The Relationship between General Movements and Risk Factors in Moderate-Late Preterm Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Moderate-late preterm infants constitute the largest segment of preterm births globally. While previously considered to have a low neurological risk, recent research has uncovered an elevated incidence of neurodevelopmental conditions in this group. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the general movement assessment and birth-related risk factor-based tools in moderate-late preterm infants.

Effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation on balance and gait in patients with multiple sclerosis: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Background: Motor impairments are very common in neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Noninvasive brain stimulation could influence the motor function of patients.

Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on balance and gait ability in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and repercussions on neurodevelopment: A systematic review.

Background: Accumulation of bilirubin above normal levels is considered a neurological risk factor for both premature and full-term newborns. This systematic review aimed to determine the effect of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia on neurodevelopment in preterm and full-term newborns.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus and Lilacs databases were searched for articles published until 1 June 2022.

Tool Use for Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy: A Survey of Spanish Pediatric Physical Therapists.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the use of diagnostic assessment tools in pediatric physical therapy practice in Spain. Best practice recommendations indicate the timely use of key assessment tools to reduce the age of diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Pediatric physical therapists currently working in Spain in early intervention were recruited through targeted physical therapy entities.

The effect of therapeutic exercise in the prevention of lymphoedema secondary to breast cancer: a systematic review.

Introduction: One of the most frequent complications of breast cancer treatment is lymphoedema (LE), with lymphadenectomy and radiotherapy being the main triggers of this pathology in developed countries. The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy of therapeutic exercise in the prevention of upper limb (UL) lymphoedema evaluated through cirtometry, volumetry, or bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) in women after breast cancer removal surgery.

Material And Methods: The Pubmed, PEDro, and Cochrane databases were consulted up to May 2020, including randomised clinical trials (RCTs) on therapeutic physical exercise as a possible preventive measure against breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL).

Motivation to Physical Exercise in Manual Wheelchair Users With Paraplegia.

Motivation could be considered as a critical factor for being and staying physically active in the spinal cord-injured population. Our goals were (1) to describe motivation to exercise in people with paraplegia, comparing those who engage in regular physical exercise with those who do not and (2) to establish whether such motivation is related to the type of physical exercise practiced. This study was quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive research.

Combining transcranial direct-current stimulation with gait training in patients with neurological disorders: a systematic review.

Background: Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is an easy-to-apply, cheap, and safe technique capable of affecting cortical brain activity. However, its effectiveness has not been proven for many clinical applications.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether the effect of different strategies for gait training in patients with neurological disorders can be enhanced by the combined application of tDCS compared to sham stimulation.

Accelerometer assessment of physical activity in individuals with paraplegia who do and do not participate in physical exercise.

Objective: Our main goal was to measure physical activity (PA) in people with paraplegia. Secondarily, we aimed to establish the relationship between being engaged in physical exercise (PE) and reaching the recommended moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) level. We further analyzed the effect of being engaged in PE on the PA levels.

Application of a model to analyze shoulder biomechanics in adult patients with spinal cord injury when walking with crutches in two different gait patterns.

Background: Specific biomechanical models have been developed to study gait using crutches. Clinical application of these models is needed in adult spinal cord injury (SCI) population walking with different patterns of gait with crutches to prevent overuse shoulder injuries.

Objective: To apply a biomechanical model in a clinical environment to analyze shoulder in adult SCI patients walking with two different patterns of gait with crutches: two point reciprocal gait (RG) and swing-through gait (SG).

Novel kinematic indices for quantifying upper limb ability and dexterity after cervical spinal cord injury.

Loss of motor function is a consequence after cervical spinal cord injury. Three-dimensional kinematic analysis equipments are used for quantifying human movements in clinical laboratories. These systems may provide objectivity to the patient assessments.

Control of an Ambulatory Exoskeleton with a Brain-Machine Interface for Spinal Cord Injury Gait Rehabilitation.

The closed-loop control of rehabilitative technologies by neural commands has shown a great potential to improve motor recovery in patients suffering from paralysis. Brain-machine interfaces (BMI) can be used as a natural control method for such technologies. BMI provides a continuous association between the brain activity and peripheral stimulation, with the potential to induce plastic changes in the nervous system.

Novel kinematic indices for quantifying movement agility and smoothness after cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: After cervical Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), upper limb movements made by patients have a lack of smoothness and a hand velocity profile characterized by a high number of velocity peaks.

Objective: The aim of the present paper is to propose three novel kinematic indices for quantifying movement agility and smoothness, and to analyze their discriminative capability between healthy and pathological people.

Methods: 18 people, healthy and two groups of patients with cervical SCI, participated in the study.

Upper limb rehabilitation after spinal cord injury: a treatment based on a data glove and an immersive virtual reality environment.

Unlabelled: Purpose state: The aim of this preliminary study was to test a data glove, CyberTouch™, combined with a virtual reality (VR) environment, for using in therapeutic training of reaching movements after spinal cord injury (SCI).

Method: Nine patients with thoracic SCI were selected to perform a pilot study by comparing two treatments: patients in the intervention group (IG) conducted a VR training based on the use of a data glove, CyberTouch™ for 2 weeks, while patients in the control group (CG) only underwent the traditional rehabilitation. Furthermore, two functional parameters were implemented in order to assess patient's performance of the sessions: normalized trajectory lengths and repeatability.

Comparative biomechanical analysis of gait in patients with central cord and Brown-Séquard syndrome.

Purpose: This is a pilot study with the aim to highlight the use of kinematic and kinetic analyses as an adjunct to the assessment of individual patients with central cord syndrome (CCS) and hemisection or Brown-Séquard syndrome (BSS) and to discuss their possible consequences for clinical management.

Methods: The sample studied consisted of 17 patients with CCS, 13 with BSS and 20 control subjects (control group (CG)). Data were obtained using a three-dimensional motion analysis system and two force plates.

Comparative ergonomic assessment of manual wheelchairs by paraplegic users.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to describe and test the reliability of a comprehensive product-centered approach to assessing functional performance and wheelchair user perceptions on device ergonomics and satisfaction of performance. A pilot study was implemented using this approach to evaluate differences among four manual wheelchairs.

Method: Six wheelchair users with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) at the thoracic level and with no previous upper limbs impairment were recruited for this study.

Gait kinematic analysis in patients with a mild form of central cord syndrome.

Background: Central cord syndrome (CCS) is considered the most common incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Independent ambulation was achieved in 87-97% in young patients with CCS but no gait analysis studies have been reported before in such pathology. The aim of this study was to analyze the gait characteristics of subjects with CCS and to compare the findings with a healthy age, sex and anthropomorphically matched control group (CG), walking both at a self-selected speed and at the same speed.

Upper limb joint kinetics during manual wheelchair propulsion in patients with different levels of spinal cord injury.

The purpose of this study was to compare the forces and moments of the whole upper limb, analyzing forces and moments at the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints simultaneously during manual wheelchair propulsion of persons with different levels of spinal cord injury (SCI) on a treadmill. Fifty-one people participated in this study and were grouped by their level of SCI: C6 tetraplegia (G1), C7 tetraplegia (G2), high paraplegia (G3), and low paraplegia (G4). An inverse dynamic model was defined to compute net joint forces and moments from segment kinematics, the forces acting on the pushrim, and subject anthropometrics.