https://medicalxpress.com/physiatry-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Physiatry One minute you're reaching for an item on a shelf, picking up a child or simply getting out of bed. The next, a sudden stab of pain in your lower back leaves you wondering what just happened. Many people call it "throwing out" their back. The phrase generally describes low back pain that starts suddenly, says Dr. Min Yoo, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona who has subspecialty training in pain medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-sudden-pain-expert.html Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:00:06 EDT news710133841 A team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers has developed a wearable wrist device powered by a machine-learning algorithm that can continuously track changes in arm movement impairment after a stroke. Monitoring those changes throughout rehabilitation could allow clinicians to adjust therapy in real time, tailoring care instead of relying on the current one-size-fits-all approach. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-wearable-device-patients-upper.html Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:00:36 EDT news709900321 For children participating in a six-minute walk test at the University of Kentucky, a trip down the clinic hallway can now become something more: a game. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-game-collaboration-art-technology-play.html Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:23 EDT news709985404 This year, members of Seattle Mountain Rescue have been setting off into the wilds of the U.S. Pacific Northwest wearing an unusual piece of equipment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-dawn-age-exoskeleton.html Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:20:04 EDT news709982342 Researchers at Mass General Brigham have found that moderate-intensity exercise alters circulating extracellular vesicles in ways that promote cartilage health and tissue resilience, identifying microRNA-29 as a key mediator that improved characteristics of aged cartilage cells and reduced signs of joint degeneration. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-medicine-joints-aging-osteoarthritis.html Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:00:02 EDT news709917361 Rutgers engineers have developed a smart shoe that automatically analyzes how a person walks, a technology that someday could help monitor people with Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and other movement disorders. The prototype analyzes movement with 95.4% accuracy while counting steps and estimating calories burned. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-smart-track-people.html Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:00:15 EDT news709891501 A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can turn a person's life upside down, leaving lasting effects on memory, thinking, physical abilities and overall quality of life. TBI remains one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Yet, paradoxically, the same injury that harms the brain may sometimes appear to benefit a broken bone by speeding up healing. In a recent study published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers explored whether the reverse is true. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-gentle-rhythmic-shinbone-brains-faster.html Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:10:01 EDT news709471325 From osteoarthritis to a splitting migraine, when you're experiencing pain, exercise can seem like the last thing you want or think you should do. But according to new Adelaide University research published in PAIN Reports, it could be one of the most effective ways to help ease your symptoms. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-shorter-gentler-ease-pain-tougher.html Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:20:06 EDT news709402081 A lightweight artificial intelligence (AI) system designed to assess rehabilitation exercises in real time could make computer-assisted therapy more practical on low-powered devices, according to research in the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ai-tracks-simple-devices.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:10 EDT news708956761 Knee osteoarthritis is a widespread and painful joint condition. It causes chronic pain, cartilage breakdown and trouble moving. Doctors rely on X-rays and patient surveys to track how the disease progresses. These traditional methods have a major blind spot. They do not show how a person actually moves during daily life outside a clinical exam. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-wearable-sensors-accurately-track-knee.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:40:03 EDT news708769802 A scientific team has shown that a new brain-computer interface (BCI) can allow people with vocal tract and bodily paralysis to convey both speech and upper-body gestures simultaneously. While BCIs have facilitated one or the other in the past, this new system is the first to enable both modes of communication at once, more closely replicating natural expression. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-brain-interface-enables-avatar-speech.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:00:01 EDT news708349801 For many in the workforce, spending hours at a computer is an unavoidable part of daily life. Sitting for prolonged periods in the same position can contribute to low back pain (LBP), which affects up to 80% of people over their lifetime and remains a leading cause of disability worldwide. A group of French researchers decided to find out whether wearing a soft, flexible lower-back support belt can help people with common, unexplained lower back pain feel better and move more easily. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-soft-belts-ease-everyday-pain.html Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:30:01 EDT news708076124 Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. live through a stroke. Survivors may face challenges with walking, eating, speaking and other essential parts of life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-survivors-caregivers-rehab.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:20:06 EDT news707391182 A team of Indiana University School of Medicine scientists has developed and tested a new intervention for incarcerated people with traumatic brain injuries. The approach has already shown promising results in preventing people from returning to prison or facing repeat arrest. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-traumatic-brain-injury-decreases-likelihood.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:00:05 EDT news707388541 A University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) stroke rehabilitation specialist helped develop new recommendations for studying molecular biomarkers associated with recovery from stroke. The new guidelines could help pave the way for precision rehabilitation approaches tailored to individual patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-guidelines-aim-precision-medicine.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 07:00:01 EDT news707369281 A stroke can change life in an instant, affecting everything from walking and speaking to memory, mood and the ability to perform everyday tasks. Recovery often continues for months or even years as survivors of stroke work to regain independence and quality of life. A new guideline from the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, emphasizes that every person who has a stroke should receive a personalized assessment and begin rehabilitation during their hospital stay once they are medically stable, supported by a team of specialists who can address physical, cognitive, communication and emotional challenges throughout recovery. The 2026 Guideline for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery was published today in the journal Stroke. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-rehab-early-physical-cognitive-mental.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:11 EDT news706887661 Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, may help improve speech and swallowing problems caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to a new University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-deep-brain-potential-communication-traumatic.html Sat, 22 Aug 2026 11:40:04 EDT news706613827 Maintaining activities of daily living (ADLs) is important for terminally ill cancer patients, and dependency is associated with psychological distress. However, evidence for rehabilitation remains scarce in this setting. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-efficacy-terminally-ill-cancer-patients.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 10:40:11 EDT news706438466 Transitioning from high school to adult life is a challenge for anyone, but for young people living with spinal cord injuries, the path forward is less clear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-residential-young-adults-spinal-cord.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news706433102 When it comes to daily aches and pains, it's not uncommon for knees to be a main source. And while there can be many different long-term causes of such issues, osteoarthritis is often a reason why. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-osteoarthritis.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 23:00:02 EDT news706258113 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Eve (Wandercraft), the first self-balancing personal exoskeleton for eligible adult wheelchair users living with spinal cord injury. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-fda-personal-exoskeleton.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 10:00:05 EDT news705984127 A new pilot study reports that direct-current (DC) microcurrent stimulation was associated with a statistically significant reduction in measured postsurgical scar depth immediately following a single treatment. The article, "Effects of DC microcurrent stimulation on scar remodeling and tissue recovery," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-significant-reduction-postsurgical-scar-depth.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:00:02 EDT news705747939 Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and death, there is a growing need to develop innovative therapies to protect the brain and approach stroke rehabilitation in new ways. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-improving-stroke-care-and-innovation.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news705648782 Multitasking while walking—be it mentally drafting a grocery list or replying to a text message on a phone—is simply second nature to many. For stroke survivors with weakened mobility and cognitive abilities, however, this common practice of dual-task walking can present a formidable challenge. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-approach-personalize-dual-task.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:08 EDT news705248682 A visit from a therapy animal may do more than lift spirits. A new study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings highlights how animal-assisted treatment can support inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Patients who interacted with therapy animals showed greater engagement in their treatment, increased physical activity and greater mobility than those who did not. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-highlights-benefits-animal-treatment.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:20:05 EDT news705062161 A new study led by Clarkson University Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Kwadwo Appiah-Kubi introduces a virtual reality tool that could help clinicians better evaluate walking balance and detect balance problems before they lead to falls. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-virtual-reality.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:01 EDT news704013902 Researchers in the Neuromechatronics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University have already proven that spinal cord stimulation can help people regain movement after stroke, but until now they didn't quite know how. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-mechanism-spinal-arm-movement.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:40:05 EDT news703513846 For millions of stroke survivors, something as simple as picking up a glass of water or holding a sandwich is a daily challenge. Quentin Sanders wants to make those moments easier through wearable robotic technology designed to restore hand function. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-recovery.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:20:03 EDT news703410718 What if people who have lost the ability to feel their hands could get that sense back—not through a prosthetic glove, but through tiny pulses of electricity delivered directly to the brain? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brain-safely-decade.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:25 EDT news703314734 The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a soft, pneumatic glove that restores the ability of people with paralyzed hands to grasp objects. To achieve this, researchers at the TUM Chair of Cognitive Systems use electrical signals from the forearm muscles to reliably predict when a person intends to grasp an object. The invention could one day help people whose hands have been paralyzed as a result of accidents or neurological disorders. The research is published in Nature Machine Intelligence. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-special-glove-people-paralyzed-grasp.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news702550674