Single limb cable driven wearable robotic device for upper extremity movement support after traumatic brain injury.

Introduction: Recently, soft exosuits have been proposed for upper limb movement assistance, most supporting single joint movements. We describe the design of a portable wearable robotic device (WRD), "Armstrong," able to support three degrees-of-freedom of arm movements, and report on its feasibility for movement support of individuals with hemiparesis after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: We introduce Armstrong and report on a pilot evaluation with two male individuals post-TBI (T1 and T2) and two healthy individuals.

Robot-Assisted Training of Arm and Hand Movement Shows Functional Improvements for Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: The aim of the study was to demonstrate the feasibility, tolerability, and effectiveness of robotic-assisted arm training in incomplete chronic tetraplegia.

Design: Pretest/posttest/follow-up was conducted. Ten individuals with chronic cervical spinal cord injury were enrolled.

Understanding the Relationship Between Physical Therapist Participation in Interdisciplinary Rounds and Hospital Readmission Rates: Preliminary Study.

Background: Providing patients with optimal discharge disposition and follow-up services could prevent unplanned readmissions. Despite their qualifications, physical therapists are rarely represented on the interdisciplinary team.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between the participation of physical therapists in interdisciplinary discharge rounds and readmission rates.

Robotic training and clinical assessment of upper extremity movements after spinal cord injury: a single case report.

Case Report: A 28-year-old woman, with incomplete spinal cord injury at the C2 level, classified as American Spinal Injury Impairment Scale C (AIS), participated in a robotic rehabilitation program 29 months after injury. Robotic training was provided to both upper extremities using the MAHI Exo-II, an exoskeleton device designed for rehabilitation of the upper limb, for 12 × 3-h sessions over 4 weeks. Training involved elbow flexion/extension, forearm supination/pronation, wrist flexion/extension, and radial/ulnar deviation.

Effect of step training and rhythmic auditory stimulation on functional performance in Parkinson patients.

Background: Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) can influence movement during straight line walking and direction transition in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD).

Objective: The authors studied whether multidirectional step training with RAS would generalize to functional gait conditions used in daily activities and balance.

Methods: In a matched-pairs design, 8 patients practiced externally paced (EP) stepping (RAS group), and 8 patients practiced internally paced (IP) stepping (no RAS group) for 6 weeks.

Comparison of reaching kinematics during mirror and parallel robot assisted movements.

The use of robotic devices in rehabilitation allows therapists to administer the desired movement with the preferred level of assistance while expending minimum effort. Robotic devices have been used in recent years to enhance sensori-motor recovery of the impaired arm in persons with stroke. Despite recent recommendations for bimanual practice, robot-assisted bimanual activities are rarely explored and are limited to mirror image movements.

Aging and low back pain among exercise participants: a follow-up study with psychological adaptation factors.

This study is a follow-up to a study previously published in this journal that reported the moderating function of exercise exertion amid the relationship between age and low back pain (LBP) among consistent exercise participants. The current study analyzed factors of psychological adaptation as potential mediators within the age--LBP relationship. Measures of psychological adaptation included psychological vulnerability, avoidant coping, resilient coping, and perceived resilience.