 21, 2026
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Wearable knee robot could help children with muscle weakness
A lightweight robotic device that facilitates neuromuscular recovery in children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), helping them to stand unassisted, is published in Nature this week. Improved function persists after discontinuing ...
May 21, 2026
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Health on the esports circuit: Competitive video game players can face a range of injuries
Competing in esports, also known as electronic sports, can mean training for several hours a day in front of a screen. Whether people participate in video game competitions at the professional or amateur level, they face ...
May 21, 2026
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Clinical trial of online rehabilitation at home offers hope of better recovery for intensive care survivors
A UK-wide trial, managed by Warwick Medical School, finds that online rehabilitation at home can meaningfully improve quality of life for some intensive care survivors. The iRehab Trial tested an online rehabilitation program ...
May 19, 2026
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New rules for used prosthetic feet could curb 'medical equipment graveyards'
Researchers have proposed new standards into the decades-old prosthetic donations market, improving the quality of lower limb prosthetic feet by two-thirds—a major quality of life boost for recipients.
May 13, 2026
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Reconnecting body and brain: Europe's breakthrough in reversing paralysis
Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains one of the most devastating neurological conditions, severing communication between the brain and the body and leaving millions worldwide with permanent paralysis. Despite decades of research, ...
May 11, 2026
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Can peptide injections help people recover from injuries? Here's what you need to know
It's tough to avoid the current hype about the health benefits of injecting peptides. Although these substances—essentially, synthetic bits of protein in solution—have long made the rounds in the fitness world, their popularity ...
May 7, 2026
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Specialist inpatient neurorehabilitation has a positive impact on patients with functional neurological disorders
A first-of-its-kind study by the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has demonstrated how specialist inpatient rehabilitation can result in significant and lasting improvements ...
May 6, 2026
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Emotion recognition issues linked to chronic pain
A large, two-year study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and consisting of more than 1,400 adults living with chronic pain across the United States found that people who struggle to identify and describe their ...
Apr 28, 2026
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Ukraine's war amputees are breaking the pain-trauma cycle, with most regaining function and quality of life
Most war amputees experience steady improvements in pain, psychological symptoms and quality of life over time, according to a new study that followed 156 Ukrainian amputees for one year and was led by Northwestern Medicine ...
Apr 21, 2026
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Physical therapy provides modest improvements for chronic low back pain
A sequential, multiple assignment, randomized trial (SMART) found that people with chronic low back pain experienced slight improvement in daily function when starting treatment with physical therapy compared with cognitive ...
Apr 21, 2026
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A two-way brain interface could help restore walking after paralysis by linking thoughts, robotic legs and sensation
Restoring both walking and sensation to patients with paraplegia is an ambitious goal—but a team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the California Institute ...
Apr 16, 2026
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Research reveals unseen changes in motor control after spinal cord injury
Even when people with incomplete spinal cord injuries can walk, everyday functions like standing, balancing or producing steady force may remain difficult. A new study shows why.
Apr 13, 2026
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Novel gene-based therapy helps nerves heal better after severe injury
Peripheral nerve injuries, often caused by traumatic events such as car accidents, falls or battlefield injuries, can leave patients with long-term weakness, numbness or loss of function. Despite surgery and advances in understanding ...
Apr 9, 2026
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Longer weekly home-visit rehabilitations linked to improved activities of daily living in older adults
In aging societies, the role of home-visit rehabilitation (HR)—which provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy in patients' homes—is becoming increasingly important for supporting independent living. Although previous ...
Apr 4, 2026
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Using augmented reality to motivate prosthesis training
Artificial limbs look and function more like real limbs than ever before—but that's only helpful if they are used as intended. One of the main reasons amputees give for not using their body-powered prosthesis is a lack of ...
Apr 2, 2026
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TENS plus physical therapy eases fibromyalgia pain and fatigue, study finds
Adding TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) to outpatient physical therapy reduced movement-based pain and fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia, and the effects lasted for at least six months, according to ...
Mar 27, 2026
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Falls are prevalent concerns among people who use wheelchairs, scooters
More than 98% of adults who predominantly used wheelchairs and scooters for mobility reported some level of concern about falling, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Illinois Chicago ...
Mar 27, 2026
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Improving physical activity in people with traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. Physical activity decreases this risk through improving cognitive health. In a recent study appearing in Frontiers in Rehabilitation ...
Mar 26, 2026
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'More therapy, earlier' didn't boost recovery in NZ stroke rehabilitation trial
A clinical trial led by University of Auckland researchers found that high-intensity therapy for patients begun within two weeks of a stroke did not improve hand and arm recovery beyond standard care. Targeting new treatments ...
Mar 26, 2026
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Home-based program slashes post-stroke falls rate by 33%, study shows
New Australian research has shown that a tailored, home-based program can dramatically cut the number of falls, one of the most dangerous risks faced by survivors of stroke. The "falls after stroke trial" or FAST, published ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Intensive therapy approaches show benefits for infants and toddlers with cerebral palsy
Infants and toddlers with unilateral cerebral palsy, which affects the brain's control of muscles on one side of the body, show lasting improvements in hand and arm function when they receive early, high-dose therapy, according ...
Mar 12, 2026
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Spinal stimulation above and below injury restores leg movement and sensory feedback in clinical trial
The effects of spinal cord injuries are complex and multifaceted. People lose not only the ability to control the movement of their limbs, but also the ability to receive sensory feedback from them. Both are critical to generate ...
Mar 11, 2026
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