https://medicalxpress.com/physiatry-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Physiatry 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 efficient at activating those nerve fibers that are believed to contribute decisively to therapeutic effects. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by an international team with the participation of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-spinal-reveal-high-frequency-pulses.html Thu, 21 May 2026 19:00:02 EDT news698593321 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 training, demonstrating the potential for enduring recovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-wearable-knee-robot-children-muscle.html Thu, 21 May 2026 14:40:04 EDT news698581801 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 physical and cognitive demands. Jane Konidis, M.D., a physiatrist and director of Gaming and Esports Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, shares tips to protect your health, whether you're using a video game console, computer, or smartphone for esports activities. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-health-esports-circuit-competitive-video.html Thu, 21 May 2026 12:20:06 EDT news698582641 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 for people recovering at home after being on a ventilator in intensive care. The trial was conducted across 52 NHS hospitals and managed by Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, with leadership from Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-clinical-trial-online-home-recovery.html Tue, 19 May 2026 16:40:08 EDT news698421122 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. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-prosthetic-feet-curb-medical-equipment.html Wed, 13 May 2026 14:00:03 EDT news697886281 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, restoring movement after spinal cord injury has remained one of neuroscience's most intractable problems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-reconnecting-body-brain-europe-breakthrough.html Mon, 11 May 2026 19:20:04 EDT news697737061 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 has exploded. Social media influencers, podcasters, wellness clinics and online sellers promote peptides as a quick and easy way to build muscle faster, heal injuries more quickly, reduce inflammation, lose fat, sleep better and more. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-peptide-people-recover-injuries.html Thu, 07 May 2026 12:20:02 EDT news697374061 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 for functional neurological disorder (FND) patients. The research is published in the journal Advances in Rehabilitation Science and Practice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-specialist-inpatient-neurorehabilitation-positive-impact.html Wed, 06 May 2026 18:00:03 EDT news697303682 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 emotions experience greater disruption to daily life from pain over time due to increased psychological distress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-emotion-recognition-issues-linked-chronic.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:00:06 EDT news696599761 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 and collaborators in Ukraine. The findings are published in the journal eClinicalMedicine. The study is the first to track over time how anxiety, depression and quality of life interact with pain in an amputee population. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ukraine-war-amputees-pain-trauma.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:30:01 EDT news695979875 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 behavioral therapy. While long-term pain relief was similar across different treatment approaches, small differences between the groups support physical therapy as a first-line treatment strategy consistent with practice guidelines for chronic low back pain. The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-physical-therapy-modest-chronic-pain.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:40:01 EDT news695973902 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 of Technology (Caltech) is now one step closer. The team is building a fully implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) that allows patients to use their thoughts to control wearable robotic legs, known as a robotic exoskeleton. The system is designed to help patients walk while also restoring the sensation of walking. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-brain-interface-paralysis-linking-thoughts.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:20:03 EDT news695555942 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. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-reveals-unseen-motor-spinal-cord.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:00:06 EDT news695317201 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 and treating nerve injuries, many patients don't get all their movement or feeling back. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-gene-based-therapy-nerves-severe.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:40:05 EDT news694960181 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 studies have shown that HR can help maintain and improve activities of daily living (ADL) among older adults with limited access to outpatient services, the dose-response relationship between the amount of HR time per week and ADL improvement remains unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-longer-weekly-home-linked-daily.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:00:02 EDT news694175257 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 motivation or knowledge of how to properly use them. Part of the reason for this is that compared to the time and resources devoted to improving the comfort and function of prostheses, much less attention is spent on making prosthetic training more effective. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-augmented-reality-prosthesis.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:00:05 EDT news694363070 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 a new study led by researchers at University of Iowa Health Care. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-tens-physical-therapy-eases-fibromyalgia.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:20:03 EDT news693833701 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 found in a recent study. These individuals' concerns were assessed as part of the ongoing development of an interactive fall management and safety training program to be delivered through a mobile app. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-falls-prevalent-people-wheelchairs-scooters.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 07:10:01 EDT news693808963 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 Sciences, Amanda Rabinowitz, Ph.D. and her team at Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute have developed an approach to increasing physical activity in TBI patients to decrease cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-physical-people-traumatic-brain-injury.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:10:07 EDT news693763202 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 to promote hand and arm recovery is necessary because persistent hand weakness is known to reduce a person's independence at six months after stroke. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-therapy-earlier-didnt-boost-recovery.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 07:00:01 EDT news693646561 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 in the British Medical Journal, found a coordinated program of functional exercise, preventing hazards around the home and out-of-home mobility coaching reduced falls by 33% over 12 months. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-home-based-slashes-falls.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:20:01 EDT news693565790 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 to a new multisite clinical trial led by Virginia Tech researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-intensive-therapy-approaches-benefits-infants.html Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:00:05 EDT news692536188 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 the coordinated movement involved in walking. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-spinal-injury-leg-movement-sensory.html Wed, 11 Mar 2026 06:00:05 EDT news692362381 Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz have identified a critical gap in how post-amputation pain is evaluated and treated. The study shows that pain after lower limb amputation is not a single uniform condition but a set of distinct experiences that change depending on activity level and prosthetic design. These findings could influence care strategies for the nearly two million Americans living with limb loss, a number expected to grow in the coming decades. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-multiple-amputation-pain-revealed-treatment.html Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:00:05 EST news692019914 A team of researchers from Skoltech, the Federal Center for Brain and Neurotechnologies (FMBA of Russia), Lomonosov Moscow State University, and other leading organizations has released a dataset that will enable deeper study of how the brain recovers after a stroke. The work, published in Scientific Data, is the first in the world to combine long-term recordings of brain activity obtained using two advanced methods—electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The data are openly available, allowing scientists worldwide to accelerate the development of personalized rehabilitation methods and brain-computer interfaces. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-recovery.html Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:20:03 EST news691781102 A new, fully customizable 3D printed socket design is set to transform the prosthetics industry. The reimagined limb socket interface combines highly personalized pressure mapping with AI software and a lighter infill, creating a highly customized prosthetic that's more comfortable to wear, for much longer, say researchers at Simon Fraser University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-prosthetic-combines-ai-3d.html Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:00:02 EST news691686300 A new risk prediction model shows good predictive value in identifying risk for neurogenic bladder (NB) after spinal cord injury (SCI) and guiding clinical interventions, according to a study published in the British Journal of Hospital Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-ids-people-spinal-cord-injury.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:40:13 EST news691313196 Stroke patients with Medicare Advantage health insurance plans are less likely to be discharged to highly rated post-acute care than those covered by traditional Medicare, according to a new study co-led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. The results, published this week in JAMA Network Open, also show these disparities were most pronounced among patients dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-medicare-advantage-medicaremedicaid-eligible-patients.html Wed, 25 Feb 2026 15:40:05 EST news691255261 Patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) who complete computerized cognitive games show improved neuroplasticity and cognitive performance, according to new research published in Journal of Neurotrauma. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-brain-games-boost-white-chronic.html Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:00:06 EST news690715176 The way we understand the movement of our own bodies plays an important role when learning physical skills, from sports to dancing. But a new study finds this phenomenon works very differently for people learning to use robotic prosthetic devices. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-days-robotic-leg-people-misread.html Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:30:02 EST news690524589