Reframing how we care for people with persistent non-traumatic musculoskeletal pain. Suggestions for the rehabilitation community.

There have been repeated calls to re-evaluate how clinicians provide care for people presenting with persistent non-traumatic musculoskeletal conditions. One suggestion is to move away from the 'we can fix and cure you' model to adopting an approach that is more consistent with approaches used when managing other persistent non-communicable diseases; education, advice, a major focus on self-management including lifestyle behavioural change, physical activity and medications as required. Currently the global delivery of musculoskeletal care has many of the elements of a 'super wicked problem', namely conflict of interest from stake-holders due to the consequences of change, prevailing expectation of a structural diagnosis and concomitant fix for musculoskeletal pain, persistent funding of high risk, more expensive care when low risk more economic viable options that don't impact on the quality of outcome exist, and an unquestionable need to find a solution now with the failure resulting in a growing social and economic burden for future generations.

Why Rehabilitation must have priority during and after the COVID-19-pandemic: A position statement of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance.

COVID-19 has become a pandemic with strong influence on health systems. In many cases it leads to a disruption of rehabilitation service provision. On the other hand, rehabilitation must be an integral part of COVID-19 management.

Do women with breast cancer report treatment after-effects to healthcare professionals, and who provides the intervention?

There is a gap between the need for and referral to rehabilitation in women with breast cancer who have ongoing treatment-related problems. The objectives of this study were to determine whether nonreporting of health issues is a contributing factor towards the referral gap and to map the range of professionals who offer intervention. A postal questionnaire based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health core set for breast cancer was sent to healthcare professionals working in all centres of excellence for the treatment of breast cancer in Ireland.

A global view of direct access and patient self-referral to physical therapy: implications for the profession.

Background: International policy advocates for direct access, but the extent to which it exists worldwide was unknown.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to map the presence of direct access to physical therapy services in the member organizations of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) in the context of physical therapist practice and health systems.

Design: A 2-stage, mixed-method, descriptive study was conducted.

How much change is true change? The minimum detectable change of the Berg Balance Scale in elderly people.

Objective: To determine the minimum detectable change at 95% confidence for the Berg Balance Scale in a group of elderly people, undergoing physiotherapy rehabilitation.

Design: Multi-centre, test-retest design.

Subjects: Cross-sectional sample of convenience of people over 65 years (n = 118) without a previous history of stroke, Parkinson's disease or recent hip arthroplasty.

A randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of an individual auditory cueing device on freezing and gait speed in people with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder resulting from a degeneration of dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra. Clinical symptoms typically affect gait pattern and motor performance. Evidence suggests that the use of individual auditory cueing devices may be used effectively for the management of gait and freezing in people with Parkinson's disease.

Use of outcome measures in physiotherapy practice in ireland from 1998 to 2003 and comparison to canadian trends.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine changes in the use of standardized outcome measures by practising physiotherapists in Ireland and to compare those trends to the results of a similar survey conducted previously in Canada.

Method: A survey methodology was employed. The review of practice occurred at two points in time.