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Rehabilitation for People with Neurological Disorders

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 13332

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Paulo Henrique Silva Pelicioni

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Guest Editor

School of Physiotherapy, Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
Interests: physiotherapy; rehabilitation; neurorehabilitation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

People with neurological disorders often suffer from poor health outcomes, including reduced physical activity, co-morbidities and increased falls risk. Physiotherapy is an occupation concerned with providing rehabilitative strategies for individuals, including people with neurological disorders. Other allied-health professions play an important role in providing effective rehabilitation for people with diverse neurological disorders.

To garner knowledge from diverse perspectives, this special issue seeks research papers on various aspects of rehabilitation of people with neurological disorders. Such papers could include but not limited to: rehabilitation strategies for people with neurological disorders, analysis of tools to assess individuals’ impairments associated with their neurological disorders, strategies to enhance the quality of current treatments, and experimental research investigating impairments associated with neurological disorders.

We encourage the submission of multidisciplinary work and multi-country collaborative research. We also encourage the submission of new and hot-topic rehabilitation strategies, such as e-health and telehealth modalities for people with neurological disorders.

We welcome original research papers using different study designs, including qualitative research, feasibility studies, clinical trials and systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Dr. Paulo Henrique Silva Pelicioni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

physiotherapy
rehabilitation
neurorehabilitation
neurological disorders
telehealth
assessments
outcomes
balance disorders
gait impairment
falls

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2959 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Citation Network Study on the Use of New Technologies in Neurorehabilitation

by Vanesa Abuín-Porras, Clara Martinez-Perez, Carlos Romero-Morales, Roberto Cano-de-la-Cuerda, Patricia Martín-Casas, Patricia Palomo-López and Miguel Ángel Sánchez-Tena

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(1), 26; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19010026 - 21 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1897

Abstract

New technologies in neurorehabilitation is a wide concept that intends to find solutions for individual and collective needs through technical systems. Analysis through citation networks is used to search scientific literature related to a specific topic. On the one hand, the main countries, institutions, and authors researching this topic have been identified, as well as their evolution over time. On the other hand, the links between the authors, the countries, and the topics under research have been analyzed. The publications analysis was performed through the Web of Science database using the search terms “new technolog*,” “neurorehabilitation,” “physical therapy*,” and “occupational therapy*.” The selected interval of publication was from 1992 to December 2020. The results were analyzed using CitNetExplorer software. After a Web of Science search, a total of 454 publications and 135 citation networks were found, 1992 being the first year of publication. An exponential increase was detected from the year 2009. The largest number was detected in 2020. The main areas are rehabilitation and neurosciences and neurology. The most cited article was from Perry et al. in 2007, with a citation index of 460. The analysis of the top 20 most cited articles shows that most approach the use of robotic devices and brain–computer interface systems. In conclusion, the main theme was found to be the use of robotic devices to address neuromuscular rehabilitation goals and brain–computer interfaces and their applications in neurorehabilitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation for People with Neurological Disorders)

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8 pages, 741 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Force Production in Parkinson’s Disease Subtypes

by Paulo Henrique Silva Pelicioni, Marcelo Pinto Pereira, Juliana Lahr, Paulo Cezar Rocha dos Santos and Lilian Teresa Bucken Gobbi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10044; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph181910044 - 24 Sep 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1935

Abstract

Muscle weakness is a secondary motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD), especially in the subtype characterized by postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD). Since the PIGD subtype also presents worse bradykinesia, we hypothesized that it also shows a decreased rate of force development, which is linked to an increased risk of falling in PD. Therefore, we investigated the effects of PD and PD subtypes on a force production profile and correlated the force production outcomes with clinical symptoms for each PD subtype. We assessed three groups of participants: 14 healthy older adults (OA), 10 people with PD composing the PIGD group, and 14 people with PD composing the tremor-dominant group. Three knee extension maximum voluntary isometric contractions were performed in a leg extension machine equipped with a load cell to assess the force production. The outcome measures were: peak force and rate of force development (RFD) at 50 ms (RFD50), 100 ms (RFD100), and 200 ms (RFD200). We observed lower peak force, RFD50, RFD100, and RFD200 in people with PD, regardless of subtypes, compared with the OA group (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Together, our results indicated that PD affects the capacity to produce maximal and rapid force. Therefore, future interventions should consider rehabilitation programs for people with PD based on muscle power and fast-force production, and consequently reduce the likelihood of people with PD falling from balance-related events, such as from an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a tripping hazard or a poor and slower stepping response. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation for People with Neurological Disorders)

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9 pages, 496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spanish Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Wisconsin Gait Scale

by Cecilia Estrada-Barranco, Vanesa Abuín-Porras, Javier López-Ruiz, Ismael Sanz-Esteban, Francisco Molina-Rueda and Roberto Cano-de-la-Cuerda

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6903; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18136903 - 27 Jun 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1643

Abstract

Introduction: the Wisconsin Gait Scale (WGS) has been shown to be a valid and quick tool for analyzing gait in post-stroke people in the clinical setting. Its widespread use has led to versions of the scale in other languages, but so far there has been no version in Spanish. Objective: to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of the WGS for use in the Spanish-speaking population and to analyze the content validity. Materials and methods: the Spanish version was obtained using the double translation method and back translation method, followed by a review by an expert committee. This expert committee evaluated the content validity index (CVI) for each item on the version obtained and for the entire scale (scale content validity index (S-CVI)). The item content validity index (I-CIV) was calculated as the number of experts whose score had been 3 or 4 divided by the total number of experts. To obtain the S-CVI, the middle of the I-CVI was calculated for all the items on the scale. Results: the Spanish version of the WGS was obtained after the expert committee evaluation. The CVI was excellent for its general assessment (0.91), excellent for 85.7% of its items (≥0.78), and good for 14.3% of the CVI (≥0.72). Conclusions: the Spanish version of the WGS was developed through a process of cross-cultural adaptation from its original English version, and, according to an expert committee, it had an excellent content validity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation for People with Neurological Disorders)

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Review

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10 pages, 332 KiB

Open AccessReview

Proverbs and Aphorisms in Neurorehabilitation: A Literature Review

by Roberto Cano-de-la-Cuerda

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9240; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18179240 - 01 Sep 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3098

Abstract

Introduction: Brain plasticity is not limited to childhood or adolescence, as originally assumed, but continues into adulthood. Understanding this conceptual evolution about the nervous system, neuroscience and neurorehabilitation, researchers have left different proverbs and aphorisms derived of their investigations that are still used in university and postgraduate training. A proverb is defined as a phrase of popular origin traditionally repeated invariably, in which a moral thought, advice or teaching is expressed. On the other hand, an aphorism is understood as a brief and doctrinal phrase or sentence that is proposed as a rule in some science or art. The aim of this paper is to present a compilation of proverbs and aphorisms related to neuroscience and neurorehabilitation, classified chronologically, to illustrate the conceptual evolution about the brain and to improve our understanding about the management of neurological patients through the methods and techniques developed during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, as many therapies are based on them. Methods: A literature review was conducted based on the recommendations for Systematic Reviews guidelines for scoping reviews. A computerized search was conducted in the following electronic databases: CINAHL Medical Science, Medline through EBSCO, PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Scopus, limiting the search to papers published until April 2021 in English and Spanish. Inverse searches were also carried out based on papers found in the databases. The following data were extracted: technique or approach; author; date of birth and death; proverbs and aphorisms; clinical interpretation. Results: Proverbs and aphorisms linked to authors such as Charles Edward Beevor (1854–1908), Heinrich Sebastian Frenkel (1860–1931), Rudolf Magnus (1873–1927), Nikolai Bernstein (1896–1966), Donald O. Hebb (1904–1985), Elwood Henneman (1915–1996), Wilder Graves Penfield (1891–1976), Humberto Augusto Maturana Romesín (1928), Edward Taub (1931), Janet Howard Carr (1933–2014), Roberta Barkworth Shepherd (1934), Brown & Hardman (1987), Jeffrey A. Kleim and Theresa A. Jones (2008) were compiled. Conclusion: Different authors have developed throughout history a series of proverbs and aphorisms related to neurosciences and neurorehabilitation that have helped to better our understanding of the nervous system and, therefore, in the management of the neurological patient through the methods and techniques developed throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation for People with Neurological Disorders)

Other

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16 pages, 991 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Walking Ability Outcome Measures in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review

by Isabel Sinovas-Alonso, Ángel Gil-Agudo, Roberto Cano-de-la-Cuerda and Antonio J. del-Ama

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9517; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18189517 - 09 Sep 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3538

Abstract

Walking function recovery in spinal cord injury (SCI) is tackled through several therapeutic approaches in which precise evaluation is essential. A systematic review was performed to provide an updated qualitative review of walking ability outcome measures in SCI and to analyze their psychometric properties. PubMed, Cochrane, and PEDro databases were consulted until 1 April 2020. Seventeen articles written in English were included. Five of them studied the walking index for SCI, four studied the 10 meter walk test, and two studied the six-minute walk test, the timed Up and go test, and the Berg balance scale. The rest of the articles studied the following metrics: gait profile score, spinal cord injury functional ambulation profile, five times sit-to-stand test, spinal cord injury functional ambulation inventory, spinal cord independence measure (indoors and outdoors mobility items), locomotor stages in spinal cord injury, community balance and mobility scale, and activity-based balance level evaluation scale. The choice of a single or a set of metrics should be determined by the clinician. Based on the results obtained in this review, a combination of outcome measures is proposed to assess walking ability. Future work is required to integrate a more realistic environment for walking assessment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rehabilitation for People with Neurological Disorders)

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